Kenya Post Office Savings Bank, often referred to as Postbank, is a

Savings Bank A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits and paying interest on those deposits. They originated in Europe during the 18th century with the aim of providing access to savings products to al ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

. Unlike other commercial banks in Kenya that are licensed and regulated by the

Central Bank of Kenya The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) ( sw, Banki Kuu ya Kenya) is the monetary authority of Kenya. Its head office is located in Nairobi. CBK was founded by in 1966 after the dissolution of East African Currency Board (EACB). Dr. Patrick Ngugi Njoroge ...

, PostBank is regulated by the ''Kenya Post Office Savings Bank Act Cap 493B''. This gives it a unique feature where interest income earned by depositors is exempt from tax.

History

Postbank was established in 1910, making it possible for Africans to save in the then

British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Bri ...

. The accounts in

East African rupee The rupee was the currency of Britain's East African colonies and protectorates between 1906 and 1920. It was divided into 100 cents. The rupee replaced the Indian rupee, which had previously circulated. In 1920, the rupee was revalued against st ...

. By 1931, the institution offered similar services East Africa and one could use their account from anywhere in Kenya,

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

. This continued till the breakup of the

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Burun ...

in 1977 after which the Bank focused its attention to the Kenyan market. In 2010, the bank celebrated 100 years of existence showcasing its achievements over the years The bank is an agent of

MoneyGram MoneyGram International, Inc. is an American cross-border P2P payments and money transfer company based in the United States with headquarters in Dallas, Texas. It has an operations center in St. Louis Park, Minnesota and regional and local of ...

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company cha ...

and

Ria Money Transfer Ria Money Transfer is a subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide, Inc., which specializes in money remittances. Ria initiates transfers through a network of agents and company-owned stores located throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pa ...

and offers Banking agency services for NIC Bank Group and

Chase Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., doing business as Chase Bank or often as Chase, is an American national bank headquartered in New York City, that constitutes the consumer and commercial banking subsidiary of the U.S. multinational banking and fin ...

Ownership

, Postbank is a fully owned by the Government of Kenya and reports to the National Treasury.

Governance

Governance of the bank is vested in the Board of directors and the office of the Managing Director, supported by one Directorate and departments. The bank is wholly owned by the Government of Kenya and reports to the Ministry of Finance. The Government is represented at the board of directors by the Cabinet Secretary, Treasury.

References

External links

Website of Post Bank

Kenya Bankers Association
{{Nairobi Banks of Kenya 1910 establishments in Kenya Banks established in 1910 Companies based in Nairobi Postal savings system

History

Ownership

Governance

See also

References

External links