Corporate News
I&M moves into Tanzania for a regional footprint
I&M Bank customers at the Kenyatta Avenue branch in Nairobi. The bank plans to take advantage of the EAC common market and open business across East Africa. Fredrick Onyango
Posted Monday, January 25 2010 at 19:06
“CF Union Bank fitted into our criteria with a clean balance sheet and size manageable for I&M Bank,” said Mr Suprio Sengupta, I&M’s general manager.
The balance sheet of CF Union Bank stood at Sh4.7 billion in December 31, which pales compared to I&M’s assets of Sh42 billion in 2008.
I&M Bank will also have to contend with premium buyout prices that have made it difficult for local banks to match the asking prices, especially in Rwanda where increased acquisition interest by pan African banks, especially from oil rich West Africa, has ramped up the asking prices.
Since its conversion to a fully- fledged bank in 1996, I&M bank has been on the expansion trail, a move that has seen its profits grow from Sh345 million in 2005 to Sh1.1 billion in 2008.
Locally, the bank has 13 branches and is set to open four more in quarter one as it seeks to grow its share of the lending market, which stood at 3.8 per cent, besides growing its ATM network.
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