The Cooperative Bank board of directors has approved the progression of discussions with Jamii Bora Bank which will lead to Cooperative Bank acquiring 100{d59e984f9fbc5c09e4ab0305e27bfa5819922b7230cd324f89a660f78358ca33} shareholding in Jamii Bora Bank Limited.
In a cautionary announcement, Cooperative Bank said the acquisition will strengthen both banks leveraging on their respective well established domestic and regional corporate public sector, retail business and the 15 million member cooperative movement.
Mergers and Acquisitions are considered beneficial in any economy in creating more resilient and competitive institutions. Following the move to acquire the 350,000 customers of the 17 branches under Jamii Bora Bank which has an asset base of Ksh 12.5 billion , Cooperative bank has now been touted as a strong case study of a strategic business turn-around after posting a Ksh 2.3 billion loss in 2001, to now being one of the the largest banks in the region with an asset base of over Ksh 450 billion. Jamii Bora Bank is expected to leverage on this technical expertise as well.
And with a successful universal banking model leveraging on the 15 million member Cooperative movement, with a predominant 64.5{d59e984f9fbc5c09e4ab0305e27bfa5819922b7230cd324f89a660f78358ca33} ownership of the bank , the acquisition will give Coop bank the opportunity to create a niche bank to offer specialized credit offerings including MSME Banking, Microfinance, Youth and women Banking, Asset Finance and Leasing
Cooperative bank has chosen a strategy of increased dominance in the Domain Market Segment in Kenya giving it the opportunity to cross sell and deepen product offering to the enhanced customer base.