Chase Bank’s large depositors could start accessing their money after six months, according to Mauritius-based SBM Holdings, which has signed an agreement to acquire the Kenyan lender.
The bank collapsed in 2016 with deposits of more than Sh100 billion, part of which was returned to small depositors when it was under the care of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).
SBM says it is ready to grant access to the remaining deposits once its acquisition of Chase Bank becomes effective, adding that this will depend on how fast regulators approve the transaction.
The CBK recently said access to the deposits will be spread over a period of up to three years in what is seen as a move to stabilise the bank under its new owner.
“We need the approval of Central Bank (to avail deposits) … A minimum of four to six months,” SBM Holdings chairman Kee Chong Li Kwong Wing said in Nairobi at a press briefing.
About 3,100 affected depositors will be seeking to access the cash locked up at the lender.