Standard Bank Group is a top African bank by assets. Photo by James Wiseman on Unsplash.

Standard Bank Group, a top African bank by assets, is looking to buy a bank in Kenya by 2025 to expand operations, reported Bloomberg, citing East Africa regional CEO Patrick Mweheire.

Within two years, according to Mweheire, the company intends to expand Stanbic Holdings in Kenya through an acquisition.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

Stanbic is the Kenyan unit of Johannesburg-based Standard Bank.

Standard Bank owns 75% of Stanbic, which recorded a 26% increase in full-year net income in 2022 compared with the previous year.

With the acquisition, Standard Bank hopes to become the market leader by overtaking local rivals.

“We have aspirations to be a top three bank in Kenya,” Mweheire told the publication in an interview at Nairobi.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

“Number six is not acceptable. Within 12 months we would have identified and would have started having negotiations with someone,” he added.

Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, are among the five eastern African markets where Standard Bank has operations.

The lender has a representative office in Ethiopia, where the bank hopes to secure a full licence when the country allows foreign entities to invest in the banking industry.

According to the report, Ethiopia may authorise foreign lenders to own 30% of local banks.

Last November, Standard Bank CEO Sim Tshabalala told the publication that the bank is targeting Nigeria and Kenya for expansion.

At the time, Tshabalala said, “If there was an appropriately priced asset with acceptable risk, we would definitely look at acquiring.”