Customers outside a chase bank branch when it was placed in receivership in 2016 (photo/capitalfm.co.ke)
Depositors at Chase Bank will soon be a happy lot after the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) accepted Mauritian lender SBM Holding to acquire the troubled bank.
Central Bank of Kenya and the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) said they had accepted the binding offer from SBM Holdings to purchase Chase Bank (Kenya) Limited which is in Receivership (CBLR).
The offer by SBM holdings include acquisition of the banks assets and liabilities.
The offer will soon be operationalized and among other things pay 75% of depositors cash.
“The offer still needs to be executed and operationalised, and it is expected that this transaction will inter alia ensure the transfer of 75 percent of the value of deposits currently under suspension and the transfer of staff and branches of the existing CBLR operations,” CBK said in a statement.
Depositors who are not restricted to withdrawal ( depositors upto sh 1m) will still continue with full access to their cash.
“Non-moratorium depositors will continue to have full unrestricted access to their funds".
SBM is the financial services company in Mauritius and the 2nd largest company in the stock exchange market of the island. It grown to international level with branches in Madagascar, India and Kenya through shareholding in fibelity bank.
CBk and KDIC are set to meet depositors in on Thursday to deliberate the issues.
" CBK and KDIC plan to meet CBLR depositors on Wednesday, 10th and Thursday, 11th January 2018,” the statement said.