Competition Authority clears Jayesh Saini to take full control of ABC Bank, pending CBK approval

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Healthcare businessman Jayesh Saini has cleared the first regulatory hurdle in his bid to take sole control of African Banking Corporation (ABC Bank), a small Nairobi-based lender with 12 branches and about KSh50bn in assets.

The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) authorised the proposed acquisition in Gazette Notice No. 16875, dated September 21 and published on Friday. The notice, signed by CAK Director-General David Kemei, was issued under section 46(6) of the Competition Act. Neither side has disclosed the price or the size of the stake changing hands.

The Central Bank still has to say yes

Competition approval only covers whether a deal would reduce competition in the market. It does not settle whether the buyer is fit to own a bank. That test belongs to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

Under the Banking Act, anyone who wants to buy 5% or more of a bank needs the CBK’s written approval first. The regulator checks substantial shareholders and directors for financial soundness, integrity, professional standing and conflicts of interest, and looks at where the money for the purchase comes from. Under its corporate governance guideline, a buyer must also show that the deal will not harm the bank’s safety and soundness.

It is not yet public whether the CBK has received or approved an application, whether Saini plans to put fresh capital into the bank, or whether ABC’s current management will stay.

Who is buying

Saini founded and chairs Lifecare Group, one of East Africa’s largest healthcare networks. He is the beneficial owner of Bliss Healthcare, which runs about 65 outpatient centres in 37 counties and says it serves more than 100,000 patients a month, and of Medical Administrators (K) Ltd. His other businesses include the Medicross outpatient chain, DINLAS Pharma EPZ and Lifecare Hospitals, which has facilities in Bungoma, Eldoret, Kikuyu, Migori, Meru and Mlolongo, plus a 150-bed hospital in Dar es Salaam.

Medical Administrators ran the Teachers Service Commission medical scheme until its contract ended in late 2025, when about 400,000 teachers and their dependants moved to the Social Health Authority. Owning a bank would take Saini’s group from health insurance administration and clinics into deposit-taking, which links neatly to patient payments and supplier financing but brings much stricter supervision.

What it means for ABC Bank

ABC Bank was licensed in 1984 and started life as Consolidated Finance Company before becoming a commercial bank. It sits in the CBK’s small peer group of lenders, where tough competition from bigger banks, high bad loans and thin margins have pushed several owners to look for buyers or new capital. You can see the other lenders in this group in our list of small (tier 3) banks in Kenya.

The deal adds to a busy year of bank ownership changes in Kenya. South Africa’s Nedbank completed its purchase of a 66% stake in NCBA Group on October 19, and smaller lenders are under pressure to find investors or new capital as the CBK raises minimum core capital requirements.

For ABC customers, nothing changes for now. Accounts, loans and branches carry on as normal while the CBK reviews the deal. Customers looking for a branch can use our Nairobi bank branch finder, and those who pay into bank accounts through M-Pesa can check the bank paybill numbers list.