Kenya’s Competition Authority has confirmed approval of a deal in which Access Bank PLC has bought out 93.57% of the shares of Transnational Bank PLC.

Kenya’s  Transnational (TNBL), the 36th largest bank by assets, had a balance sheet of Kshs 10.23 billion ($100 million) at the end of 2018 comprising deposits of Kshs 8 billion and Kshs 6.6 billion of loans. During the year it lost Kshs 98 million, after making Kshs 53 million in 2017, a year in which interest income declined, following the passage of interest rate caps in Kenya.  Transnational is rarely in the news but is active in corporate banking, financing of agricultural ventures, and some sports sponsorships. It has 28 branches and 97,000 customers.

Access merged with Diamond Bank last year, becoming the largest bank in Nigeria, by market share through a push into digital banking. The takeover by Access, one of  the largest banks in West Africa, marks an expansion of its foot print in Eastern Africa which included D.R Congo and Rwanda. Access Bank is listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange.