Kenya Commercial Bank

Kenya Commercial Bank

Type	Public company NSE :KCB
Industry	Banking
Founded	1896
Headquarters	Kencom House, Moi Avenue, Nairobi, Kenya
Key people	Peter Muthoka, Chairman Joshua Oigara, chief executive officer
Products	Loans, credit cards, savings, investments, mortgages
Revenue	: Aftertax: US$104.9 million (KES:8.8 billion) (2010)
Total assets	US$2.65 billion+ (KES:223 billion) (2010)
Website	Homepage

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) is a financial services provider headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. As of December 2010, it was among the three largest commercial banks in Kenya with assets of more than US$2.65 billion (KES:223 billion), and shareholders capital valued at US$486 million (KES:40.9 billion).^[1] The other two large Kenyan commercial banks are Barclays Bank Kenya and Standard Chartered Bank Kenya. As of December 2010, KCB Group, the parent company of KCB Kenya, had the largest branch network in Kenya (168 branches) of all 44 licensed commercial banks in the country.^[2]

Shares of the stock of Kenya Commercial Bank Group (KCB Group), the parent company of Kenya Commercial Bank, are listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), under the symbol (KCB). The Group's stock is also cross listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE) and the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE).

Kenya Commercial Bank Group

Kenya Commercial Bank is a member of the KCB Group of companies. These include: ^{[3] [4]}

• Kenya Commercial Bank — Nairobi, Kenya
• KCB Burundi – Bujumbura, Burundi
• KCB Rwanda – Kigali, Rwanda
• KCB Sudan – Juba, South Sudan
• KCB Tanzania – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
• KCB Uganda – Kampala, Uganda
• KCB Foundation Limited – Nairobi, Kenya
• KCB Sports Sponsorship Limited – Nairobi, Kenya
• Savings & Loan Kenya Limited – Nairobi, Kenya

As of December 2010, KCB Group was the largest financial services group in Kenya, with an asset base valued at over US$3.5 billion (KES:251 billion).^[5] At that time, KCB Group had the widest network of banking outlets comprising nearly 220 branches in Kenya, Rwanda, Southern Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.^[6]

History

The history of Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) dates back to 1896 when its predecessor, the National Bank of India opened an outlet in Mombasa. Eight years later in 1904, the bank extended its operations to Nairobi, which had become the headquarters of the expanding railway line to Uganda.

The next major change in the bank's history came in 1958. Grindlays Bank merged with the National Bank of India to form the National and Grindlays Bank. Upon Kenya's independence in 1963, the Government of Kenya acquired 60% shareholding in National & Grindlays Bank in an effort to bring banking closer to the majority of Kenyans. In 1970, the Government of Kenya acquired 100% ownership of the bank's shares to take full control of the largest commercial bank in Kenya. National and Grindlays Bank was renamed Kenya Commercial Bank. The Government has over the years reduced its shareholding in KCB to 23%, as of December 2008. In a rights issue which concluded in August 2010, the shareholding by the Kenyan Government was reduced to 17.74%.^[7]

In 1972, Savings & Loan (Kenya) Limited was acquired to specialise in mortgage finance. In 1997, another subsidiary, Kenya Commercial Bank (Tanzania) Limited was incorporated in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to provide banking services and promote cross-border trading. In May 2006 KCB extended its operations to South Sudan following licensing by the Bank of South Sudan. In November 2007, the first branch of KCB Uganda Limited opened in Kampala, Uganda following licensing by the Bank of Uganda. In 2008, KCB expanded to Rwanda, where the first branch opened in Kigali in December 2008.^[8] A subsidiary is expected to be opened in Burundi soon.^[9]

Kenya Commercial Bank Plaza

In December 2010, construction of a new headquarters building began in the Upper Hill section of Nairobi. Construction is expected to take approximately two years, with anticipated occupancy beginning in January 2013. The new Kenya Commercial Bank Plaza (KCB Plaza), will consist of twenty-one (21) storeys, comprising about 171,800 square feet (15,960 m²), of rentable office space, and enough parking for about four hundred fifty cars. The owners of the building are the Kenya Commercial Bank Employee Pension Fund, who are funding the US$26 million (KES:2.1 billion) construction.^[10]

Ownership

As of August 2010, the Government of Kenya owns 17.74% of Kenya Commercial Bank. The remaining 82.26% is owned by institutional and private investors.^[11]

Branch network

KCB has more than 150 branches throughout Kenya, making it the largest banking network in the region. It has the largest number of own-branded ATMs in Kenya. Since 2004 all of the branches in Kenya have been re-branded as part of a wider corporate branding exercise. KCB has partnered with Pesa Point to increase the number of ATM points where customers can access their funds.

Officers & Management

The Chairman of the bank's board of directors is Peter Muthoka and the managing director and the chief executive officer of the bank is Martin Oduor-Otieno.^[12]

Sports

KCB owns a sports club, that has teams in Kenyan football, rugby, volleyball and basketball leagues. See Kenya Commercial Bank (sports club). Since 2003 Kenya Commercial Bank has been sponsoring the Safari Rally – East Africa Rally Championships ( which consists of the Kobil rally in Tanzania, Pearl of Africa in Uganda and the Safari Rally in Kenya) and the Kenya National Rally Championship which consists of eight series throughout the year.

External links

• Kenya Commercial Bank Homepage
• History of KCB
• List of Licensed Commercial Banks in Kenya

See also

• KCB Group
• KCB Rwanda
• KCB Sudan
• KCB Uganda

References