Kenya’s Banking Overhaul Sparks Acquisition Spree As Top African Lenders Poach

The latest among a flurry of identical moves by pan-African financial heavyweights to secure a strategic foothold in Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, through acquisition, has emerged in South Africa’s Nedbank’s formal bid to acquire a controlling stake in Kenya’s NCBA Group.

Nedbank proposes to buy approximately 66% of NCBA’s shares from existing shareholders in a deal that values the Kenyan lender at 1.4 times its book value. Shareholders accepting the offer would receive 20% of their payment in cash and 80% in Nedbank stock listed in Johannesburg, NCBA said in a press release.

This bid is part of a trend reshaping African finance, as banks from the continent’s major economies look north, south, and east for growth. Kenya has become a primary target, serving as a strategic and stable gateway to the broader East African Community trade bloc.

For international banks, acquiring an established player like NCBA, Kenya’s fourth largest bank, provides immediate scale. NCBA serves over 60 million customers across five African nations, holds assets worth KES 665 B (~USD 5 B), and is a leader in digital lending, disbursing over KES 1 T (~USD 7.7 B) annually. This allows an acquirer to bypass the slow, costly process of building a network from scratch.

The push into Kenya was arguably kickstarted by Egypt’s Commercial International Bank, which finalised its acquisition of Mayfair CIB Bank in 2023 to establish a regional investment banking hub. Nigerian lenders have quickly followed in force. Access Bank solidified its East African presence by acquiring 100% of the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) in 2025, a move that built on its earlier purchase of Transnational Bank.

Fellow Nigerian giant Zenith Bank positioned itself to enter the market by making a move for Paramount Bank last year. Meanwhile, African fintechs have been similarly busy in Kenya, including Moniepoint Inc., which acquired a 78% stake in Sumac Microfinance Bank in 2025, and Umba, which took over Daraja Microfinance Bank years prior.

Two key forces are driving this acquisition spree. First, large African corporates are expanding cross-border, and their banks are following them to maintain relationships. Second, domestic regulatory pressures are pushing for consolidation.

In Kenya specifically, the Central Bank has directed lenders to increase their minimum capital significantly. This forces smaller, undercapitalised banks to seek mergers or be bought out to survive, creating opportunities for deeper-pocketed regional players.

For Nedbank, which currently only has a representative office in East Africa, NCBA offers a complete, ready-made platform. NCBA’s strong brand, digital capabilities, and asset finance leadership dovetail with Nedbank’s strengths in corporate banking.

“Kenya’s role as a regional financial hub… makes it a natural anchor for Nedbank’s East African ambitions,” said Nedbank CEO Jason Quinn. The combined entity aims to use Kenya as a base to pursue opportunities in markets like Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The proposed transaction is pending regulatory approvals from central banks in the relevant countries and is expected to be completed within six to nine months. If successful, it will further cement Nairobi’s status as a battleground for continental banking dominance.