Access Bank, the biggest bank in Nigeria by assets, is in the advanced stages of acquiring the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) from KCB Group. Both banks signed a binding agreement in March 2024, with the transaction valued at approximately $100 million. This is equating to 1.25 times NBK's book value as of 2023.
If Access Bank completes the NBK acquisition, it'll mark a significant milestone in the bank’s pan-African expansion, giving it a stronger grasp in Kenya—East Africa’s largest economy and a major financial hub.
The acquisition has already gotten approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). However, it is still pending regulatory approvals from authorities from Kenya including the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), and the COMESA Competition Commission.
The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has granted conditional approval, stipulating that Access Bank must retain at least 80% of NBK's workforce for a minimum of one year post-acquisition.
The Bank was also directed to retain all 316 employees of its local subsidiary, Access Bank of Kenya. The CAK’s conditional approval brought the deal one step closer to completion.
Access Bank is a tier 3 lender that is currently operating 23 branches across 12 counties in Kenya. While NBK is a tier 2 bank has 77 branches in 28 Kenya's counties. Meanwhile, the merger is expected to enhance Access Bank's market share in the country from 0.2% to 1.9%, giving the bank a stronger foothold among Kenyan banks.
According to CAK, the Access Bank's modest 1.9% market share will not significantly impact competition due to the dominance of larger banks like Equity, Co-operative, and Standard Chartered. Currently, Access Bank is ranked 37th out of 39 licensed banks in Kenya.
