Chase Bank branch along Mama Ngina drive in Nairobi. [ photo / Nairobi News.]
The planned acquisition of Chase Bank by a Mauritius bank SBM holdings will now be completed by the end of the year according Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge.
Njoroge said that despite the delays brought by prolonged electioneering period, the transaction process is still in play and is set to be concluded on December.
“They are on the job and we still expect this to come into fruition as we had expected before, which is long before the end of December,”“Nothing has changed in that area except for a delay in starting their work because of the various constraints that all of us were under in the last month or so .” said CBK governor Patrick Njoroge on Friday in a statement.
The latest announcement comes barely a month after the lender provided a non binding offer that includes acquisition of certain assets and matched liabilities from Chase Bank to CBK and the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation.
CBK and KDIC reviewed the offer from SBM and 11 other suitors interested in the deal but it later emerged that SBM was the best due to its lucrative offer in substantial resolution of Chase Bank, which is under receivership.
SBM, which also occupies other 10 branches in Kenya , will now be expected to shift focus on the elimination of overlaps between its existing branch networks and that of Chase Bank through an integration plan.
SBM will also be expected absorb a significant number of employees working at the 62 branches of Chase Bank country wide.
However the specific chosen investors will continue working on the Imperial Bank's proposal report towards the submission deadline of January 2018.