KCB Group, Kenya’s biggest bank, grew its profits by 49% in the first nine months of 2024, driven by income growth. It reported KES 45.8 billion ($354 million) in profits compared to KES 30.7 billion ($238 million) in the same period last year.
Its revenue also jumped by 22% to KES 142.9 billion ($1.1 billion), including contributions from both lending and non-lending activities such as foreign exchange income and transaction fees.
The bank’s total assets—including cash, loans, investments, and property—also grew to KES 2.0 trillion ($15.4 billion), led by customer deposits of KES 1.5 trillion ($11.5 billion).
Net loans and advances rose to KES 1.1 trillion ($8.5 billion) following a sharp rise in retail sector lending.
KCB’s ability to grow deposits and loans at this scale shows strong customer confidence and operational capacity amid currency volatility that pressures foreign-denominated loans, one banking executive told TechCabal.
KCB’s subsidiaries outside Kenya accounted for 36.6% of profits and 34% of total assets, KCB said in its financial report, indicating a shift toward regional markets.
The performance of Trust Merchant Bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo—a lender KCB Group acquired in December 2022—shows the impact of geographic diversification, though it also brings exposure to markets with varying economic and political conditions.
Bad loans rose to KES 215.3 billion ($1.67 billion). Provisions for these non-performing loans (NPLs) increased by 12.2%, but high NPLs show ongoing problems in sectors like real estate and manufacturing. Fixing these bad loans remains problematic, the bank said.
Shareholders saw better returns, with return on equity growing to 25.6% from 19.6% last year. Shareholders’ funds grew to KES 249 billion ($1.9 billion). The bank’s capital remains strong, well above regulatory limits at KES 10 billion, but one subsidiary—the National Bank of Kenya (NBK)—has not met this standard.
In October 2024, Access Bank received approval from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) to acquire NBK in a deal thought to be worth $100 million.
