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Credit Bank, a Nairobi-based commercial bank partly owned by the family of the late Kenyan politician and businessman Simeon Nyachae, has unveiled its intention to make its shares available for public trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) by the close of 2023.
Under the leadership of Kenyan businesswoman Grace Nyachae, the bank’s move to go public this year stands as a pivotal step in line with its strategy to generate a minimum of Ksh1 billion ($6.9 million) in capital from the public. This marks the first entry on the exchange’s main segment in nearly a decade since the NSE’s self-listing in July 2014.
Grace Nyachae, a longstanding director of the bank, conveyed that current shareholders remain unfazed by the timing decision, even considering the ongoing downturn within the exchange that has impacted the valuations of listed banks.
“There isn’t a perfectly timed moment for entering the market. Over the past eight years, the bank’s shareholder equity has surged from Ksh1.4 billion ($9.65 million) in 2015 to Ksh4.0 billion ($27.5 million). Looking ahead, we aspire to secure an additional Ksh1 billion ($6.9 million) through this listing,” Grace Nyachae said.
The announcement of the planned listing comes after Shorecap III, LP, a Mauritius-based private equity fund, acquired a 20-percent stake in Credit Bank. This acquisition is a testament to strategic investors’ confidence in the bank’s future growth prospects, laying a solid foundation for its upcoming market debut.
As the largest stakeholder in Credit Bank, the family of the late politician Simeon Nyachae maintains a substantial 27.1-percent interest through the family’s holding company, Sansora Group of Companies.
Grace Nyachae, widow of Simeon Nyachae and a key figure in the country’s financial services industry, is a founding director of Credit Bank. With an 11-year tenure in the Civil Service and a wealth of experience in business management, particularly within the agricultural sector, she has been at the forefront of the bank’s growth trajectory.
The planned listing is a testament to Credit Bank’s evolving strategy under Grace Nyachae’s leadership, its growing shareholder equity, and the transformative potential that has attracted strategic investment despite the current market challenges.
