South Africa’s Nedbank Completes USD 855 Million Acquisition of 66% of Kenya’s NCBA, Including Its Tanzania Bank

South Africa’s Nedbank Group (JSE: NED) has completed its NCBA acquisition, taking a 66% controlling stake in Kenya’s NCBA Group (NSE: NCBA), the parent company of NCBA Bank Tanzania.

NCBA announced the completion on 19 October 2026 after the ZAR 13.9 billion (± USD 855 million) transaction received the required regulatory approvals.

The deal makes NCBA a subsidiary of Nedbank while the remaining 34% of the issued shares stay with the public on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) had earlier exempted Nedbank from the requirement to extend a mandatory takeover offer for 100% of NCBA, allowing the partial acquisition of 66% to proceed.

NCBA will keep its brand, local leadership, Nairobi headquarters, and customer-facing operating model, with its products, branches, relationship teams, digital channels, and day-to-day banking arrangements remaining unchanged for customers.

NCBA operates in six African markets, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, and Ghana, serving more than 60 million customers through 122 branches, which makes it the largest banking group in Africa by customer numbers.

Nedbank, also listed on the Namibia Securities Exchange (NSX: NBK), has physical operations in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Eswatini as well as offshore centres in London, Dubai, the Isle of Man, and Jersey, and the deal marks its entry into East Africa.

The Nedbank Group Chief Executive, Jason Quinn, said, “By connecting two strong banking platforms across Southern and East Africa, we are creating new opportunities for our clients and shareholders, while supporting greater trade, investment and growth across the continent.”

For his part, NCBA Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, John Gachora, said, “With the backing of Nedbank, we are now poised to boldly go after opportunities across the East African region, expand our footprint and bring to market a more sophisticated set of products.”

NCBA Bank Tanzania

NCBA Bank Tanzania was formed in July 2020 through the merger of NIC Bank Tanzania and Commercial Bank of Africa (Tanzania), following approvals from the Bank of Tanzania (BOT) and the Fair Competition Commission (FCC).

NCBA Group raised its ownership of the Tanzanian bank from 75.91% in 2019 to 100% in 2022, buying out the remaining 6.56% minority stake while injecting fresh capital after losses during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2025, NCBA Bank Tanzania’s total assets grew 17.8% to TZS 604.0 billion (± USD 236 million) from TZS 512.8 billion, and the bank has named asset finance, SME banking, and digital financial services as its growth priorities under Managing Director Alex Mziray.

The bank competes in a Tanzanian banking sector whose total assets reached TZS 79.4 trillion (± USD 31.0 billion) in 2025, with sector profits rising 21% to TZS 2.62 trillion, led by CRDB Bank and NMB Bank.