The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has cancelled the authority granted to the Bank of Kigali (BoK) to operate a representative office in Kenya, 11 years after it opened the office.
- BoK is headquartered in Kigali, and licensed and supervised by the National Bank of Rwanda.
- The government of Rwanda controls majority shareholding in the bank while the remaining portion is held between institutional and retail shareholders.
- Bank of Kigali is also cross listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
The termination of BoK’s presence in Kenya follows a strategic decision taken by Bank of Kigali Group Plc (BoK’s parent company) to focus more on digital service delivery channels.
Lenders have been investing heavily in digital service delivery as branch visits decline. According to the Banking Industry Customer Satisfaction Survey (2023) by Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), the preference of digital and mobile banking channels to bank branch visits grew last year, with preference for mobile banking rising to 69.9 percent from 67. 8 percent in 2022.
“Due to higher digital adoption, customers are visiting branches less with its preference coming third at 19.6 per cent, compared to 17.6 per cent in 2022. Preference for ATM stood at 17.7 per cent,” said KBA in its Banking Industry Customer Satisfaction Survey (2023). Mobile banking is the most sought-after channel among customers. Internet banking is the second most preferred channel at 24.6 per cent, a slight uptick compared to the 23.3 per cent preference in 2022.
Mobile Banking Wins against Other Channels in Access to Banking Services-KBA – Kenyan Wall Street
