Anxiety as Chase Bank closes ten branches

Chase Bank customers mill outside the bank's Moi Avenue branch in Mombasa following its closure in April last year.

NAIROBI, KENYA: Chase Bank has closed ten branches spread across the country following the ongoing takeover of some of its assets by the State Bank of Mauritius (SBM).

Deal to buy Chase Bank assets will be concluded on August 17 after Treasury and Central Bank gave it a clean bill mid this month.

Andrew Bainbridge, Group CEO of SBM Holdings Ltd said the lender will take the majority of Chase Bank branches, IT infrastructure, offer employees new terms of service and carry a ‘substantial portion of the loan book’.

“By August we will have over 60 branches, 800 employees and we will become a mid-sized lender,” said Andrew Bainbridge, Group CEO of SBM Holdings Ltd.

The affected branches in the closure include Kisumu xpress located at Naivas Supermarket, Delta Branch located at PWC, City Center Branch located at the Prudential building, Garisa located at Lilac Centre, Kayole branch located at Shujaa Mall and the Eastleigh branch located at Sunrise Mall.

Other branches affected include Pangani xpress at Oil Libya, and the Parklands branch located at Medi Plaza.

The statement did not clarify on the fate of employees working at the closed branches.

Central Bank of Kenya in early 2016 placed Chase Bank under receivership following liquidity problems. The regulator noted that the bank experienced cash flow difficulties following 'inaccurate' social media reports and the stepping aside of two of its directors. The bank was not able to meet its financial obligations on April 6, 2016.