Nairobi News

What's Hot

Now Munir steers NBK to greater heights


Munir Sheikh Ahmed joined National Bank of Kenya (NBK) when it was on the brink of collapse. The bank was recording huge losses as its peers grew year after year. For instance, the 2011 end-year results indicated that the bank’s profits had plunged from Sh2.6 billion to Sh2.4 billion.

They further fell to Sh1.16 billion in 2012.

However, after Mr Ahmed was confirmed the managing director in June 2012, a lot changed. He replaced Reuben Marambii who officially retired in December 2012.  In his first year as head, NBK has gone through a staff restructuring process, network expansion and invested heavily in technology.

Business club

In spite of the expensive undertaking, the bank’s profit at the end of 2013 rose to Sh1.81 billion.

According to Mr Ahmed, NBK hopes to keep the growth momentum to propel it towards its 2017 goal of becoming the top bank in the country and that of spreading its network to Uganda and South Sudan.

After rebranding, the bank has developed innovative products to appeal to the young.

It has gone a step further by launching a business club to strengthen its footing on the underserved Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

One can qualify as a member of club the after opening a Business Club account. The bank will offer the account holders training on entrepreneurship and advice on establishing and conducting business.

Before joining NBK, Mr Ahmed was with Standard Chartered Bank for 16 years.  And before that, he worked for Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), Unilever and in the oil sector.