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financial services kenya

Financial Services in Kenya 2025

Charles Chinya | Kenya | 30 May 2025

Financial Services in Kenya 2021

Gary Phillips | Kenya | 18 November 2021

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Report Coverage

This report on financial services in Kenya includes information on the central bank, commercial banks, bank representative offices, microfinance banks, merchant banking, co-operative banks and development finance institutions. There is information on the size and state of the industry, including banking financials, non-performing loans, mobile money and diaspora remittances and fintech companies. The report includes notable players, corporate actions and developments such as new minimum core capital requirements. There are profiles of 62 companies such as the central bank, major banks such as Absa, KCB, NCBA, I&M, Equity Bank and Diamond Trust Bank, microfinance banks such as Suma, Faulu and Salaam, and SACCOs such as TAI Sacco Society.

Introduction

• Kenya is regarded as the largest economy in East Africa, and its financial services sector plays a significant role in the region and in the country’s economy.
• The banking sector is highly competitive and characterised by the presence of local and foreign players.
• There are 39 licensed commercial banks, and 15 are more than 50% foreign-owned.
• The banking sector is dominated by Tier 1 large banks.
• Total banking assets and pre-tax profits increased marginally in 2024.
• Challenges include high operational costs, high non-performing loan ratios, cybersecurity risks and customers demanding more digital and personalised services.

Trends

• A significant increase in the adoption of digital technology due to demand for digital banking channels. This has resulted in an increase in licensed digital providers and growth of digital credit.
• Collaboration between traditional financial institutions and fintech companies are becoming common.
• Expansion by local banks into Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire.
• Financial institutions are increasing their focus on SMEs financing.
• Financial institutions are venturing into sustainable finance focusing on green financing.
• Increased investment in cybersecurity measures to protect financial institutions’ infrastructure and customers’ data.
• Kenya’s financial sector is becoming increasingly integrated with global financial markets.
• Several regulatory changes such as new core capital requirements aimed at improving stability and security of the banking sector.
• Significant progress in financial inclusion through expanding mobile money, fintechs and affordable banking products.
• The rise in fintechs, increasing competition with traditional and microfinance banks.
• There is a noticeable shift towards cashless transactions driven by the convenience accessibility and security of digital payments.
• There is significant growth in diaspora remittances.

Opportunities

• Bancassurance is creating opportunities for sales and product development roles.
• Digital banking and fintech, including mobile money and virtual banking solutions.
• Financial institutions are focusing on improving customer experience, leading to opportunities in relationship management, customer service and marketing.
• Inclusive banking to cater for the unbanked and underbanked areas and expanding access to finance for SMEs.
• There is growing demand for banks to invest in green projects.
• With increasing regulations, there is need for professionals with expertise in compliance, anti-money laundering and financial crime prevention.

Challenges

• A shortage of skilled professional in digital technology.
• A significant portion of the population remains unbanked, particularly in rural areas.
• Consumers are demanding more digital and personalised services putting pressure on banks to adapt.
• Fintechs have to navigate a complex regulatory landscape.
• Kenya is prone to frequent droughts and floods which cause significant damage to banks’ infrastructure and physical assets.
• Microfinance institutions are highly vulnerable to instability and economic pressures.
• Regulatory changes can impact operations and profitability.
• The non-performing loans ratio has been on the rise, reflecting economic pressures and impacting asset quality.
• The rise of fintech companies is disrupting traditional banking models and creating challenges for established Kenyan financial institutions.
• The traditional banking sector faces increasing competition from fintechs and other non-traditional financial institutions.
• Vulnerability to cyberattacks, which comprise financial data and disrupt operations.

Outlook

• The Kenyan banking sector is projected to remain stable and resilient.
• Favourable macroeconomic conditions are expected to encourage private sector lending, which will drive growth in loans.
• Non-performing loans are expected to remain high in the near term due to significant public-sector spending and extended loan repayment periods.
• New minimum core capital requirements may result in risks for smaller banks.
• Increasing adoption of mobile money and a young tech-savvy population will drive the growth of fintechs.

