Stanbic Bank Kenya has appointed a Safaricom executive, Michael Mutiga, as its chief executive, handing leadership of the lender to a banker credited with driving corporate strategy across banking, telecommunications and digital financial services.
Mr Mutiga will assume office on August 1, subject to regulatory approvals, ending a transition that has seen Abraham Ongenge serve as acting chief executive since March.
The appointment returns Mr Mutiga to mainstream banking after four years at Safaricom, where he has led business development and strategy since mid-2022 as the telecommunications giant accelerated its expansion into financial services.
Before joining Safaricom, he had spent 15 years at Citibank, rising through senior local and regional roles before becoming managing director and head of corporate finance for sub-Saharan Africa in 2019.
Stanbic said Mr Mutiga’s experience in strategy execution, corporate finance, business growth, stakeholder engagement and transformation would support the bank’s next phase of growth.
“The board is confident that Mr Mutiga’s proven track record in the banking sector, strategy execution and transformation will position Stanbic Bank for its next phase of growth,” the bank said in a notice on Thursday.
He takes charge at a time when Kenyan banks are intensifying investments in digital banking, expanding non-interest income and competing aggressively for corporate and retail customers as technology reshapes financial services.
Mr Ongenge took interim charge on March 1, 2026, following changes at the bank’s top management that saw Joshua Oigara promoted to regional chief executive for East Africa within the Standard Bank Group.
He will return to his substantive position as Head of Private and Personal Banking, where he will continue supporting the tier-one bank’s growth and transformation agenda.
Safaricom had recruited Mr Mutiga in May 2022 as it sought to deepen its presence in financial services and capture a larger share of earnings from the fast-growing M-Pesa platform.
He was tasked with leading Safaricom’s business development and transformation agenda, including strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, funding strategy and asset optimisation.
The telco had hired Mr Mutiga at a time it sought regulatory approval to venture into savings and unit trust investment products, broadening M-Pesa into a full-service financial platform.
He holds a Master of Laws degree from Temple University and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi.
The bank also highlighted his industry recognition, saying he has won the Corporate Banker of the Year award five times during his career.
