Equity Bank customers queue for services at a branch in Nairobi. The lender has acquired a second DR Congo bank. FILE PHOTO | NMG The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed lender last week teamed up with the World Bank Group to complete the acquisition of majority stakes in BCDC, the country’s second-largest bank.
The EastAfrican has learnt that as part of the deal, the IFC will be acquiring the Congolese government’s 25 percent shareholding in BCDC.
Equity already had a foothold in the DRC through Equity Bank Congo, re-named after the acquisition of 86 percent shareholding of ProCredit Bank between 2015 and 2017.
Equity Group Holdings Ltd is set to become the Democratic Republic of Congo’s biggest foreign bank after completing its acquisition of BCDC — the country’s second-largest lender.
Equity Bank, which is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and cross-listed on the Uganda and Rwanda stockmarkets, already has a foothold in the DRC through Equity Bank Congo, re-named after the acquisition of 86 percent shareholding of ProCredit Bank between 2015 and 2017.
The combined BCDC and Equity Bank Congo balance sheets will give the lender a total assets base of $2 billion, only second to Rawbank, which had an asset base of $2.1 billion as at December last year.
ProCredit had German roots, while Banque Commerciale Du Congo (BCDC) was majority-owned by a Belgian family.
“We have been very lucky to have acquired two strong European banks in DRC — ProCredit and BCDC. These banks were developed using European standards and supervised by European regulators. BCDC is listed in Belgium. We have denied competition any easy entry into that market, so competition will be very low for us because we shall be competing against indigenous family banks,” said Equity Group CEO James Mwangi in an interview.
Equity Bank, which is Kenya’s second-largest lender by profitability, last week completed the acquisition of a 66.53 per cent stake in BCDC, at a cost of $95 million.
BCDC was majority-owned by Belgian entrepreneur, George Arthur Forrest and family (66.53 per cent) and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (25.53 per cent), while the remaining 7.94 per cent shares are owned by other minority shareholders. BCDC bank in DR Congo. The lender is the second-largest in the DRC with about 29 branches across the country including key cities Kinshasa, Goma, and Lubumbashi. FILE PHOTO | CYRIL NDEGEYA | NMG Equity Group last year increased its shareholding […]
