Spire Bank, formerly known as Equatorial Commercial Bank (ECB), is a

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with cor ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, the largest economy in the

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Burundi, ...

. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

and national banking regulator.

Overview

The bank is a medium-sized financial institution in Kenya, serving corporate clients,

small and medium enterprises Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by international organizations such as the World Bank ...

and individuals. , the bank's total assets were valued at about KSh.15.562 billion/= (US$180 million), with shareholders' equity valued at about KSh.1.371 billion/= (US$16 million). At that time, the bank was ranked number 27, by assets, out of 43 banks licensed in Kenya. The company has a 20% investment in ''Equatorial Investment Bank Limited'' and 23.86% in ''Fidelity Shield Insurance Company Limited'' which have been accounted for as associate companies in the consolidated financial statements.

History

Established as an Equatorial Finance Company in 1983, Due to change in regulation, Equatorial Finance Company was converted to Equatorial Commercial Bank Limited and commenced operations as a fully-fledged commercial bank in June 1995. In June 2010 Equatorial Commercial Bank (ECB) merged with ''Southern Credit Banking Corporation (SCBC)'', creating a new enlarged bank under the Equatorial Commercial Bank brand. The Merger was aimed at enabling the banks meet the Central Bank of Kenya requirement for commercial banks shore up their core capital to at least KSh.1 billion/= (approximately US$12 million). The Equatorial Commercial Bank - Southern Credit Banking Corporation merger transaction was structured in the following four interlinked phases: # ECB implemented a KSh.264 million/= (approximately US$3.1 million) rights issue to increase its authorized and issued share capital in order to meet the capital adequacy requirements of the merged bank. # By way of a

share swap In corporate finance a stock swap is the exchange of one equity-based asset for another, where, during the merger or acquisition, the swap provides an opportunity to pay with stock rather than with cash; see . Overview The acquiring company ...

agreement, ECB acquired the full shareholding in SCBC, in exchange for its own shares thereby making SCBC a wholly owned subsidiary of ECB. SCBC shareholders received 11.25% of the issued share capital of ECB. # ECB (now the

parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

) and SCBC (the

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

) then executed an Asset and Portfolio (Business) Agreement to transfer all of ECB's banking business, assets and liabilities to SCBC who paid a fair consideration through the creation of new shares. # SCBC (the subsidiary) adopted the name Equatorial Commercial Bank Limited and retained the joint banking business while the former ECB (the parent) returned its banking licence to the Central Bank of Kenya for cancellation and changed its name to Equatorial Holding Limited to become a non-operating holding company of the merged bank. All future subsidiaries and associate companies would be held by Equatorial Holding Limited. The merger transaction consideration was entirely satisfied by the issue of shares and there was no cash transaction. In September 2014,

Mwalimu Cooperative Savings & Credit Society Limited Mwalimu Cooperative Savings and Credit Society Limited, also known as Mwalimu National Sacco Limited, but often referred to as Mwalimu Sacco, is a savings and credit co-operative society (Sacco) in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Co ...

, Kenya's largest

Sacco Sacco may refer to: * Sacco (clothing) (also Sakko), a type of jacket * Sacco (river), a river of central Italy * Sacco, Campania, a comune (municipality) in southern Italy * Sacco chair, by Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini, Franco Teodoro * Ospedal ...

by assets, made a bid to acquire 51% shareholding in Equatorial Commercial Bank in a deal valued at KSh.1.7 billion/= (approximately US$18 million). This move was in line with the strategic objective of the society of expanding business opportunities. The acquisition, was to enable the Sacco to collect deposits from beyond its membership, access funds at lower rates, venture into trade finance and offer its members ATM services. The deal was concluded at the end of 2014 and in 2015, the Sacco acquired another 24 percent shareholding, bringing its ownership to 75 percent. In July 2016, the bank was rebranded to Spire Bank.

Ownership

Prior to December 2014, ,

Naushad Merali Naushad N. Merali, CBS (2 January 1951 – 3 July 2021) was the founder of the Kenyan mobile service provider Kencell along with French media giant Vivendi.

Sameer Group The Sameer Group of Companies, commonly referred to as the Sameer Group, is a large conglomerate, based in Kenya, with operations and subsidiaries in neighboring African countries. Overview The group is involved in industries including: agricu ...

owned 85% of the bank's

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

, with other entities owning the remaining 15%. In order to comply with Central Bank of Kenya directives, the bank began exploring ways to sell shares to outside investors and reduce the shareholding of the largest individual shareholder to 25% or less. The shareholding in the bank stock, as at March 2016, is depicted in the table below: In December 2020,

The EastAfrican ''The EastAfrican'' is a weekly newspaper published in Kenya by the Nation Media Group, which also publishes Kenya's national '' Daily Nation''. The ''EastAfrican'' is circulated in Kenya and the other countries of the African Great Lakes T ...

reported that Mwalimu Sacco had concluded the acquisition of the 25 percent shareholding in Spire Bank, that the Sacco did not previously own. The price that Mwalimu paid was not immediately disclosed.

Branch network

, the bank operates a network of branches at the following locations: # Waiyaki Way Branch - Equatorial Fidelity Centre, Waiyaki Way,

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

# Chester House Branch - Ground Floor, Chester House, Koinange Street,

# Westlands Branch - Ground Floor, Westlands Mall, Westlands,

# Hurlingham Branch - Priory Place, Argwings Kodhek Road,

# Mombasa Road Branch - Sameer Business Park, Mombasa Road,

# Industrial Area Branch - Avon Centre, Enterprise Road,

# Moi Avenue Branch - Equatorial Commercial Bank Building, Moi Avenue,

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

# Nyali Branch - Nyali Cinemax Complex, Kongowea Road, Nyali # Kisumu Branch - Harley’s House, Oginga Odinga Street,

Kisumu Kisumu ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Kenya by population, third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victor ...

# Kakamega Branch - Jubilee Ironmongers Building, Canon Awori Road,

Kakamega Kakamega is a town in western Kenya lying about 30 km north of the Equator. It is the headquarters of Kakamega County that has a population of 1,867,579 (2019 census). Kakamega is 52 km north of Kisumu, the tenth largest city in Ken ...

# Eldoret Branch - Zion Mall, Uganda Road,

Eldoret Eldoret is a principal town in the Rift Valley region of Kenya and serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white settlers as Farm 64, 64 and colloquially by locals as 'Sisibo'. As per the 2019 Kenya Population ...

# Nakuru Branch - Apple House, Nakuru-Nairobi Highway,

Nakuru Nakuru is a city in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and was formerly the capital of Rift Valley Province. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban and rural population of 570,674 inhabitant ...

References

External links