Giro Commercial Bank

Giro Commercial Bank, formally Giro Commercial Bank Limited, was a Kenyan commercial bank licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya. It developed from two related financial businesses: Credit & Commerce Finance Limited, established in 1986, and Giro Bank Limited, founded in 1992 to provide conventional banking services while the finance company continued concentrating on hire purchase and trade finance. Credit & Commerce Finance later secured a commercial banking licence in April 1996 and changed its name to Commerce Bank Limited. In 1998, Giro Bank and Commerce Bank combined their operations under the name Giro Commercial Bank Limited. The merger created a privately owned Kenyan banking institution serving retail, business and institutional customers through a branch network concentrated in Nairobi and other major Kenyan commercial centres. Its head office was located at Giro House in Eldama Park, Nairobi, and its reported branches included locations on Banda Street and in Industrial Area, Parklands and Westlands in Nairobi, as well as branches in Kisumu and Mombasa. The bank remained a relatively small participant in Kenya’s regulated banking sector. At December 2013, it was reported to have approximately KSh13.623 billion in total assets, KSh2.086 billion in shareholders’ equity and KSh11.457 billion in customer deposits. On that basis, it ranked 29th among 43 licensed banks in Kenya. These figures describe the bank’s scale at that point in time and are not current financial information. Giro Commercial Bank’s ownership and strategic position changed after I&M Holdings announced an agreement to acquire it on 7 September 2015. The transaction was completed in March 2017, after which Giro Commercial Bank’s operations were merged into I&M Bank Kenya. The Giro brand therefore ceased to operate as an independent commercial-bank franchise. Its historical significance lies primarily in the consolidation of Kenya’s banking sector and in the evolution of a financial-services business from hire purchase and trade finance into a regulated commercial bank before ultimately being integrated into a larger banking group.

Giro Commercial Bank’s origins can be traced to Credit & Commerce Finance Limited, a Kenyan non-bank financial institution established in 1986. The company focused on activities including hire purchase and trade finance rather than operating as a conventional deposit-taking bank. As the Kenyan financial sector evolved, its shareholders pursued a separate banking vehicle. In 1992 they established Giro Bank Limited to provide conventional banking services, while Credit & Commerce Finance continued its existing finance-oriented activities. Regulatory and market developments subsequently led Credit & Commerce Finance to seek a commercial banking licence from the Central Bank of Kenya. The licence was obtained in April 1996, and the company adopted the name Commerce Bank Limited. The existence of Giro Bank and Commerce Bank created two related banking operations with overlapping ownership and historical roots. In 1998, the two institutions merged and adopted the unified name Giro Commercial Bank Limited. Following the merger, Giro Commercial Bank operated as a privately owned Kenyan commercial bank. Its branch network included a head office at Giro House in Eldama Park, Nairobi, together with branches in central Nairobi, Industrial Area, Parklands and Westlands. It also maintained branches in Kisumu and Mombasa. The network gave the bank a presence in several of Kenya’s principal commercial centres, although it remained smaller than the country’s leading banking institutions. The bank’s reported position in December 2013 illustrates its scale before the eventual acquisition. It had approximately KSh13.623 billion in assets, KSh2.086 billion in shareholders’ equity and KSh11.457 billion in customer deposits. It was ranked 29th out of 43 licensed banks in Kenya at that time. These figures are historical and should not be interpreted as representing the bank after its integration into I&M Bank Kenya. On 7 September 2015, I&M Holdings announced its intention to acquire Giro Commercial Bank. The transaction was completed in March 2017. Rather than preserving Giro as a separate operating bank, I&M Holdings merged its operations into I&M Bank Kenya. This integration ended Giro Commercial Bank’s independent corporate and brand presence. The bank’s history consequently reflects both the expansion of regulated commercial banking from Kenya’s non-bank finance sector and the later consolidation of smaller institutions into larger banking groups.

1. 2017Operations are absorbed into I&M Bank Kenya

   The acquisition was completed in March, and Giro Commercial Bank’s operations were merged into I&M Bank Kenya.

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2. 2015I&M Holdings announces acquisition

   I&M Holdings announced its planned acquisition of Giro Commercial Bank on 7 September.

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3. 2013Historical financial position is reported

   At December 2013, the bank was reported to have approximately KSh13.623 billion in assets, KSh2.086 billion in shareholders’ equity and KSh11.457 billion in customer deposits.

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4. 1998Giro Bank and Commerce Bank merge

   The two related banking operations consolidated under the name Giro Commercial Bank Limited.

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5. 1996Commerce Bank receives a commercial banking licence

   Credit & Commerce Finance obtained a commercial banking licence from the Central Bank of Kenya in April and changed its name to Commerce Bank Limited.

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6. 1992Giro Bank Limited is founded

   The shareholders of Credit & Commerce Finance established Giro Bank Limited to provide conventional banking services.

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7. 1986Credit & Commerce Finance is established

   Credit & Commerce Finance Limited was founded as a non-bank financial institution with a focus that included hire purchase and trade finance.

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A privately owned Kenyan commercial bank serving retail and business customers, with historical roots in hire purchase, trade finance and non-bank financial services.

• Commercial banking servicesBanking1998

  Giro Commercial Bank operated as a licensed Kenyan commercial bank, providing conventional banking services to customers through its branch network. The available historical material does not identify a complete product catalogue, so specific account names, loan products and service terms cannot be confirmed.

• Hire purchase and trade financeAsset finance and trade finance1986

  Hire purchase and trade finance were associated with Credit & Commerce Finance, the predecessor business from which the Giro banking group developed. These activities formed part of the enterprise’s financial-services heritage, although the available material does not establish the precise extent to which each offering remained under the Giro Commercial Bank brand after the 1998 merger.

• 2015Agreement to acquire Giro Commercial BankM&A

  I&M Holdings pursued the acquisition of Giro Commercial Bank as part of the consolidation of Kenya’s banking sector.

  What changed. I&M Holdings announced the acquisition on 7 September 2015.

  Aftermath. The transaction was completed in March 2017, after which Giro Commercial Bank’s operations were merged into I&M Bank Kenya.

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• 1998Merger of Giro Bank and Commerce BankM&A

  Giro Bank and Commerce Bank were related operations whose consolidation followed the development of Credit & Commerce Finance into a licensed commercial bank.

  What changed. The two banks merged and adopted the unified name Giro Commercial Bank Limited.

  Aftermath. The merger created the Giro Commercial Bank operating entity, which continued as a privately owned Kenyan bank until its later acquisition.

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• 2017Giro Commercial Bank operations merged into I&M Bank Kenya

  The acquisition by I&M Holdings was completed in March 2017, and Giro Commercial Bank’s operations were merged into I&M Bank Kenya.

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• 2015I&M Holdings announces acquisition of Giro Commercial Bank

  I&M Holdings announced on 7 September 2015 that it would acquire Giro Commercial Bank, beginning the process that would end the bank’s independent operation.

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1. Giro Commercial Bank