Standard Bank's insistence on rebranding NCBA may have played a decisive role in the collapse of long-running acquisition and merger negotiations between the two lenders, several insiders have said.
- •The potential merger, which would have been backed by Stanbic’s parent company Standard Bank, would have created Kenya’s third largest lender KSh1.1 trillion (US$8.5 billion) in assets.
- •A likely rebrand would have seen Stanbic, Kenya’s eighth largest bank by assets, absorb NCBA, the country’s fourth largest bank, in a horizontal merger.
- •NCBA instead chose a majority acquisition by Nedbank, in which Standard Bank holds a 5.57% stake as per January 2026 disclosures, which will be paid for in cash, equity, and board presence if approved by regulators.
“NCBA was not keen on changing their brand,” an insider who requested anonymity told The Kenyan Wall Street, “Standard Bank wanted to rebrand.”
The Nedbank deal comes just months after news broke out that talks between NCBA and Standard Bank were at advanced stages, after years of industry rumours that a deal was forthcoming. Africa’s largest bank by assets, Standard Bank Group, which owns 75% of Stanbic Holdings Plc, has previously said it was targeting an acquisition in Kenya to boost its regional presence.
The plans have included several boardroom changes in the region, which were largely seen by industry watchers as part of the expansion plans. This included the hiring of the former CEO of KCB Group, Kenya’s largest bank by assets, Joshua Oigara, as Stanbic’s MD in Kenya. Oigara was elevated to regional head in late 2025, in a move widely seen as part of internal succession plans at Standard Bank in the lead up to the retirement of Group CEO Sim Tshabalala and CFO Arno Daehnke by 2027.
Why NCBA Chose Nedbank
“Nedbank met the merits, and this deal gives NCBA access to a much deeper balance sheet and capital sources,” NCBA Group MD John Gachora said at a press briefing after the deal was announced, “Nedbank intends to use NCBA as the cornerstone of its East African forays.”
NCBA, Standard Bank and Stanbic have not commented on the likely deal or why it failed. “We do attract a lot of interest, and we have also approached potential partners,” senior NCBA executives said, “[On Standard Bank negotiations]”The rumour did not come from us so we can’t comment.”
Despite this, NCBA executives have highlighted the lack of overlap as a major point for its decision to choose Nedbank.
“The beauty of this [Nedbank] transaction is that there will be no overlap. There will be no painful integration because Nedbank currently has no presence in the countries NCBA operates in,” Gachora added during the press briefing.
NCBA has said that while some policies will change and there will be “some level” of integration for staff as well as new products, but there is no planned rebrand. In addition to cash and equity in a 20/80 split, the deal will see Nedbank appoint at least two board members to the NCBA board, and NCBA’s current shareholders appoint one board member to Nedbank’s board.
If approved by regulators, the acquisition will place Nedbank at the forefront of increasing competition for a foothold in Nairobi by Nigerian and South African lenders, mainly through acquisitions as opposed to greenfield plays. Last August, FirstRand Bank, the biggest bank in Africa by market value, also disclosed plans to enter the Kenyan market.
On NCBA’s Future
The NCBA-Nedbank deal coincides with a time of rapid mergers and acquisitions in Kenya’s banking sector, partially fuelled by looming increases in core capital requirements and by extensive deal making across the continent’s financial architecture.
NCBA executives have said that the lender remains “open to [M&A] opportunities” in Kenya and the markets it operates in, in addition to long-term plans to expand into the DRC, Ethiopia, and other markets.
“If opportunities arose, we would consider it. We are open to inorganic opportunities in the countries where we still have a small footprint,” Gachora said.
But first, it would need to close the Nedbank deal, which requires approval from multiple regulators. “We don’t anticipate undue delays but we have accounted for the risk,” Gachora said.
According to NCBA, the deal will have a positive effect for its shareholders, including “diversifying the political and economic risks” and creating liquidity for shareholders.
*This article has been updated to include Standard Bank's minority stake in Nedbank.
