National Bank of Kenya (NBK), also known as National Bank, is a

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit. It can also refer to a bank or a division of a larger bank that deals with whol ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, the largest economy in the

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation in East Africa. The EAC's membership consists of eight states: Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, S ...

. It is licensed by the

Central Bank of Kenya The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) () 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. Kamau Thugge, CBS is the current Governor a ...

, the

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

, and national banking regulator. Effective September 2019, the bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of the

Kenya Commercial Bank Group KCB Group Limited, also known as the KCB Group, is a financial services Bank holding company, holding company based in the African Great Lakes region. The Group's headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with its subsidiaries being KCB Bank Kenya Limit ...

Overview

NBK is a large financial services provider in Kenya, serving individuals, small-to-medium companies and businesses (SMEs) and large corporations. Headquartered in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, the bank owns one subsidiary company: NatBank Trustee and Investment Services Limited. , National Bank of Kenya's asset base was valued at approximately US$1.122 billion (KES:115.143 billion), with shareholders' equity valued at about US$67.6 million (KES:6.936 billion). Following the acquisition of the shares of NBK by KCB Group in September 2019, the shares of NBK were de-listed from the

Nairobi Securities Exchange The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was established in 1954 as the Nairobi Stock Exchange, based in Nairobi the capital of Kenya. It was a voluntary association of stockbrokers in the European community registered under the Societies Act in ...

on 16 September 2019.

History

The bank was established in 1968 as a 100 percent government-owned financial institution. In 1994, the Kenyan Government reduced its shareholding to 68 percent by selling 32 percent shareholding to the public. The government further divested from NBK over the years, until its present shareholding of 22.5 percent, as of April 2019. Following 12 years of poor financial performance, the bank became profitable again in 2010, paying out an annual dividend ever since. In April 2019, KCB Bank Kenya Limited, the largest commercial bank in the country by assets, announced its intention to acquire 100 percent of the assets and liabilities of National Bank of Kenya, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals. That acquisition was concluded on 16 September 2019.

Subsidiaries

The bank owns the following subsidiary companies in which it has 100% shareholding: * Natbank Trustee and Investment Services Limited:

, * Kenya National Capital Corporation Limited:

, * NBK Insurance Agency Limited:NBK Insurance Agency Limited
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Ownership

, the

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

of National Bank of Kenya is owned by the

, a large financial conglomerate, with subsidiaries in seven

Eastern Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

n countries and total assets of over $7.013 billion, as of October 2019. At the time of acquisition of NBK, KCB Group stated that it intended to run NBK as a stand-alone subsidiary, for a period of at least two years, after which NBK would be integrated with KCB Bank Kenya Limited. On March 20, 2024, it was announced that Access Bank Plc, a Nigerian commercial bank, had entered into an agreement to acquire NBK, subject to receipt of approvals from the Central Bank of Kenya and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Governance

As of March 2024, the following were the board members: * Jones Makau Nzomo: non-executive director *

Paul Russo Paul Frank Russo (April 10, 1914 – February 13, 1976) was an American racing driver. Racing career Midget car career Russo started racing midget cars in 1934. He went with a contingent of midget-car drivers to Hawaii in the winter of 1 ...

: KCB Group CEO & managing director * Lina Githuka: non-executive director * Laban Omangi: non-executive director * Geoffrey Malombe: non-executive director * George Odhiambo: managing director * Samuel Mundia: director, legal services

References

External links

*
Central Bank of Kenya website

{{Banking in Kenya Banks of Kenya KCB Group Companies based in Nairobi Kenyan companies established in 1968 Banks established in 1968 1968 establishments in Kenya Government-owned banks Companies in the NSE 20 Share Index