Read More..
Financial Services in Kenya
Financial Services in Kenya 2025

Full Report

R 20 000.00(ZAR) estimated $1124.84 (USD)*

Industry Landscape

R 14 000.00(ZAR) estimated $ 787.39 (USD)*

Historical Reports

Financial Services in Kenya 2021-11-18

R 1 900.00(ZAR) estimated $106.86 (USD)*

View Report Add to Cart

Table of Contents

[ Close ]
PAGE
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. COUNTRY INFORMATION 1
3. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY 3
3.1. Industry Value Chain 9
3.2. Geographic Position 10
3.3. Size of the Industry 11
4. LOCAL 13
4.1. State of the Industry 13
4.2. Key Trends 22
4.3. Key Issues 23
4.4. Notable Players 23
4.5. Corporate Actions 27
4.6. Regulations 28
4.7. Enterprise Development and Social Development 29
5. AFRICA 30
6. INTERNATIONAL 34
7. INFLUENCING FACTORS 37
7.1. Unforeseen Events 37
7.2. Economic Environment 37
7.3. Labour 40
7.4. Environmental Issues 41
7.5. Technology, R&D, Innovation 43
7.6. Government Support 44
7.7. Mobile Devices 45
7.8. Input Costs 45
7.9. Cybersecurity 45
8. COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT 47
8.1. Competition 47
8.2. Ownership Structure of the Industry 47
8.3. Barriers to Entry 47
9. INDUSTRY SUMMARY 48
10. OUTLOOK 49
11. INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS 50
12. REFERENCES 50
12.1. Publications 50
12.2. Websites 51
ANNEXURE 1 53
Relevant Legislation 53
APPENDIX 1 54
Summary of Notable Players 54
COMPANY PROFILES 61
ABSA BANK KENYA PLC 61
ACCESS BANK (KENYA) PLC 69
AFRICAN BANKING CORPORATION LTD 72
BANK OF AFRICA KENYA LTD 75
BANK OF BARODA (KENYA) LTD 78
BANK OF INDIA KENYA (KENYA BRANCH OF BANK OF INDIA) 81
BRANCH MICROFINANCE BANK LTD 83
CARITAS MICROFINANCE BANK LTD 85
CENTRAL BANK OF KENYA 87
CHOICE MICROFINANCE BANK LTD 91
CITIBANK KENYA (KENYA BRANCH OF CITIBANK N.A.) 93
CO-OPERATIVE BANK OF KENYA LTD (THE) 95
COMMERCIAL INTERNATIONAL BANK KENYA LTD 101
CONSOLIDATED BANK OF KENYA LTD 104
CREDIT BANK PLC 107
DEVELOPMENT BANK OF KENYA LTD 110
DIAMOND TRUST BANK KENYA LTD 113
DIB BANK KENYA LTD 118
ECOBANK KENYA LTD 121
EQUITY BANK (KENYA) LTD 124
FAMILY BANK LTD 127
FAULU MICROFINANCE BANK LTD 133
GUARANTY TRUST BANK (KENYA) LTD 136
GUARDIAN BANK LTD 139
GULF AFRICAN BANK LTD 142
HABIB BANK KENYA (KENYA BRANCH OF HABIB BANK AG ZURICH) 145
HFC LTD 147
I&M BANK LTD 150
ILAM FAHARI I-REIT 155
JUNCTION FOREX AND MONEY REMITTANCE LTD 158
KCB GROUP PLC 159
KENYA WOMEN MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 162
KIMISITU DT SACCO SOCIETY LTD 166
KINGDOM BANK LTD 168
LOLC KENYA MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 172
M-ORIENTAL BANK LTD 175
MIDDLE EAST BANK KENYA LTD 178
MUUNGANO MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 181
MWALIMU NATIONAL COOPERATIVE SAVINGS AND CREDIT SOCIETY LTD 184
NCBA GROUP PLC 187
ON IT MICROFINANCE BANK LTD 190
PARAMOUNT BANK LTD 192
PREMIER BANK KENYA LTD 195
PRIME BANK LTD 198
RAFIKI MICROFINANCE BANK LTD 201
RENTWORKS EAST AFRICA LTD 204
SALAAM MICROFINANCE BANK LTD 205
SBM BANK (KENYA) LTD 207
SIDIAN BANK LTD 211
SIMBA CORPORATION LTD 214
SMEP MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 217
STANBIC BANK KENYA LTD 221
STANDARD CHARTERED BANK KENYA LTD 225
STANDARD INVESTMENT BANK LTD 230
STIMA DT SACCO SOCIETY LTD 233
SUMAC MICROFINANCE BANK LTD 236
TAI SACCO SOCIETY LTD 240
U & I MICROFINANCE BANK LTD 242
UBA KENYA BANK LTD 245
UMBA MICROFINANCE BANK LTD 248
VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT LEASING LTD 250
VICTORIA COMMERCIAL BANK LTD 252

