Family Bank founder Titus Muya and a group of long-time associates added a combined KSh4.74 billion ($36.6 million) in paper wealth on Tuesday after the lender’s shares surged 44 percent in their debut on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

The bank listed 1.662 billion shares by introduction at KSh18 ($0.14) each and ended the session at KSh26 ($0.2), lifting its market capitalization from KSh29.9 billion ($231 million) to KSh43.2 billion ($334 million). The strong first-day performance rewarded investors who had backed the lender for years before its move to Kenya’s main stock market.

Among the biggest beneficiaries were Muya, members of his family, Daykio Plantation Ltd., Kenya Orient Life Assurance and Kenya Orient Insurance. Together, they control 593.03 million shares, representing a 35.67 percent stake in the bank.

The value of their combined holdings climbed from KSh10.67 billion ($82.4 million) to KSh15.42 billion ($119.1 million) as the stock gained KSh8 ($0.062) per share during the session. Some investors who sold early captured even larger gains after the shares briefly touched KSh50 ($0.386) in opening trades, nearly tripling the listing price within hours.

Share surge boosts key holders

Muya directly owns 73.4 million shares, equivalent to a 4.42 percent stake now valued at about KSh1.9 billion ($14.7 million) based on the closing price. Family members and related estates hold another 324.29 million shares worth KSh8.43 billion ($65.1 million), while Daykio Plantation, the family’s agribusiness investment vehicle, owns 158.46 million shares valued at KSh4.12 billion ($31.8 million).

Kenya Orient Life Assurance holds 35.34 million shares, representing a 2.13 percent stake worth KSh918.9 million ($7.1 million), while Kenya Orient Insurance owns an additional 1.5 million shares.

The rally extended beyond Muya’s circle of investors. Kenya Tea Development Agency Holdings, Family Bank’s largest shareholder with an 18.98 percent stake, saw the value of its 315.63 million shares increase from KSh5.68 billion ($43.9 million) to KSh8.2 billion ($63.3 million).

The listing marks a major milestone for a lender that has traded on Kenya’s over-the-counter market since 2006. By moving to the NSE, Family Bank gains broader exposure to institutional and retail investors while providing existing shareholders with a more liquid market for their holdings.

Muya’s four-decade vision realized

For Muya, the debut also caps a journey that began more than four decades ago. He founded the institution in 1984 as a building society and later guided its transition into a fully fledged commercial bank in 2007.

Family Bank is now the 12th banking stock on the NSE and the first Kenyan bank to list on the exchange since I&M Group joined the market in June 2013. While Rwanda’s BK Group cross-listed in Nairobi in 2018, Family Bank becomes the first new addition to the exchange’s banking segment in more than a decade.

The market debut comes as the lender reports strong earnings growth under Chief Executive Nancy Njau. Net income rose 55.4 percent in 2025, while first-quarter profit for 2026 increased 52.6 percent to KSh1.65 billion ($12.7 million), supported by higher interest income.

The bank also entered the listing with a stronger balance sheet. Total assets increased to KSh230.2 billion ($1.8 billion) by March 2026 from KSh208.6 billion ($1.61 billion) at the end of December. Shareholders’ equity rose to KSh34.77 billion ($270 million), translating to a pre-listing book value of KSh20.91 per share.

Those results provided investors with a growing bank entering the public market at a time when profitability, capital levels and asset growth were all moving higher, helping fuel demand for the stock in its first day of trading.