The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has approved the transfer of all assets and liabilities of Access Bank (Kenya) Plc to National Bank of Kenya Limited (NBK), a move that consolidates two Kenyan banks owned by the same Nigerian group into a single banking business. The regulator confirmed the approval in a statement issued on 23 September 2026.

The transaction required sign-off at two separate levels of Kenyan banking law. CBK cleared it in August 2026 under Section 13(4) of the Banking Act, which governs the transfer of a bank's business to another institution. A second, independent approval followed in September 2026 from Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, granted under Section 9(1) of the same Act, which covers changes affecting a bank's ownership or control. The dual structure means the movement of a bank's business and any change to its ownership or control are assessed as distinct questions under Kenyan law, each requiring its own sign-off before a transfer of this kind can proceed.

"The transfer shall take effect upon completion of the transaction in accordance with the terms of the Business and Assets Transfer Agreement between the parties," CBK said in its statement.

Neither the regulator nor the bank has indicated when that completion will occur, and CBK's statement did not disclose the financial value of the deal or detail what it means for the existing branches, staff, or customers of either lender. Until completion, those questions remain open, and they are the practical markers to watch as the approval converts into an actual transfer of the business.

The path that placed both lenders under Access Bank's ownership stretches back six years and ran through two separate acquisitions. Access Bank first entered Kenya in February 2020 by buying Transnational Bank Plc outright, a lender that began as a finance company in 1984 before securing a full banking licence and commencing operations in December 1985. That acquisition gave the Nigerian group 28 branches and a foothold in the wider East African market, and Transnational was renamed Access Bank (Kenya) Plc shortly after. The deal also made Access Bank the third Nigerian lender to operate in Kenya, joining United Bank for Africa and Guaranty Trust Bank, both of which had entered the market earlier.

NBK's route to Access Bank ownership was longer and started from a different place entirely. The Kenyan government incorporated NBK in 1968 to widen access to credit and support state control of the economy following independence. KCB Group bought full ownership of NBK in September 2019, before Access Bank agreed in March 2024 to acquire the bank from KCB. That transaction closed in May 2025, leaving the Nigerian group owning two separately licensed banks in the same market. Running parallel banking licences under one shareholder is unusual, and the latest transfer resolves the situation by folding NBK's business into Access Bank Kenya rather than leaving both entities standing side by side.

Access Bank Plc, incorporated in Nigeria in 1989 and now one of the country's largest lenders, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Access Holdings Plc. The holding company operates banking subsidiaries across more than a dozen African markets, including Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Zambia, alongside a UK subsidiary, a UAE branch, and representative offices in China, India, and Lebanon.

CBK framed the Kenyan transfer as beneficial to the sector rather than a routine formality, saying the move would support the stability and resilience of the country's banking industry while promoting competition.

Source: TechNext24 — https://technext24.com/news/cbk-approves-access-bank-nbk-transfer/