Report Coverage

This report covers the Kenyan banking industry, focusing on commercial banks and also including the central bank, microfinance and mutual funds such as local credit and savings unions and community-based financial services associations. It includes comprehensive information on the size and state of the industry, the performance and developments of major industry players, corporate actions and industry developments. There are profiles of 56 companies including notable commercial banks such as Standard Chartered, Stanbic, Equity Bank and KCB Group, smaller banks including Paramount and Middle East Bank and microfinance banks such as Faulu and Muungano.

Introduction

This report covers the Kenyan banking industry, focusing on commercial banks and also including the central bank, microfinance and mutual funds such as local credit and savings unions and community-based financial services associations.The Kenyan banking sector is a very important part of the domestic economy, contributing 5% to the country’s GDP (Q1 2021). It has a total asset base of around US$500m and employs over 32,000 people. Most of the assets are held by the country’s 39 commercial banks, and within commercial banking, assets are concentrated within the 10 listed companies, half of which are foreign-owned banks. The Kenyan banking industry is widely held to be overbanked, and large banks are being driven by these intensely competitive and low-margin conditions to consolidate the domestic sector through mergers and acquisitions while also intensifying their drive to become fully regionalised banks. Disruptive mobile money platforms, led by Safaricom’s M-Pesa, emerged as significant competitors to commercial banks at a time when a government-imposed interest rate cap curbed banking loans to small businesses and households, which make the up the majority of the Kenyan retail finance market. Since 2016, the widespread adoption of digital banking platforms by commercial banks has provided them with a restructured business model of expansion at a much lower cost.The trends, structural vulnerabilities and resilience which characterised the Kenyan banking industry were amplified during the pandemic. Facing credit risks from a rapid increase in non-performing loans, the banks restructured loans – at significant cost – while aggressively increasing their capital and liquidity buffers, particularly by purchasing government securities and withholding cash dividend payments to shareholders. Smaller banks faired less successfully in this response. After the loan restructuring period and the subsequent restoration of net interest revenue and profitability, well-capitalised large commercial banks are expected to continue to consolidate the domestic market, expand into the region and pursue digital banking to lower costs and win back small business and household customers lost to non-bank competitors in recent years.

Strengths

• Agent banking is facilitating growth in financial inclusion.
• Competition is increasing with telecoms and fintech companies entering the market.
• Digital banking continues to improve financial inclusion.
• Diversification into digital banking channels is driving down operating costs of commercial banks.
• Economic growth will lead to improved demand for credit and strengthen banks’ assets.
• Established and new players embrace innovation, making Kenya a world leader in mobile money and banking technology.
• Foreign investment in local banks.
• Government and donor support for improvement of access of small and medium enterprises to finance.
• Local banks are present in and continue to expand into the East African Community and beyond.
• Training programmes are provided for SMEs to improve financial literacy.

