The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has bought an additional 11.7 million shares of KCB Group, raising its stake to a new high of 8.38 per cent.
According to the bank’s shareholder register, the fund raised its holdings of KCB shares to 269.2 million in March. The extra shares have a current market value of Kes 440.5 million.
The State-controlled fund, which is the second-largest investor in KCB after National Treasury with a 19.76 stake, has been steadily increasing its ownership in the lender over the years.
NSSF had a 6.12 per cent ownership in the bank in March 2019 and has been raising it from purchase of more shares besides the transfer of its previous stake in National Bank of Kenya (NBK) into shares of the country’s second-largest bank.
NSSF’s latest additional investment in KCB comes as banks, in general, are posting strong profit growth, recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which caused a sharp increase in defaults and provisions early on.
KCB Group Plc recorded a 74% rise in Net Earnings to Kes 34.2Billion in 2021, which the lender attributed to growth in total income and reduction in loan loss provision charge as it steadily moved to the post-COVID-19 recovery phase.
