Family Bank CEO Peter Munyiri to end five-year tenure in June

Family Bank has announced the impending exit of chief executive Peter Munyiri in June, marking the end of a five-year tenure at the mid-tier lender for the career banker.

The bank announced Thursday that Mr Munyiri, who took the position in 2011, has given notice of his intention to leave in June, when his current contract expires.

Board chairman Wilfred Kiboro said the bank was grateful to Mr Munyiri for his leadership which saw the lender grow its profit five-fold.

“We will embark on the process of choosing a successor over the next six months who will guide the bank further in this ambitious growth trajectory,” said Mr Kiboro in a statement.

“Mr Munyiri has for the past five years spearheaded a major successful transformation of the Bank, realising unprecedented financial performance,” he added.

Family Bank had reported a net profit of Sh391 million in the year to December 2010 when Mr Munyiri took the helm, while its assets stood at Sh20.2 billion.

The bank at the time had approximately 54 branches, deposits stood at Sh15.7 billion while loans and advances to customers were Sh10.2 billion.

Family Bank closed the financial year to December 2014 with a net profit of Sh1.8 billion, while total assets grew 42 per cent year-on-year to close the period at Sh61.8 billion.

The lender posted a net profit of Sh1.8 billion in the nine months to September 2015 compared to Sh1.36 billion posted during a similar period the previous year, a jump attributed to increased lending.

By the close of 2015 the assets had quadrupled to Sh82 billion in the five years, while profit before tax soared to more than Sh3 billion, the lender said Thursday.

By September, the tier two lender had deposits of Sh63.5 billion, 87 branches and Sh52.8 billion in loans and advances.

Its focus is mainly on small and medium enterprise lending and personal loans.

“The five years accorded and the support from our board of directors has enabled my management team to meet the ambitious targets set by our shareholders,” said Mr Munyiri in the statement.

“We have demonstrable proof what an indigenous bank can achieve within a short period backed by solid principles and guidance.”

Mr Munyiri has previously worked at several banks including Co-operative Bank, Standard Charted Bank and Barclays Bank of Kenya.
He had risen to the position of deputy chief executive at KCB Group before moving to Family Bank.

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One of the lowest moments of his tenure, however, was the bank’s association with a Sh791 million theft at the National Youth Service, which prompted the sacking of nine employees.

Some of the outgoing CEO’s latest accomplishment at Family Bank happened last month when the lender launched an insurance agency, seeking to boost profitability.

The lender’s new entity, called Family Bank Insurance Agency, is signed up with 12 insurance companies to offer both life and general insurance products.

The bank recently received a Sh1 billion loan from Netherlands-based Oikocredit for lending to small and medium-sized businesses at a time when its loan book posted a 39 per cent growth in the nine months to September.

Family Bank’s recently raised Sh2 billion from the local market through a bond issue that is already trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.