NCBA Group valuation at the Nairobi bourse has increased by Sh22.65 billion in three days, amid news that the lender is the acquisition target of South Africa’s Standard Bank Group.
The lender closed on Thursday valued at Sh137.16 billion compared with Sh114.5 billion on Monday —before the news which Standard Bank has neither confirmed or denied. The multinational said it cannot comment on “market speculation.”
The share price hit a new record high of Sh83.25 yesterday compared to Monday’s Sh69.50, signalling the sustained investor appetite in the share, despite Standard Bank’s stance.
Bloomberg News reported Tuesday that Standard Bank has authorised its local subsidiary, Stanbic Holdings, to engage NCBA with a goal of concluding the proposed deal in a matter of months.
NCBA’s major shareholders include the families of Uhuru Kenyatta, Philip Ndegwa, alongside institutional and public investors.
The Ndegwa family holds 14.94 percent stake through First Chartered Securities Limited while the Kenyattas hold 13.2 percent through Enke Investments Limited, meaning they have gained Sh3.38 billion and Sh2.98 billion, respectively in the three-day rally.
The potential merger of Stanbic, whose assets stood at Sh473.72 billion as at June, with NCBA that held Sh689.07 billion, would potentially leapfrog Co-operative Bank of Kenya into the third position.
At the end of June, NCBA was the fourth largest in terms of assets while Stanbic was eighth —sandwiched between Absa Bank Kenya (Sh531.58 billion) and Standard Chartered Bank Kenya (Sh372.09 billion).
For customers, the deal could mean access to wider digital services and a stronger capital base while renewing pressure for competitors to find new efficiencies or partnerships.
Stanbic had 310,000 customers and 30 branches by the end of June 2025, compared with NCBA that had 121 branches serving 415,000 customers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.
NCBA Group is a product of the 2019 merger between Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) and NIC to achieve scale and strength. CBA brought digital strength and retail reach through platforms like M-Shwari, while NIC contributed corporate banking and asset finance expertise.
The complex integration, which required years of cultural alignment, staff restructuring and harmonisation of systems, has helped NCBA deliver increased profits and expand regionally.
A takeover by Standard Bank would hand the South African giant digital infrastructure and retail network to complement Stanbic’s corporate banking base.
The Ndegwas and Kenyattas support will be critical in the success of the proposed transaction.
The Central Bank of Kenya has been urging the industry to embrace mergers that create fewer and stronger banks. This has fuelled mega deals over the past decade in a race to build scale, cut costs and invest in technology under increasingly stringent regulatory and capital rules.
