Gachora picked to head NIC, CBA merged outfit

NIC Group #ticker:NIC managing director John Gachora will be the head of the new outfit that will be formed out of the bank’s merger with Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA).

The two banks Wednesday announced that Mr Gachora will be in charge of the management of the merged outfit while his CBA counterpart, Isaac Awuondo, will become chairman of the Kenyan banking subsidiary and maintain direct oversight over the digital business.

The merger, which on Monday received the approval of the Competition Authority of Kenya, paves the way for the two lenders to create the third-biggest bank by assets in Kenya.

Should the deal go through, it will mark the first major merger in the sector since the government imposed a cap on commercial interest rates in 2016.

“The merged group will operate under a new name and brand, which will be determined prior to concluding the merger. The combined entity’s board of directors and executive management team will also be well balanced between the two institutions,” said the two banks in a joint statement.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed NIC Group will be renamed and made the merged group’s non-operating holding company for subsidiary banks.