KCB eyes Burundi market

NAIROBI, Tuesday

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), is planning to start operations in Burundi within a year.

Chief Executive Martin Oduor-Otieno said the move is intended to seal the bank’s regional presence after it opened branches in Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Southern Sudan.

"It (Burundi move) is in our plans. We are still looking into all the options," he said.

A growing number of Kenyan banks have been branching out into the rest of the region in a bid to grow their earnings.

KCB said it had opened three new branches in Rwanda, bringing the bank’s regional network of branches to 184, managing director for Rwanda Maurice Toroitich said.

"We expect to open a total of seven branches in this market before the end of this year in order to reach out to a larger cross-section of the target population," he said in a statement.

KCB is cross-listed on the Kampala and Dar es salaam bourses. In June, KCB became the first company to have its stock dealt on Rwanda’s Over-The-Counter market, where previously only government bonds were traded.

—Reuters