NCBA Group shares on Wednesday October 22, 2025 touched an all time milestone of Sh100 apiece on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
The NCBA shares made the milestone during the day’s intra-day trading session in which they swung from a day’s low of Sh90 per share to a day’s high of Sh100 per share. They settled at an average trading price of Sh96.25 per share.
The average closing price was Sh5 more than the closing price that the NCBA counter had recorded the previous day. This gain was equivalent to 5.48 percent. Over the past one year to Wednesday’s high of Sh100, the NCBA counter has moved from a low of Sh40 per share, giving investors who took position at Sh40 per share paper wealth amounting to Sh50 per share.
This recent NCBA Group shares rally comes in the wake of news that South Africa’s Standard Bank Group Ltd is in talks to acquire the lender in what could be the largest acquisition of a Kenyan bank.
According to a report that was published by Bloomberg, the South African lender has instructed its Kenyan subsidiary Stanbic Bank to open talks that could lead to the acquisition of the NCBA Group.
The acquisition, if successful, could create the third largest bank in Kenya after KCB Group and Equity Group. The Standard Bank Group is currently the largest bank in Africa by assets and holds a 75 percent stake in Kenya’s Stanbic Holdings PLC.
NCBA Group and Stanbic Holdings have however not openly speak on the reported pitch, which Bloomberg attributed to internal sources with knowledge on the matter.
The acquisition pitch by Standard Bank Group, if it has indeed been made, comes six years after NIC Bank and CBA Bank merged to form NCBA Group.
This merger had resulted in more than doubling of net earnings in 2019 to Sh7.84 billion. Market share increased to 10.1 percent. Prior to the merger, NIC Bank had been holding a 4.17 percent market share while CBA Bank held a 5.12 percent stake.
The two banks were widely associated the Kenyatta and Ndegwa families. The Kenyatta family controlled a 24.9 percent stake in CBA through their family investment vehicle which is known as Enke Investments Limited. On the other hand, the Ndegwa family controlled a 15.84 percent in NIC Bank through First Chartered Securities.
