Equity, CBA now brokers at bourse
Customers being served at an Equity Bank branch. Equity Investment Bank has been admitted to the Nairobi Securities Exchange as a stockbroker. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
- This brings the number of stock brokers to 21 at the Nairobi Securities Exchange
- Move is set to open up market for investments
Equity Investment Bank and CBA Capital have been admitted to the Nairobi Securities Exchange as stockbrokers.
This now brings the number of stockbrokers to 21 at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in what is set to open up the market for the investing public.
In a statement, the NSE’s vice chairman Bob Karina said the admission of CBA Capital and Equity Investment Bank follows a plan to open up the exchange to more stockbrokers in order to expand access to the Kenyan market, adding that priority will be given to Capital Markets Authority (CMA) licencees.
“The NSE, through a clear and transparent process, is keen to admit new trading participants that will expand access to the Kenyan market. This is part of our move to being a demutualised exchange with self-regulatory responsibilities,” Mr Karina said.
CBA Capital, an affiliate company of the Commercial Bank of Africa Group, was licensed by the CMA as an investment bank in 2003 and looks to leverage on the M-Shwari platform to provide local and regional investors access to Kenya’s capital markets.
The bank has operations in Kenya and Tanzania and plans to expand into Uganda.
Regional subsidiaries
Equity Investment Bank Limited, on the other hand, received an investment banking license from the CMA in 2008 and is affiliated to Equity Bank Group, which also has subsidiaries in Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and Tanzania.
The NSE’s head of market and product development Mr Donald Ouma noted that the exchange is planning to admit more participants into the market in the near future, with priority given to market participants holding CMA licenses.
The exchange now has 21 stock brokers some of who are shareholders. In the demutualisation process, however, the exchange is seeking to separate ownership from management of the market to increase transparency and accountability.
The demutualisation process will see it list on the Alternative Investment Market Segment (AIMS) before the end of 2013.
This will also pave the way for entry of more players into the multi-billion-shilling bonds and stock market.
