Equity Bank Ltd., Kenya’s second- biggest bank by market value and its biggest provider of small loans, wants to buy all of state-controlled National Bank of Kenya Ltd. James Mwangi, the lender’s chief executive officer, confirmed today that Equity Bank is interested in Kenya government’s stake in National Bank, which is being sold now, and it would prefer acquiring it 100 percent. The purchase of National Bank would mark a departure from Equity Bank’s previous policy in Kenya of expanding “organically”. In April, Equity Bank acquired Uganda Microfinance Ltd. and plans to increase the number its branches in the neighboring East African state from 30 currently to 50 by the end of the year. The bank may use its own resources to make the acquisition or raise capital. The lender has a market capitalization of 51.6 billion Kenyan shillings ($661.5 million), a decline of 20.4 % this year. National Bank, which has 33 branches, according to its Web site, has a market value of 7.6 billion shillings. Kenya’s government announced plans to sell some of the shares it owns in National Bank of Kenya to the public. It hasn’t given details of how much it intends to sell. The country sold 30 % of the bank in a share sale in 2006. Equity Bank expects to perform “very well” this year, Mwangi said, after the company reported a 26 % increase in first-quarter profit.