Equity gains 5pc buoyed by demand from local investors

Equity Bank stock has this week rallied to gain nearly five per cent at Sh48, as it recovers from a slide to an eight-month low seen last week. Analysts said the counter has been attracting demand this week, more so from local investors, helping to balance out the foreign investors who have been heavy on the selling side [...]

CBA to take Rea Vipingo share forms

Rea Vipingo Plantations majority owners have asked shareholders to return their acceptance forms for the Sh85 a share payout to any branch of Commercial Bank of Africa. The offer consists of Sh70 pay for each share and a cash top-up of Sh15 per share, payable immediately after the closure of the offer period. The deadline for accepting the offer is May 13 [...]

National Bank boss not aware of merger plan

The National Bank management on Wednesday said it has not been briefed on any merger plans with its State-owned rival Consolidated Bank. Treasury secretary Henry Rotich has indicated that National Bank would be merged with another bank before its planned rights issue. The government is the biggest shareholder of National Bank controlling about 79 per cent shares comprising of Treasury and NSSF stakes [...]

KCB reveals Sh155m profit from insurance brokerage unit

KCB Group has revealed that it earned Sh155.2 million pre-tax profit from its newly-formed bancassurance unit last year. The rise in earnings shows the potential banks have in the growing insurance business which is helping millions of Kenyans mitigate risks. The lender reported an overall net profit of Sh16.8 billion for the year ended December 2014 [...]

Trans-National lost Sh200m in fraudulent bond trading

Trans-National Bank lost Sh200 million in a fraudulent bond transaction that blacklisted bond dealer Fred Mweni’s firm took to the market. The failed bond transaction is among the six worth Sh1.44 billion that commercial banks reported to the CBK and the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) as having backfired [...]

M-Pesa customers get access to seven African countries

M-Pesa users can now send money through their mobile phones to recipients in seven African countries following the signing of an agreement with South African telecommunications company MTN. The agreement now enables convenient sending of cash between M-Pesa customers in Kenya, Tanzania, DRC and Mozambique, and MTN Mobile Money customers in Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia [...]

ERC in talks with oil sector ahead of LPG price controls

The Energy Regulatory Committee (ERC) has started talks with gas industry players ahead of the publication of new regulations expected to culminate in the control of gas prices and streamlining of imports. Price controls for gas cannot happen without the new framework of regulations which is expected to be included in the Energy Act [...]

Treasury surpasses domestic loan target borrowing

The government has overshot the revised domestic borrowing target at a time of slow disbursement of funds promised by foreign donors. Net borrowing stood at Sh202.98 bn as at the end of March this year [...]

KRA wants insurance brokers’ tax case thrown out

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) wants the High Court to throw out a case filed by insurance brokers challenging a 10 per cent tax introduced in 2013, arguing that their concerns were dismissed in an earlier suit. KRA says the suit by brokers over the 10 per cent tax on commissions is baseless since Justice Isaac Lenaola had earlier ruled against them [...]