FirstRand, a major player in South Africa’s banking business is seeking to acquire a bank in Kenya as more banking firms from the South fall over each other to get a piece of Kenya’s booming banking business.

At present, FirstRand maintains a representative office in Kenya

According to FirstRand CEO Mary Vilakazi, the Group has been looking for an opportunity to buy a Kenyan Bank for some time now but is still waiting for the right opportunity.

“We have been looking for opportunities in Kenya. However, there must be a willing seller at the right price for us to do any deal. What we will not do is overpay for any asset,” Vilakazi said.

FirstRand already has a presence in Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Eswatini and Ghana. It also a corporate and investment banking presence in Nigeria.

Absa Group, another South African giant recently increased its stake in the Kenyan business to about 72% while Nedbank early this year made its entry into Kenya in deal that saw it acquire majority stake in NCBA Bank.

NCBA has a strong customer base of 60 million spread across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda alongside a vibrant digital fintech lending business.

FirstRand joins other South African lenders seeking for a foothold in Kenya

Standard Bank is said to be looking for a suitable entry into the Kenyan banking business, with its CEO Sim Tshabala visiting Nairobi on several occasions this year, holding meetings with the CBK Governor and Kenya’s Head of State, among other officials

According to FirstRand CEO Vilakazi, the strategy is to enter markets that offer structural system growth, where the Group can bring a competitive advantage and scale. Thus far, this strategy has been mainly organic in nature, supported by medium-sized bolt-on acquisitions that bring customers, systems and scale.

FirstRand Limited, through its portfolio of integrated financial services businesses, operates in South Africa, certain markets in sub-Saharan Africa, the UK, and India.

The group’s track record of delivering superior returns to shareholders has been achieved through a combination of organic growth, acquisitions, innovation and the creation of completely new businesses.

Listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX), FirstRand Limited is the largest financial institution by market capitalisation in Africa.

FirstRand can provide its customers with differentiated and competitive value propositions due to its unique and highly flexible model of leveraging the most appropriate brand, distribution channel, licence and operating platform available within the portfolio.

This approach, which is underpinned by the disciplined allocation of financial resources and enabled by digital platforms, allows the group to fully optimise the franchise value of its portfolio. This has resulted in a long track record of consistent growth in high quality earnings, and superior and sustainable returns for shareholders.

The group’s strategic framework accommodates a broad set of growth opportunities across the financial services universe from a product, market, segment and geographic perspective.

South African banks are at the forefront of African lenders seeking for a foothold in Kenya’s lucrative banking business. A  similar zeal is being displayed by West African lenders-led by Nigerian banks with Zenith as the latest entry after its acquisition of Paramount Bank.

Interesting local giants such as Equity Group, are training their guns on new foreign markets in Africa such the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) as well as the huge untapped banking business in Ethiopia- which has just began allowing entry of foreign players into the tightly state- controlled economy.

South Africa’s deep-pocketed Standard Bank, locally known as Stanbic Bank Kenya and Absa Group are the latest lenders to express interest in boosting their presence and financial muscle in Kenya, considered East Africa’s largest economy and the most developed and sophisticated financial market in the region.

When trading opened at the Nairobi Securities Exchange(NSE) Friday 19th June 2026, Absa Bank Kenya share prices are up 9% to trade at KSh 32.1 after South African Group announced plans to increase its stake in Absa Bank Kenya from 68.5% to 85.0%.

South Africa eyes Kenyan banking business owing to its high profitability

South African Absa Group has been stepping up its game in Kenya, filling a vacuum left in the corporate banking segment by UK-based Barclays Bank Plc, who has since exited from most African markets. Standard Chartered Bank Kenya(SCBK), a subsidiary of UK-Based Standard Chartered Bank Plc and another foreign corporate banking outfit, is wobbling after a crippling pension dispute with its former staff that ended with a huge Court Award to retired employees.