Faida and RSM Ashvir win Unaitas restructuring deal

Financial services firm Unaitas’ plan to convert into a fully-fledged bank and list on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has moved a notch up after it appointed a team to restructure its capital and business.

Chief executive Tony Mwangi said the board had appointed Bob Karina’s Faida Investment Bank to spearhead the Sacco’s planned conversion into a bank.

“The tendering process is complete and we have appointed Faida Investment Bank as the lead transaction advisor,” Mr Mwangi told the Business Daily.

Law firm Mboya, Wangong’u & Waiyaki is the legal advisor while RSM Ashvir is the reporting accountant.

Unaitas invited bids from transaction advisors in April to help it restructure its capital base and list at the NSE. Both events are expected to take place within the next four years and are part of the Sacco’s 2014-2018 strategic plan which was launched in May.

Unaitas has already managed to surpass the Sh1 billion minimum capital requirement set by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the industry regulator. Investment shares alone have hit Sh1 billion, besides reserves.

Grow customer numbers

The Sacco has some 150,000 members, 18 branches in five counties and over Sh6 billion in assets.

The five-year plan targets to grow customer numbers by more than four times to 650,000, spread in other counties in addition to Nairobi, Murang’a, Machakos, Kajiado and Nakuru where it currently operates.

Apart from taking deposits and issuing short and long-term financing, Unaitas offers a wide range of insurance brokerage services. Last year the Sacco paid shareholders Sh0.90 for every Sh10 share.

Data from the CBK and FSD Kenya show that despite the rapid growth of banks and Saccos targeting the mass market, there is still room for expansion.

The FinAccess 2013 survey, authored by the two, found that while 66.7 per cent of adults accessed financial services from formal financial institutions, less than half (32.7 per cent) of respondents still accessed similar services from regulated and formal institution.

Counties furthest from Nairobi also had the least access which acts as an incentive for county expansion.

“Nairobi region has the highest proportion of adults (54.7 per cent) with formal prudential access, while Western region has the least (22.4 per cent).,” said the survey.

Unaitas, like Equity Bank, was born in Murang’a County and its shareholders are keen to follow in the footsteps of the indigenous.

Restructuring of the shareholding of a cooperative sector-based institution is a complex affair however as proved by Cooperative Bank listing at the NSE.

Unaitas this year moved its headquarters to Cardinal Otunga building in Nairobi from Murang’a.