News and Analysis
January 21, 2026
Hello and welcome to the Money News Roundup Newsletter, where we cover Netbank's proposal to buy a 66% stake in NCBA. We also cover how Grade 10 students will be assessed in Senior Secondary Schools (SSS).
South Africa’s Nedbank on Wednesday announced that it had made a Ksh109.9 billion offer to buy a majority stake in Kenya’s NCBA Group.
According to Reuters, the offer was structured as a cash and stock transaction that would see NCBA become a subsidiary of Nedbank and some shares will continue to be listed in the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
If the deal follows through, investors who own less than 9,400 NCBA shares (whose stock is worth about Ksh850,000) will get a buyout price of Ksh105 per share. Larger investors will receive a blended value of Ksh98.72 per share through a cash-and-stock structure.
The South African bank’s offer allows large NCBA shareholders a chance to own Nedbank shares through the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
The large investors have the option of tendering up to 66 percent of their NCBA shares. Of these, 80 percent will be exchanged for Nedbank shares at a conversion rate of 4.02994 shares for every 100 NCBA shares.
This translates to about Ksh77.5 for every NCBA share given one Nedbank stock is retailing at around Ksh1,928 in the JSE. The remaining 20 percent will be paid in cash at Ksh2,100 per 100 shares, the additional Ksh21 per share pushes the total compensation to Ksh98.5.
The NCBA stock closed at Ksh90.5 on the Nairobi Securities Exchange on Wednesday.
The deal has backing from NCBA’s top shareholders, including the Kenyatta, Ndegwa, and Nyachae families. If completed, NCBA will become a Nedbank subsidiary, with 34 percent of shares remaining publicly traded.
The Kenyatta family, for example, owns a 13.2% stake in NCBA through Enke Investments. The proposed deal will see them get Ksh601 million in cash and Nedbank shares worth approximately Ksh8.83 billion under the takeover deal. They will also retain 34% of their NCBA stake, worth Ksh6.7 billion.
The Nedbank offer comes about three months after Bloomberg reported that South Africa’s Standard Bank had gotten approval to begin buyout talks with NCBA. The news saw NCBA’s stock rise from Ksh69.50 to Ksh96.25 within five days.
As reported by the Nation, Grade 10 learners will spend at least one year covering core content before pilot summative assessments are introduced next year, following the completion of this year’s School-Based Assessments (SBA).
Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) CEO David Njengere said Senior School assessments will combine formative and summative methods, focusing on both learner strengths and career interests to guide placement into pathways.
Assessment will use achievement levels — Below, Approaching, Meeting, and Exceeding expectations — alongside numerical scores. Learners’ exit profiles after completion of the Senior Schools at Grade 12 will also capture community service, values, and core competencies such as communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving.
Senior School learners will take seven subjects, including four compulsory areas and three electives aligned to aptitude and career goals. The Ministry of Education is yet to release the Grade 12 curriculum designs, with full summative assessment implementation expected after piloting next year.
A casual WhatsApp chat or SMS can legally bind a business deal, the High Court has ruled, warning Kenyans that digital messages can form enforceable contracts.
In a small claims appeal in Siaya, the court upheld an award of Ksh145,000 to Kennedy Okoth after finding that phone messages proved a valid agreement with Fredrick Ochiel over leasing an ultrasound machine.
As reported by the Star, Okoth said they agreed orally to a daily fee of Ksh1,000 for 145 days. Ochiel collected the machine, paid only Ksh5,000, and failed to return it, denying any agreed charges.
Justice David Kemei ruled that contracts need not be written, as long as offer, acceptance, consideration, and capacity are shown.
WhatsApp and SMS messages detailing charges, payment promises, and admissions demonstrated a clear meeting of minds. The appeal was dismissed, reinforcing that digital texts can carry full legal force.
Kariuki Ngari will exit his role as chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya on April 16, ending a seven-year tenure at the helm of the lender. The bank’s board has appointed Birju Sanghrajka as his successor, subject to regulatory approval.
As reported by the Business Daily, Sanghrajka currently serves as Head of Corporate and Investment Banking Coverage for Kenya and has been an executive director of the bank since 2021.
Ngari has been CEO and managing director since 2019. During his tenure, the bank says he oversaw a major digital transformation and expansion of its wealth management business, with over 90 percent of transactions now conducted digitally across retail, wealth, and corporate banking.
Separately, Standard Chartered has appointed Nigerian banker Dalu Ajene as chief executive for its Africa operations, replacing Mr Ngari in the regional role.
Tycoon Peter Muthoka has sold his ground handling and air cargo business, Transglobal Cargo Centre Limited, to German firm Celebi Cargo GMBH for Ksh5.2 billion. The acquisition has been approved by the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK).
In a notice issued on Wednesday, CAK said the transaction is unlikely to harm competition in Kenya’s cargo handling market or raise public interest concerns.
The regulator added that the sale of the business, which operates under the Africa Flight Services brand, is expected to boost investment in facilities, equipment, and human resources within the sector.
Transglobal is currently the leading export cargo handler at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, according to data from the Kenya Airports Authority. Celebi Cargo operates at Frankfurt Airport in Germany, handling about 200,000 tonnes of cargo annually. The deal marks Celebi’s entry into the Kenyan market. Read more.
Three-quarters of trades on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in 2025 were executed through stockbroker staff, highlighting the continued role of intermediaries despite growing digital platforms. Only 24.76 percent of trades were conducted fully online, where investors can buy and sell shares independently via computers or smartphones.
Offline trades are common among institutional investors, fund managers, and high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) who place large orders requiring brokers to match trades. Analysts also cite limited knowledge among retail investors as a reason for relying on brokers.
As reported by the Business Daily, secondary bond trading heavily depends on brokers, as investors must engage traders to sell papers on the Central Bank of Kenya’s DhowCSD platform.
While online trading is expected to grow with continued innovation, brokers will remain essential for large and complex transactions.
By the end of 2025, the NSE had 1.31 million equity investors, including 1.25 million local individuals and 40,648 corporate investors, with local corporations dominating both equity and bond trades.
The government has banned the use of tea farmers’ funds as collateral for bank loans, tightening oversight of the ailing tea sector to protect smallholders from debt and financial abuse.
As reported by the Kenyan Wall Street, the move affects KTDA, which manages tea processing and marketing for over 680,000 smallholder farmers. A Tea Board of Kenya audit shows West Rift factories account for Ksh21.6 billion of inter-factory debt, compared with Ksh4.45 billion in the East Rift.
Some factories had borrowed to pay bonuses, saddling farmers with debt unsupported by earnings.
Agriculture PS Paul Rono ordered KTDA to restructure banking arrangements, streamline accounts, and improve transparency of cash flows and foreign-exchange proceeds. A forensic audit and lifestyle reviews of current and former directors are underway.
KTDA is dismantling the inter-factory loan system, moving factories to commercial bank financing under stricter scrutiny. The reforms aim to restore confidence, enforce credit discipline, and address mismanagement that contributed to declining and uneven bonus payouts across regions.
.png){kind=small}
Join 1.5M Kenyans using Money254 to find better loans, savings accounts, and money tips today.
Money 254 is a new platform focused on helping you make more out of the money you have. We've created a simple, fast and secure way to find and compare financial products that best match your needs. All of the information shown is from products available at established financial institutions that our team of experts has tirelessly collected.
.jpg)
