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Standard Bank Group’s Kenyan unit, Stanbic Holdings Plc, is in talks to acquire NCBA Group Plc in a transaction that would create Kenya’s third-largest lender with assets of about KSh 1.1 trillion, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports.
- •Standard Bank Group, Africa’s largest bank by assets and owns 75% of Stanbic Holdings Plc, has previously said it was targeting an acquisition in Kenya by 2025 to boost its regional presence.
- •The combined balance sheet of Stanbic Holdings and NCBA would trail only Equity Group Holdings and KCB Group, a renewed wave of consolidation encouraged by regulators seeking stronger, better-capitalised lenders.
- •The deal, if completed, would mark Standard Bank’s biggest expansion into East Africa’s banking market and reshape Kenya’s financial sector hierarchy.
Standard Bank’s Expansion Strategy
In an earlier 2023 interview, regional chief executive Patrick Mweheire said the bank’s strategy was to identify a partner that would help elevate Stanbic into Kenya’s top tier.
NCBA, currently valued at about KSh114 billion, has seen its share price rise more than 40% over the past year. The lender reported assets of KSh656 billion and customer deposits of KSh496 billion as of the first quarter of 2025. Stanbic’s assets stood at about KSh774 billion in the same period, giving the merged entity an estimated combined asset base of roughly KSh1.1 trillion.
If concluded, the transaction would strengthen Standard Bank’s footprint across East Africa, where the group already operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Ethiopia.
For NCBA, which has recently expanded its digital banking and insurance businesses, the merger could provide larger regional scale and capital flexibility.
Market Impact and Regulatory Context
Kenya’s banking sector, which includes around 40 commercial banks, has been under pressure to consolidate amid tougher capital rules and slower credit growth. A merger between Stanbic and NCBA would be the largest since the 2019 combination of NIC Bank and CBA Group that created NCBA.
Neither NCBA Chief Executive John Gachora nor Stanbic Kenya CEO Joshua Oigara responded to Bloomberg’s requests for comment. Standard Bank said any announcements would be made through official regulatory channels.
NCBA surged 9.7% to KSh76.25 on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, a new all-time high, after reports of merger talks with Stanbic Holdings that could create Kenya’s third-largest bank with KSh1.1 trillion in assets.
Bloomberg first reported the discussions on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources briefed on the matter.