State Bank of Mauritius Holdings (SBM) has made a non-binding offer for the acquisition of some of the assets and liabilities of Kenya’s Chase Bank (CBLR).
The offer was supported by the depositors and shareholders of the Kenyan bank, which was put under receivership by the country’s central bank due to liquidity problems in April 2016.
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Kenya Deposit Insurance (KDIC) was appointed as receiver of the bank.
“Whilst the non-binding offer is still subject to confirmatory due diligence and a binding contract, it is expected that this transaction will inter alia ensure a substantial recovery for depositors currently under moratorium and a transfer of a substantial number of staff and branches of the existing CBLR operations. Non-moratorium depositors will continue to have full unrestricted access to their funds,” the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) said in a statement.
CBK added that the offer “represents a viable proposal for the substantial resolution of CBLR, for the benefit of depositors and the strengthening of the Kenyan financial sector.”
SBM, with a market capitalisation of around $700m, manages over $5bn in assets. The bank agreed to acquire Kenya’s Fidelity Commercial Bank last year and said that it will infuse KES1.45bn of fresh capital into Fidelity.
The deal, if materialised, is expected to close by the end of this year.
