NIC Bank Group

Overview

NIC Bank Group is a large financial services organization in East Africa, with assets valued at over US$1.26 billion (KES:108.35 billion) as of December 2012. Shareholders' equity at that time was valued at approximately US$180 million (KES:15.5 billion).

1959-1990

National Industrial Credit (NIC) was incorporated in Kenya on 29 September 1959, when South Africa-based Standard Bank and United Kingdom-based Mercantile Credit Limited jointly formed the company to provide hire purchase and installment credit finance facilities in East Africa. Standard Bank held 40% of the venture while Mercantile Credit held the remaining 60%.

In 1971, NIC became a public company and was listed on the then Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE).

Barclays Bank of Kenya Limited (BBK) acquired 51% of NIC’s total shares through the acquisition of Mercantile in the 1970s and Standard’s NIC shares in the 1980s.

1991-1999

Between 1993 and 1996, BBK divested its shares, selling 38% of its shares to the public in 1994 through a secondary market offering and the remaining 20% in 1996 to the First Chartered Securities Group (FCS).

Because of changing trends, regulatory requirements in the Kenyan banking industry, and the need to meet growing customer requirements, NIC obtained a commercial banking license from the Central Bank of Kenya in September 1995.

To effectively diversify into mainstream commercial banking, NIC merged in November 1997 with African Mercantile Bank Limited, which was then owned by FCS, by way of a share swap. The purpose of this merger was to allow NIC to enhance its market position, provide a broader and more efficient range of services to its customers, and increase the returns to shareholders.

2000-2008

In 2006, NIC established investment bank NIC Capital as a wholly owned subsidiary.

In 2008, NIC through its subsidiary NIC Capital acquired a 91% stake in Solid Securities Limited and subsequently rebranded it to NIC Securities Ltd. This acquisition gave NIC Bank Group a seat at the NSE.

2009-To Date

In 2009, NIC Bank Group established NIC Insurance Agents to offer insurance brokerage and bancassurance services. In the same year, the Group made its first expansion outside Kenya through its acquisition of a 51% share of Savings and Finance Commercial Bank, a medium size bank in Tanzania.

In December 2010, the Savings and Finance Commercial Bank was renamed NIC Bank Tanzania Limited.

In 2012, the group established operations in Uganda through NC Bank Uganda. This was a greenfield investment.

Member companies

NIC Bank together with its subsidiaries, which it owns either wholly or partially, form the NIC Bank Group. The stock of the group is traded on the NSE, under the symbol: NINC. Members companies of the group include the following:

1. NIC Bank – Retail banking – Nairobi, Kenya – 100% shareholding – A commercial bank in Kenya, serving individuals and businesses, focusing mainly on large corporations. This is the flagship company of the group.
2. NIC Capital – Investment banking – Nairobi, Kenya – NIC Capital Securities was established in 2005 to offer investment banking services. The group owns all the shares in the unit.
3. NIC Capital Securities – Securities brokerage – Nairobi, Kenya – NIC Capital acquired Solid Investment Securities Limited, a Kenyan stock brokerage firm, in 2008 and re-branded it to NIC Capital Securities Limited (NICSL). NICSL offers brokerage services. It is a licensed as a stock brokerage firm by the Capital Markets Authority and a member of the NSE. The group owns 99.93% of the shares of NICSL through NIC Capital.
4. NIC Insurance Agents – Bancassurance – Nairobi, Kenya – NIC Insurance Agents offers Bancassurance services. NIC Group owns all of the company.
5. NIC Bank Tanzania – Retail banking – Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – On 1 May 2009, NIC Group acquired 51% of the shares of Savings & Finance Commercial Bank Limited. The Bank later re-branded it to NIC Bank Tanzania. After a successful rights issue in 2013, NIC Group's interest in its Tanzanian subsidiary rose from 51% to 68.97%.
6. NC Bank Uganda – Retail banking – Kampala, Uganda NC Bank Uganda Limited was established in 2012 to offer banking services in Uganda. The group owns all of the shares of the unit.

During the year ending 31 December 2012, all of NIC Group's subsidiaries other than NC Bank Uganda made a profit.

Branch network

As at October 2014, NIC Bank Group's branch network was as follows

Ownership

The stock of NIC Bank Group listed on the NSE, where it trades under the symbol NINC. As of December 2012, the ten largest shareholders in the Group's stock are depicted in the table below: