Imperial Bank Limited commonly known as Imperial Bank, is a

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

in Kenya, the largest economy in the

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation in East Africa. The EAC's membership consists of eight states: Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, S ...

. It is one of the forty-three commercial banks licensed by the

Central Bank of Kenya The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) () is the monetary authority of Kenya. Its head office is located in Nairobi. CBK was founded by in 1966 after the dissolution of East African Currency Board (EACB). Dr. Kamau Thugge, CBS is the current Governor a ...

, the

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

and national banking regulator. On 13 October 2015, the Central Bank of Kenya placed Imperial Bank under the management and control of the state's

Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation is a statutory institution established under the Kenya Deposit Insurance Act, 2012 (KDI Act, 2012). The Corporation is mandated to provide a deposit insurance scheme for customers of member institutions, to pro ...

because of what the Central Bank termed as "unsafe and unsound business conditions" at the Bank. Separately, sources said an internal fraud scheme had occasioned the move. The Central Bank of Kenya had hoped that owners of Imperial Bank would inject cash into the institution but has recently lamented that the shareholders had failed to make good on their promise. Depositors of the troubled bank can now make their claims at any Central Bank of Kenya or

Diamond Trust Bank Group Diamond Trust Bank Group, in short DTB Group, is an African banking group active in Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The flagship company of the group, Diamond Trust Bank Kenya, is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the central bank and ...

branch and such claims will take three days to confirm their details before they are paid.

Overview

Imperial Bank is a medium-sized

retail bank Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a bank to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking (corporate ba ...

that caters to both individuals and corporate clients. , the bank's total asset base was valued at about US$498 million (KES:43 billion), with shareholders equity of approximately US$66.2 million (KES:5.719 billion). At that time, Imperial Bank Limited was ranked the 19th largest Kenyan commercial bank, by assets, out of forty-three licensed banks in the country.

History

Imperial Bank Limited was established in 1992 as a Finance and Securities Company. In 1996, the bank commenced commercial banking services, following the issuance of a banking license by the Central Bank of Kenya. In January 2011, the bank, in partnership with

Mukwano Group The Mukwano Group of Companies, commonly known as the Mukwano Group, is a conglomerate based in Uganda, with operations in other East African countries. Overview The group was established in 1986, although it did not start operations until 198 ...

, a

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

n business and manufacturing conglomerate, opened a subsidiary,

Imperial Bank Uganda Exim Bank (Uganda) (EBU), commonly known as Exim Bank, is a commercial bank in Uganda. It is one of the commercial banks licensed by the Bank of Uganda (BOU), the central bank and national banking regulator. EBU is a member of the Exim Bank Grou ...

, with headquarters at 6 Hannington Road, on Nakasero Hill, in the center of

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

's central business district.

Subsidiaries and Investments

The companies that comprise the Imperial Bank include the following: # Imperial Bank Kenya – Retail banking –

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

– 100% Shareholding – A commercial bank in Kenya, serving individuals and businesses, focusing mainly on large corporations. This is the flagship company of the group. #

–

Retail banking Retail banking, also known as consumer banking or personal banking, is the provision of services by a bank to the general public, rather than to companies, corporations or other banks, which are often described as wholesale banking (corporate ...

–

– 58.6% Shareholding – A commercial bank in Uganda.

Ownership

The

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

of the bank is privately held. The bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Imperial Securities Limited. The detailed shareholding in Imperial Securities Limited is as follows:

Branch network

, the bank maintained a network of branches at the following locations: # Head Office – Imperial Court, Westlands Road, Westlands,

# Westlands Branch – Imperial Court, Westlands Road, Westlands,

# Upper Hill Branch – Bunyala Road, Upper Hill,

# IPS Branch – IPS Building, 8th Floor, Kimathi Street,

# Parklands Branch – Regal Plaza, Ground Floor, Limuru Road, 6th Avenue, Parklands,

# Card Centre – Regal Plaza, Ground Floor, Limuru Road, Parklands,

# Highridge Branch – Masari Road, Parklands,

# Mombasa Branch – Imperial Bank Building, Kaunda Avenue,

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

# Diani Branch – Beach Road Next to Collier Centre,

Diani Diani may refer to: People * Djibril Diani (born 1998), French footballer * Glen Diani, Irish musician * Julie Diani, French academic * Kadidiatou Diani (born 1995), French footballer * Pietro Diani (died 1208), Italian cardinal Given nam ...

# Karen Branch – 1st Floor, Cross Roads Mall,

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding white woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand * House of Karen, a historic ...

