The NCBA Bank expansion drive has hit top gear with the opening of a new branch in Kitui Town. The new branch was officially opened on Friday, November 8, 2024 by Kitui County Governor Julius Malombe. The opening of the NCBA Kitui branch marks a new milestone in an expansion drive that the NCBA Group has been undertaking across the country to bring banking services closer to the people.

“Our new Kitui branch is here to support local businesses and empower individuals. We aim to provide tailored financial services that enhance the banking experience for all residents and nurture Kitui’s entrepreneurial spirit,” said NCBA Group Director of Retail Banking Tirus Mwithiga.

His sentiments were echoed by the NCBA Group Company Secretary Kathryne Maundu who noted that the presence of the bank’s affordable financial solutions in Kitui had opened pathways for the county’s economic growth, particularly in key sectors such as construction, transport, education, and the general micro, small and medium enterprises sector.

The NCBA Kitui branch marks the second consecutive month that the bank has opened a new branch. The bank recently opened a branch in Nyahururu Town, Laikipia County. In October, the NCBA opened a new branch in Ukunda, Kwale County. Less than two months earlier in August, the NCBA Bank had opened new branches in Limuru and Githunguri towns in Kiambu County.

The expansion drive by the NCBA is running on the Twende Mbele strategic plan. Under this plan, the bank has committed to the growth of its network in tandem with the growing financial needs of customers who have hitherto been unable to access tailor-made, affordable financial solutions.

“We remain committed to be a distinguished brand known for customer experience. We have increased our footprint with nearly 120 branches opened across the region,” says NCBA Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer John Gachora. Mr. Gachora adds that the growth of the Group’s network aligns with the bank’s objective of being a catalyst for the growth of both local businesses and individual customers.

At the same time, the expansion comes amidst a rising capital base for the bank which has increased its leeway to support businesses and individual customers across the country. For instance, in the first half of the current 2024 financial year, the bank surpassed the Sh. 100 billion milestone in shareholder funds.

The shareholder funds grew by 14.8 per cent to stand at Sh. 101.4 billion from the Sh. 88.3 billion shareholder funds that were recorded in the same period the previous year.

“One of our aspirations has been to have a large capital base that gives us the capacity to support the large companies that operate in this region. I think that we now have a large capital base and it continues to grow. We can now do deals that are of significant size. The maximum lending we can do is 25 per cent of our capital,” says Mr. Gachora. “Beyond supporting businesses and customers, we also want to be a safe and secure bank as shown by this amount of capital base.”

There is also a secondary positive ripple effect that is coming out of the NCBA Bank expansion drive. For instance, in mid-2024, leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance ranked NCBA as Kenya’s second fastest-growing brand in the 2024 ranking of the Top 25 Most Value Brands, with an improvement of 44 per cent.

“This is a demonstration of our relentless efforts in brand building that aligns well with customer needs,” says Gachora. “We have maintained asset finance market share leadership at 35 per cent and our growing deposit base indicates the ability to attract and serve more corporate and retail customers. Our regional branch expansion will ensure we offer superior experience and convenience through a bigger network.”

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In the same vein, the Central Bank of Kenya’s Bank Supervision Annual Report for 2023 ranked the bank as the third largest bank in Kenya by market share. According to the report, the NCBA Bank Kenya was holding 64.5 per cent of the banking sector market share as at December 2023. The bank had assets worth Sh. 661.7 billion and total deposits of Sh. 529.1 billion.

The bank had the highest number of loan accounts at 8,338,595. It also had the second highest number of deposit accounts with a total of 30,803,966 accounts which was equivalent to 32.5 per cent of the market share.

In the rank of banks with the highest number of deposit accounts exceeding Sh. 500,000, NCBA Bank Kenya was ranked in the pole position. In the financial year ended December 2022, the bank had 146,396 accounts. In the financial year ended December 2023, this number grew by 184 per cent to 416,481 accounts. For bank accounts with less than Sh. 500,000, the NCBA came in with a total of 30,387,485 as at the end of December 2023. At the end of the previous financial year, the local bank had closed with 29,330,294 accounts.