Possibility of a complete buy-out was ruled out by the other shareholders some time back and I don't know if the two would be interested in undertaking the venture for now.
Also for Equity their business model is mostly in the short term loans of upto 5 years since their deposit base doesn't have individual clients who have deposits in the range of billions and tens of billions but rather a high number of small savers

@mwekez@ji Nobody said equity bank is a small boy.Get my statement correct "capacity to lend for long durations like 20 years".
The interest rate for HFCK is high as compared to barclays and co-operative bank.This is the edge and headstart the two have.

Equity Bank's many small savers provide 'cheap' deposits AND allow for profitable multiple transactions. As for the 'other' HFCK shareholders who are against the buy-out. At 40, Equity/Britam can have my shares... and all Equity/Britam need are 75% of the votes. At the right price (or offer for a share swap) it will happen!

Long-term lending using short-term deposits affects ALL Kenyan banks since Kenyans are not known for long-term deposits due to low rates or inflation. It takes time. As the Insurance Sector develops, I expect long-term deposits to become important.

HFCK has HUGE synergies with Britam which can offer long-term funds tied to Life Insurance policies & insurance to/for the borrowers as well.

On Coop, BBK, KCB, is that base rate or the effective rate coz for the HFCK it is effective rate and its revision is long overdue

cc @Banker, et al

Hidden fees? How is the process i.e. they want you first born too?

Wrong assumption. Some banks will haunt you during the whole tenor of the loan with numerous charges. Thats why one is always strongly adviced to read the fine prints before signing the dotted lines. Mate, dont get your neck in the noose of the hangman with such assumption

... loan processing fees (is it annual or a one-off-fee, that varies among the lenders and loans) ledger fees (what amount, and note some bank dont charge this on loan accounts), prepayment fees (some banks will charge you crazy amounts for this and some will not charge you a penny), any charges on release of funds before security perfection, etc etc etc etc etc etc ... all in the fine prints

even putting aside the hidden charges (coz they tend to be hidden in the fine prints that many dont read), interest rates wont maintain that differential for a long time. Am even thinking that coop could be charging that so as to gain acceptance in the new market and could be shouldering some cost which will end up being shouldered by someone. Read the prints well to ensure you dont lose out in the end ... BTW, I am also invested in coop and my advice to you is coz you are a wazuan and i would want you to get the best loan deal. I have nothing against coop bank and especially from an investment perspective. It is a good investment that will make investors money.