Banque Populaire du Rwanda Now A Part Of KCB

The Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group has successfully completed the acquisition of Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR) from London-listed financial services firm Atlas Mara Limited.

KCB Group chief executive Joshua Oigara said the lender has secured regulatory approvals in Kenya and Rwanda for the deal which makes KCB Group the majority shareholder in BPR.

“The completion of the transaction in Rwanda will give the group a stronger edge in deepening the ongoing strategy to scale regional presence,” he said. “The plan is to eventually create one banking entity in Rwanda to be named BPR Bank by merging KCB Bank Rwanda and BPR.”

The acquisition is set to give KCB a larger footprint in retail banking in Rwanda, building on its existing corporate business that has been the strength of KCB Bank Rwanda. It will merge the new acquisition with its subsidiary KCB Bank Rwanda and rename the combined entity as BPR Bank.

It is not shocking that Kenyan lenders are forced to look outside of the country’s borders for growth following the high rate of financial inclusion and digital banking experienced in the country.

This KCB deal comes just months after Equity Group called off its plan to acquire four banking subsidiaries in Rwanda, Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique, in a move to preserve its capital in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.