CBK approves Fina Bank Sh8.6bn takeover by Nigerian lender

The Central Bank has approved the acquisition of Fina Bank by Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust Bank (GT) Bank.

Guaranty Trust Bank had reached an agreement in July to acquire a 70 per cent stake in Kenya’s Fina Bank Limited in a Sh8.6 billion deal.

The buy-out will now see Fina Bank rebrand to Guaranty Trust Bank Kenya Limited. Fina Bank has total assets of 28.7 billion and has businesses in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

Set up in 1991, the small-tier lender has over 15.6 billion in loans and advances and operates from 38 branches across three East African nations.

SHARE PURCHASE

Fina bank and Guaranty Bank board of directors held a meeting in January 23 this year where they resolved to approve the acquisition.

Later at an extra ordinary general meeting on June 27, Fina Bank shareholders resolved to sell 70 per cent of the stake of the bank to the Nigerian lender.

The sale was effected through a share purchase from current shareholders and direct investment by Guaranty Trust Bank.

“GT Bank will enter East Africa through a multi-country and scalable platform, thus expanding its international presence in sub-Saharan Africa,” the Nigerian lender said.

Chief executive Segun Agbaje said in July that GT Bank was eyeing expansion opportunities in East Africa after building networks in West Africa to tap into the regions fast growing economies and ease of doing business.

Guaranty Bank’s growth has been fuelled by the West Africa’s oil and gas industry, and the Nigerian lender is seeking to replicate the same strategy in the region to drive its expansion.

The lender has already expressed interest to participate in oil and gas deals in the country.