NAIROBI: Private equity investor Catalyst Principal Partners has increased its shareholding in Jamii Bora Bank (JBB) to 11 per cent, a development that will shore up the bank’s core capital and boost lending to customers.
The development is expected to boost confidence of depositors at a time when small-tier lenders have been put under the spotlight after Central Bank of Kenya placed two banks under statutory management. JBB, however, did not disclose details on the deal creating new shares for the PE investor.
Catalyst Principal Partners chief executive Paul Kavuma, who also recently joined the board of JBB, said the deal demonstrates the investors’ confidence in a “lender with strong management team capable of delivering the company’s ambitious transformation strategy.”
Kavuma joined the reconstituted JBB board of directors earlier in the year to strengthen the bank’s governance. JBB chief executive Sam Kimani said the lender’s board now consists of six independent directors, with three directors representing shareholders and two executive directors.
Asterisk Holdings leads the bank’s list of majority shareholders with 24.5 per cent, Jamii Bora Scandinavia AB follows with 24.2 per cent, and Nordic Microcap Investment closes with a 12.2 per cent stake. The bank’s total assets as at June 2015 stood at Sh16 billion, a 23 per cent growth from January.
