SBM Holdings Limited is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary SBM Bank (Kenya) Ltd will complete the process of acquisition of certain assets and assumption of certain deposits of Chase Bank Kenya Ltd in receivership (CBLR) on August 17, 2018.
The process follows the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) approval on June 13, 2018, under section 9 of the Banking Act of Kenya and under the Central Bank Prudential Guidelines. Subsequent approval was granted by the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury of Kenya on June 28, 2018. SBM Kenya will assume 75 percent of the value of deposits under moratorium at CBLR, all non-moratorium deposits at CBLR, and will take on the majority of CBLR branches and employees.
As per the terms of the transaction, 50% of the non-moratorium deposits will be available upon completion of the transaction through current and savings accounts. The remaining 50% will be placed in interest earning term deposits to be accessed equally over a period of three years.
“This landmark transaction will enable the SBM Group to grow inorganically, taking SBM Kenya from a tier 3 bank to a strong tier 2 bank within a year of its creation”, declared SBM Group Chairman, M. Kee Chong LI KWONG WING, adding that “it is also in line with the Group’s internationalization strategy to have a greater regional presence, taking its footprint beyond Mauritius into the Asia Africa corridor.”
“It’s a moment of great pride for our Group, as this move will enable us to increase our market share on the Kenya market and allow us to grow from a small to a medium-sized bank. Our objective now is to unfold our capacity so that we can deliver to the best of our ability in the Kenyan market.
We are looking forward to playing an active role in Kenya’s financial and economic landscape and will ensure that we do it in accordance with Kenya’s social and business culture”, declared M. Andrew Bainbridge, Group CEO of SBM Holdings Ltd. It is to be noted that Chase Bank is a commercial bank headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with a network of over 60 branches across the country.
Based on its 2014 annual report, the bank had total assets of over USD 1 billion and employed around 800 staff. In 2016, CBK placed the bank in receivership when it failed to meet its financial obligations and appointed the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation as the receiver manager.