In May 2025, Access Holdings, the parent company of Nigeriaβs largest bank by assets, completed its acquisition of the National Bank of Kenya (NBK), a struggling tier-2 lender previously owned by KCB. But in corporate M&A, a deal is never truly done until the money moves.
Access now says it will make the final $109.6 million payment to close the takeover and fold NBK into Access Bank Kenya. The African ExportβImport Bank (Afreximbank) is backing the transaction with a guarantee of up to $89.5 million, a safety net to keep the acquisition on track.
So, whatβs in it for Access? The purchase gives Access an immediate foothold in Kenyaβs highly competitive banking sector, where it already operates Access Bank Kenya. By adding NBK, Access gains the scale and credibility needed to strengthen its regional play, especially now when its current arm, Access Bank Kenya, reported a loss of $1.47 million in H1 2025. With NBK, Access gets scale and a branch network that can help it fight for market share.
Access π€ acquisitions: Access has made a habit of buying its way across Africa, one acquisition at a time. In 2021, it acquired Grobank in South Africa, rebranded it as Access Bank South Africa, and gave itself a seat at the table in one of the continentβs most mature banking markets. In 2020, the bank reached an agreement with ABC Holdings Limited to acquire the African Banking Corporation (ABC) of Mozambique.Β
Each acquisition followed the same formula of finding a local lender with reach, integrating it into the Access network, and growing through integration. The Kenyan deal is the latest chapter in that expansion story, which is turning Access into a pan-African bank. The integration has quietly begun, with customers of both banks now sharing branch networks.
