KENYA – Access Bank, a Nigerian multinational commercial bank, has renamed Transnational Bank a medium sized commercial bank that mainly focuses on Kenya’s agricultural sector, after it completed its acquisition, reports Business Daily.
Central Bank of Kenya said that the Kenyan lender will now be known as Access Bank (Kenya), indicating the end of the buyout deal.
“Transnational Bank PLC has, by resolution of the Board and the approval of the Registrar of Companies, effected a change of name from Transnational Bank PLC to Access Bank (Kenya) Public Limited Company, with effect from the 21st August, 2020,” said CBK governor Patrick Njoroge in a notice.
The closure of the deal now paves the way for Access Bank to inject additional capital in Transnational, which had 0.25 percent stake in December 2018, as it seeks a return to profitability.
Access Bank, owned by business mogul Herbert Wigwe, can influence board and executive changes after the deal closure.
Mr Wigwe had said the lender would buy in cash and inject fresh capital into Transnational. The bank is the largest in Nigeria with assets worth KSh1.17 trillion (US$10.81m).
Sovereign Trust holds 23.03 per cent shareholding in Transnational, Simbi Investors holds 8.2 million shares or 4.11 percent and Losupuk Ltd holds 2.79 per cent.
The 36-year-old Kenyan bank with 28 branches, with assets worth KSh9.7 billion (US$89.63m), made a loss of KSh83.9 million (US$0.78m) in the financial year ended December 2019, from a loss of KSh71.8 million (US$0.66m) the previous year.
The buyout by Access has deepened the presence of Nigerian banks in Kenya with United Bank of Africa (UBA) and Guarantee Trust Bank already in the market. The Kenyan banking sector has witnessed increased interest in the last seven years, with mergers and acquisitions happening.
Access Bank is presently one of the five largest banks in Nigeria in terms of assets, loans, deposits and branch network.
The Bank has subsidiaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Zambia, and the United Kingdom.
The bank also operates representative offices in China, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and India.
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