KCB eyes mid-sized banks for acquisition

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group is looking at medium-sized lenders to buy as part of an expansion plan and is building up capital to boost its acquisition war chest, the chief executive of country’s biggest bank by assets said on Friday.

With 43 commercial banks, executives say, Kenya’s banking industry is ripe for consolidation that will create fewer bigger institutions able to write bigger loans for the growing economy.

“We will look for businesses where there can be synergy, where there can be ability for us to scale up, so medium-sized banks will be areas that we are focusing on today,” KCB CEO Joshua Oigara told Reuters in an interview.

KCB planned to sign up a transaction adviser to raise the bank’s capital before the end of this month, he said, although he did not say how much the bank was seeking.