Commercial banks are willing to offer loans to potential investors interested in buying Bank of Kigali shares during its Initial Public Offer, due to be launched by the end of this month.

BK, Rwanda’s largest bank by asset base and profitability, is set to sell 45 percent of its shares to the public in the country’s second local IPO.

The loan packages are aimed at facilitating the public to buy BK shares.

According to BK’s Chief Operating Officer, the bank has been encouraging its customers to save to enable them buy the shares.

Gloria Nyambok, the Head of Business at the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group, told Business Times that the bank will facilitate its clients to access loans to buy BK’s shares.

"KCB Rwanda will finance 80 percent and a client will contribute the remaining 20 percent of any loan deal,” Nyambok explained.

She added that the loan will be reimbursed during a maximum term of three years.

Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR)’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Herman Klaassen said the bank is yet to decide whether to facilitate its clients.

FINA Bank’s Boss, Rao G. Balivada, disclosed that only four banks are authorised to facilitate their clients with loans for the I.P.O and his bank is amongst them.

"We haven’t finalised the terms and conditions of the loans but the bank decided that instead of giving large loans to a few individuals, we want to give less but to many clients,” Balivada said, adding that, the bank opts to give Rwf 10-11 million per client to facilitate a huge number.  

During his budget speech in Parliament on Wednesday, the Minister of Finance, John Rwangombwa, said that government expects to earn Rwf25 billion from the sale of some of its shares in BK and telecom firm, MTN Rwanda.

The launch of BK IPO will be announced when it is approved by the Capital Market Advisory Council (CMAC) and Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE).

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