Access Bank Kenya (ABK), whose complete name is Access Bank (Kenya) PLC, formerly Transnational Bank Kenya PLC, 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. It is licensed and regulated 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 national banking regulator.

History

TNB was established as a

non-bank financial institution A non-banking financial institution (NBFI) or non-bank financial company (NBFC) is a financial institution that is not legally a bank; it does not have a full banking license or is not supervised by a national or international banking regulator ...

(NBFI) in 1984, under the name Transnational Finance Company (TNFC). TNFC provided loans, including lease-purchase arrangements to depositors and non-depositors. In 1985, following the issuance of a commercial banking license by the

, the national banking regulator, the company began banking operations under its current name in

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 ...

and

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 ...

. At first other locations in the country continued to operate as TNFC offices. Between 1985 and 1996, all TNFC activities were merged with TNB and the TNFC brand was closed. The bank has one subsidiary; TNB Forex Bureau, located at

Moi International Airport Moi International Airport is an international airport in Mombasa, the second-largest city in Kenya. In 2020, the airport was heralded as the "Best Airport in Africa" (with under 2 million passengers annually) by Airports Council International ...

in Mombasa. The bank is also affiliated with

Western Union The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the co ...

, the

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

n International money-transfer service. In 2009, TNB introduced Internet banking and mobile banking through mobile telephones.

Overview

The bank is a medium-sized commercial bank in

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. ...

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

's largest economy. , its assets were valued at about US$105.84 million (KES:10.53 billion), with shareholders' equity of about US$20.43 million (KES:2.033 billion).

Branch network

The bank maintained 17 networked branches in Kenya, as of December 2013.

Ownership

The shares of

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 Transnational Bank are privately held by

n institutions and individuals. , the major shareholders in the bank were as depicted in the table below:

Acquisition

On 31 October 2019 the

Business Daily Africa ''Business Daily Africa'', commonly known as ''Business Daily'', is an English-language daily business newspaper published in Kenya. The newspaper is published by Nation Media Group from its headquarters at Nation Centre on Kimathi Street in Nair ...

newspaper reported that Access Bank Nigeria, had received regulatory approval from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) to acquire 93.57 percent in Transnational Bank of Kenya. The transaction had yet to receive the approval of the

, as of October 2019. In January 2020, the Central Bank of Kenya gave approval for

Access Bank Group Access Bank Group is a financial services conglomerate, headquartered in Nigeria, with subsidiaries in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, The Gambia, Guinea, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Malta, ...

to acquire up to 100 percent shareholding in Transnational Bank. In August 2020, the take-over was consummated after the new owners paid KES:1.4 billion (approx. US$13 million) to buy-out the previous shareholders. The bank re-branded to Access Bank (Kenya) PLC.

Aborted merger

When the deal by Access Bank Group to acquire

Sidian Bank Sidian Bank, formerly known as K-Rep Bank, is a commercial bank in Kenya, licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the national banking regulator. Location The headquarters of Sidian Bank are located at K-Rep Centre, on Wood Avenue, in Kilimani ...

is concluded, it is expected that the new acquisition will be merged into Access Bank Kenya. When that happens, the combined bank is expected to have assets valued at over KSh57.1 billion (approx. US$492 million), with loans totaling KSh26.6 billion (approx. US$229 million). The deal requires regulatory approval in Kenya and Nigeria. In January 2023, Centum Investment Company Plc. called off the planned sale of the 83.4 percent shareholding that it owns in Sidian Bank to Access Bank Group. The time allocated to negotiations lapsed before agreement could be reached.

References

{{Nairobi Banks of Kenya Banks established in 1984 1984 establishments in Kenya Companies based in Nairobi Access Bank Group