# Malindi Branch – Galana Centre, Lamu Road,

Malindi Malindi is a town on Malindi Bay at the mouth of the Sabaki River, lying on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It is 120 kilometres northeast of Mombasa. The population of Malindi was 119,859 as of the 2019 census. It is the largest urban centr ...

# Watamu Branch – Tourist Road,

Watamu Watamu is a small town located approximately 105 km north of Mombasa and about 15 km south of Malindi on the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. It lies on a small headland, between the Blue Lagoon and Watamu Bay. Its main economic activities ...

# Thika Branch – Pushpa Plaza, Nkrumah Road,

Thika Thika () is an industrial town and commerce hub in Kiambu County, Kenya, lying on the A2 road , northeast of Nairobi, near the confluence of the Thika and Chania Rivers. Although Thika town is administratively in Kiambu County, the greater ...

# Eldoret Branch I – Imperial Court, Nairobi Road,

Eldoret Eldoret is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. Located in western Kenya and lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about at the Eldoret International Air ...

# Kilifi Branch – Kilifi Arcade, Biashara Street,

Kilifi Kilifi is a town on the coast of Kenya, northeast of Mombasa by road. The town lies on the Kilifi Creek and sits on the estuary of the Goshi River. Kilifi is the capital of Kilifi County and had a population of 122,899 during the 2009 census. ...

# Industrial Area Branch – Bamburi Road, off Enterprise Road,

# Village Market Branch – Village Market, Limuru Road,

Gigiri Gigiri is a residential estate in Nairobi. It is home to Kenya's large expatriate community. It is one of the largest expat communities in Africa. Gigiri hosts: *United Nations Office at Nairobi making Nairobi the only African city to host severa ...

# Riverside Branch – Riverside Green Suite, 1st Floor, Riverside Drive,

# Likoni Branch – Nova Holdings Complex, Nyerere Avenue,

# Haile Selassie Branch – Blueroom Building, Haile Selassie Road,

# Bamburi Branch – City Mall, 1st Floor,

Bamburi Bamburi'' (), from the local bantu words "Ba" (People) and "Mburi" (Goat), is a commercial, industrial and local electoral, administrative and a tourist and residential area on the Kenyan north-coast which extends from the coastline on the Indi ...

# Changamwe Branch – Rhino Properties Refinery Place,

# Junction Branch – Junction Mall, Fourth Floor, Ngong Road,

# Nakuru Branch – Ground Floor, Westside Mall,

Nakuru Nakuru (nicknamed Nax) is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and it is the fourth largest city in Kenya and the largest in the Rift Valley region. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban population of 570, ...

# Greenspan Branch – Manyanja Road, Off Outering Road,

# Eldoret Branch II – Laboso House, Kenyatta Street,

# Nyali Cinemax Branch – Nyali Cinemax,

. # Westgate Mall Branch-Nairobi # GardenCity Mall Branch – Thika Road # Lunga Lunga Branch – Industrial Area, Nairobi

Governance

Alnashir Popat, a non-executive director of the bank, serves as the Chairman of the seven-member board of directors. Following the death of Abdulmalek Janmohamed in September 2015, Naeem Shah was named managing director, on an interim basis.

Recent Developments

On 21 June 2016, the Central Bank of Kenya appointed

NIC Bank NCBA Bank Kenya, whose full name is NCBA Bank Kenya Plc, is a commercial bank in Kenya. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the country's central bank and national banking regulator. Location The bank's headquarters are located at N ...

as asset and liabilities consultant for Imperial Bank (in receivership). Effectively, NIC Bank took over the responsibility of returning funds to the failed bank's deposit customers. The agreement also allows NIC to acquire some of the deposits, assets and liabilities of Imperial once its receiver manager the

starts liquidating the bank. On 11 January 2017, IBL Depositors Lobby Group (a collaboration of investors affected by the continuously delayed and fraudulent Imperial Bank receivership of October 2015, drafted an open letter to the

and

(responsible for the receivership mandate) requesting a final statement regarding the ruling from Millimani Law Courts dated 4 November 2016 stating that 40% of the outstanding funds can and should be paid out to the effected parties awaiting their dues. 24 March 2017,

extends the receivership for another 90 days expressing that the handlers of the receivership (

) require more time. 3 May 2017,

completes its process with assisting on the Imperial Bank Limited investigation and pay out structure.

References

External links

Website of Imperial Bank Limited

Website of Central Bank of Kenya

{{Nairobi Defunct banks of Kenya Banks established in 1993 Companies based in Nairobi Kenyan companies established in 1993