CBA concludes take over of Crane Bank Rwanda

Crane Bank Rwanda has officially been acquired by Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) at an undisclosed amount. The deal, which was closed Wednesday and made public yesterday, saw the Kenyan bank acquire 100 per cent stake of Crane Bank Rwanda Limited, from DFCU Bank Limited based in Uganda. The deal is however subject to regulatory approval by regulators National Bank of Rwanda (BNR), Bank of Uganda (BoU) and Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) as well as other relevant capital markets regulatory authorities. In a statement, Isaac Awuondo Group Managing Director of CBA said that the move reflects their plans to expand further into the Rwandan market and continue to penetrate the region. “The acquisition signals CBA’s strategic intentions to expand its existing business operations in Rwanda and participate meaningfully in Rwanda’s economic growth agenda by providing the full spectrum of financial services to this market,” he said. CBA entered the Rwandan market in January this year operating as a micro-finance institution. The bank partnered with telecom service provider MTN-Rwanda to roll out a mobile telephone-linked banking product, MoKash. According to Derrick Ouma, a top official at CBA, the bank will run their two entities separately for the time being until the completion of the post-acquisition processes. He said that the two banks will be under the parent company based in Nairobi, Kenya. In regards to the branding, he said that the new asset would keep its name for the time being but there are chances of a merger in future. CBA Rwanda is registered as a micro-finance bank and will remain so for the time being according to officials as the new asset will be run as separately. Commenting on the implication of the acquisition to staff of the bank, he said that they will not be affected at the moment considering that the bank was still operational. However, as the new owners restructure the bank to make it fit for purpose and more profitable, he said that there was a chance of normal staff restructuring. The acquisition by CBA could see Crane Bank Rwanda adopt technology in its expansion and penetration of the Rwandan market. This is largely due to the fact that its new owner has largely been dependent on technology for growth and expansion across the region.

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CBA concludes take over of Crane Bank Rwanda