Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), a public limited liability company, was established as a bank holding company in 1985 under a private sector initiative spearheaded by the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce and Industry with the support of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). In the early 1980’s foreign and state-owned banks dominated the banking industry in West Africa. Commercial banks in West Africa owned and managed by the African private sector were a rarity. Its founders created ETI with the objective of filling this vacuum.
The Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce promoted and initiated a project to create a private, regional banking institution in West Africa. In 1984, Ecopromotions S.A. was incorporated. Its founding shareholders raised seed capital for feasibility studies and the promotional activities leading to the creation of ETI.
In October 1985, ETI was incorporated with authorised capital of US$100 million. The initial paid up capital of US$32 million was raised from over 1,500 individuals and institutions from West African countries. The largest shareholder was the ECOWAS Fund for Cooperation, Compensation and Development (ECOWAS Fund), the development finance arm of ECOWAS.
Ecobank signed a Headquarters’ Agreement with the Government of Togo in 1985, which granted it the status of an international organisation. This status came with the rights and privileges necessary for ETI to operate as a regional institution, including the status of a non-resident financial institution. ETI commenced operations with its first subsidiary in Togo in March 1988.
KCB Group, is the largest financial services organization in East Africa in terms of asset size. The Group's headquarters are located in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Rwanda, Southern Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi. In 2015, KCB Group opened a representative office in Ethiopia, expanding the growth of the organization.
The Bank is over 124 years old having started in Mombasa in 1896. KCB Group has over 354 branches, 26,394 Agents/POS Merchants and 1,103 ATMs. The bank also offers Mobile Banking though the KCB App, Internet Banking and Diaspora Banking Services platform that can be accessed 24/7 basis. The Bank services over 26.8 million customers across the region.
KCB Group is the largest financial services organization in East Africa, with an estimated asset base of approximately Ksh. 1.02 trillion as at the of end H1 2021.
About Britam Holdings Limited.
Britam is a leading diversified financial services group, listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The group has interests across the Eastern and Southern Africa region. The company offers a wide range of financial products and services in Insurance, Asset management, Banking and Property. The product range includes: life, health and general insurance, pensions, unit trusts, investment planning, wealth management, off-shore investments, retirement planning, discretionary portfolio management, Property development and private Equity.
For More information please visit http://www.britam.com/