Access Bank Secures Final Approval to Acquire National Bank of Kenya

Access Bank has received final regulatory approval to acquire 100% of National Bank of Kenya Limited (NBK) from KCB Group Plc.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) confirmed the green light in an official statement released on its X (formerly Twitter) page on Monday. This milestone comes over a year after Access Bank first announced its intention to purchase the Kenyan lender.

According to the CBK, the transaction was approved on April 4, 2025, under Section 13(4) of the Banking Act. As part of the deal, certain assets and liabilities of NBK will also be transferred to KCB Bank Kenya Limited, a move further endorsed by Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for The National Treasury and Economic Planning on April 10, 2025.

“The acquisition and transfer shall take effect upon completion of the transaction by the terms of the agreement between the parties,” the CBK said in its statement.

Originally established in 1968 as a government-owned bank aimed at expanding access to credit for Kenyans after independence, NBK became a fully owned subsidiary of KCB Group in 2019. NBK also owns NBK Bancassurance Intermediary Limited.

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KCB Bank Kenya, the current parent company of NBK, is itself a subsidiary of KCB Group Plc—a Kenyan-based financial holding company with a wide presence across East Africa, including Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as a representative office in Ethiopia.

This acquisition marks Access Bank’s second entry into the Kenyan banking sector, following its 2019 takeover of Transnational Bank Ltd. The Nigerian banking giant says the deal aligns with its long-term strategy to expand its footprint across key African markets.