NCBA Group has appointed two senior Nedbank executives to its board, the first stage of board representation set out in the deal that gave the South African bank a 66% controlling stake in the Kenyan lender. Nedbank's group chief financial officer, Michael Howard Davis, and Anél Bosman, chief executive of Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking, join as non-executive directors, according to HapaKenya.
The appointments took effect on 3 November 2026 after clearance from the Capital Markets Authority, and group managing director John Gachora issued the market notification on behalf of the board. NCBA also named Esther Wanjiku Kung’u, a legal and governance specialist, as group company secretary.
WHAT EACH SIDE GETS
Under the transaction terms reported by HapaKenya, Nedbank is entitled to nominate at least two directors to NCBA's board, a right the two appointments now meet. NCBA shareholders in turn keep a contractual right to appoint one representative to Nedbank's main board. NCBA keeps its own brand identity, its existing management team and its broad operating structure.
When the takeover closed on 3 November 2026, Nedbank issued about 43.6 million new shares to NCBA shareholders who accepted its offer, roughly 8% of the bank, according to a press report. The offer paid 80% in Nedbank shares and 20% in cash, and the cash part came to about KSh23.2bn (about US$179m).
Holders of 79.9% of NCBA's shares accepted the offer, more than the 66% Nedbank wanted. NCBA said excess applications were scaled back on a pro-rata basis to bring Nedbank's holding to its targeted stake of about 66%.
THE TWO DIRECTORS
Davis brings more than 28 years of experience in institutional banking, asset and liability management, treasury and capital regulation, and has been Nedbank's group CFO and an executive director since 1 October 2020. Bosman started her career at Nedbank as a trader and was head of risk for Nedbank Capital from 2005 to 2010, according to her Nedbank biography.
HapaKenya said Bosman's appointment is aligned with plans to expand corporate and wholesale funding capabilities across the combined group's regional footprint.
NEDBANK'S ROUTE INTO EAST AFRICA
The companies' completion announcement said that through NCBA, Nedbank would expand into the high-growth East African market, with ambitions to extend its brand into the wider region. NCBA says it serves over 60 million customers through 122 branches, and its balance-sheet assets have been reported at KSh665bn (about US$5.1bn).
NCBA has said it will retain its brand, local leadership, Nairobi headquarters and customer-facing operating model. HapaKenya reported that attention now turns to the pending nomination of NCBA's representative to the Nedbank board.
THE TGB VIEW
Nedbank ranks 4th in Africa in the TGB Bank Rankings, with US$93.9bn of assets and a return on equity of 7.3% at end-2025, well below Kenya's KCB Group at 20.2% and Equity Group at 23.3%. NCBA, with KSh665bn of balance-sheet assets, joins Nedbank's group in a Kenyan banking sector of KSh8.35tn in net assets where KCB Bank Kenya alone holds 17.9%, so the Kenyan leaders' returns are the yardstick for the deal. The next item to watch is NCBA's nominee to the Nedbank board, which HapaKenya says is still pending.
Related: Central Bank of Kenya approves Nedbank's acquisition of up to 66% of NCBA Group
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