Dyer & Blair Investment Bank chairman and acting CEO Jimnah Mbaru. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Mr Mbaru takes over as chief executive in an acting capacity after the exit of Paul Orem and his deputy Paul Nyaga.
Dyer & Blair was vague on the reason behind the exit of Mr Orem only saying he had decided to voluntarily step aside.
Mr Orem told the Business Daily that he has opted to pursue personal business interests while Mr Nyaga declined to comment on the double exit.
Sources told the Business Daily the former deputy chief executive is headed to KCB’s brokerage business.
Veteran investment banker Jimnah Mbaru, 68, is back at the helm of his majority-owned Dyer & Blair brokerage house, plugging the gap left by the exit of top managers.
The billionaire investor, who is the chairman of Dyer & Blair Investment Bank, will take over as chief executive in an acting capacity after the exit of Paul Orem and his deputy Paul Nyaga. The latter was head-hunted from Renaissance Capital late 2012.
Mr Mbaru has been the chairman of Dyer & Blair since 1983 when local shareholders bought the firm from KCB Group.
Dyer & Blair was vague on the reason behind the exit of Mr Orem only saying he had decided to voluntarily step aside.
The firm, a leader in fixed income segment, in June lost its market share for bond trades, which fell to 0.7 per cent compared to 22 per cent in May while insignificant trades were recorded in July. The share of equities trade has also shrunk over the past one year.
“The move comes after the immediate former CEO Paul Orem, who has served the company since his appointment in May 2011, voluntarily chose to step down and continue serving as a director and adviser of Dyer & Blair,” said the firm in a statement.
Mr Orem told the Business Daily that he has opted to pursue personal business interests while Mr Nyaga declined to comment on the double exit.
Dyer & Blair, however, said Mr Nyaga has joined a brokerage owned by a bank. Sources told the Business Daily the former deputy chief executive is headed to KCB’s brokerage business.
Dyer & Blair did not indicate when the two positions would be filled only saying its priority would be to increasing its business into virgin territories.
“We will in the short term continue with our focus in strengthening our regional presence via expansion into new markets,” said Mr Mbaru.
The exit of the two senior executives adds to the list of top talent that have left the bank. It includes Norris Kibe and Gibson Wachaga, two experienced bond dealers recently poached by Faida Investment Bank.
There is an industry-wide battle for talent in stockbrokerage and investment banking fraternity. Much sought-after are brokers, analysts and transaction advisers with commercial banks emerging as major recruiters.
KCB and Equity Bank are some of the large lenders aggressively growing their investment banking units in pursuit of a share of commissions from bond and share trading as well as advisory income.
Equity became the second largest dealer in the first six months of the year buoyed by huge deals pertaining to the parent company’s share transactions.
KCB has identified its brokerage business as one of the strategies to increase its customer base to 10 million from seven million.
“This (increasing customer numbers) will also be achieved through our race to a million homes through an affordable mortgage proposition, an integrated product/service offering on bancassurance, investment banking and brokerage services, while pushing up mobile transactions and digital payments,” said KCB chief executive Joshua Oigara when releasing half-year results.
Introduction of real estate investment trusts, exchange traded funds and other securities is expected to create more revenue streams in the industry.
More advisory fees are in the offing due to the massive capital raising required for the massive infrastructure projects that are coming up.
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