Weaknesses

• The banking industry is highly concentrated, with the listed banks dominating the market.
• The large number of players make the sector overbanked.

Opportunities

• , The strong presence of foreign banks gives local banks the opportunity to partner or merge and build capacity.
• Consolidation will strengthen the performance of the large commercial banks.
• Expansion by commercial banks into the East African region will strengthen their operations and provide a footprint making Kenya a central hub for banking in the region.

Threats

• Cybercrime threatens the stability of banking services.
• Increased technology adoption by players could lead to further branch closures and retrenchments.
• Increasing number of non-performing loans.
• Terrorist activities in Kenya and neighbouring countries are leading to reduced capacity of commercial banks when they have to close down branches.

Outlook

A well-capitalised commercial banking industry showed resilience during the pandemic in 2020 and quickly bounced back to restore profitability and net interest revenue growth. However, the continued deterioration of asset quality and the ongoing economic threat from COVID-19 because of the slow pace of vaccination means that the industry could still face rising levels of non-performing loans and credit loss. Profitability in microfinance banking is a more acute concern, and the limited ability of the Kenyan government to provide stimulus and protection to SMEs because of its high debt levels and high debt servicing requirements casts a shadow over the outlook of SME-focused banks. Positive developments in the diversification of revenue streams through digital, mobile, bancassurance and other non-funded income, consolidation in the domestic market and expansion into the regional market will go some way to sustain the banks through these uncertainties.

Read More..
Financial Services in Kenya
Financial Services in Kenya 2021

Full Report

R 1 900.00(ZAR) estimated $106.86 (USD)*

Industry Landscape

R 1 330.00(ZAR) estimated $ 74.80 (USD)*

Historical Reports

Financial Services in Kenya 2025-05-30

R 20 000.00(ZAR) estimated $1124.84 (USD)*

View Report Add to Cart

Table of Contents

[ Close ]
PAGE
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. COUNTRY PROFILE 1
2.1. Geographic Position 8
3. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY 10
3.1. Industry Value Chain 16
3.2. Size of the Industry 17
3.3. Key Success Factors and Pain Points 33
4. LOCAL 34
4.1. Key Trends 34
4.2. Notable Players 39
4.3. Corporate Actions 49
4.4. Regulations 51
4.5. Enterprise Development and Social Development 54
5. AFRICA 57
6. INTERNATIONAL 59
7. INFLUENCING FACTORS 61
7.1. COVID-19 61
7.2. Economic Environment 62
7.3. Labour 64
7.4. Technology, R&D and Innovation 66
7.5. Input Costs 68
7.6. Kenya’s Credit Rating 70
8. COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT 72
8.1. Competition 72
8.2. Barriers to Entry 73
9. SWOT ANALYSIS 74
10. OUTLOOK 75
11. INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS 76
12. REFERENCES 76
12.1. Publications 76
12.2. Websites 77
COMPANY PROFILES 84
Absa Bank Kenya PLC 84
Access Bank (Kenya) PLC 92
African Banking Corporation Ltd 95
Bank of Africa Kenya Ltd 98
Bank of Baroda (Kenya) Ltd 101
Bank of India Kenya (Kenya branch of Bank of India) 104
Caritas Microfinance Bank Ltd 106
Central Bank of Kenya 108
Century Microfinance Bank Ltd 111
Choice Microfinance Bank Ltd 113
Citibank Kenya (Kenya branch of Citibank N.A.) 115
Co-operative Bank of Kenya Ltd (The) 117
Consolidated Bank of Kenya Ltd 124
Credit Bank PLC 127
Daraja Microfinance Bank Ltd 130
Development Bank of Kenya Ltd 131
Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Ltd 133
DIB Bank Kenya Ltd 138
Ecobank Kenya Ltd 140
Equity Bank (Kenya) Ltd 143
Family Bank Ltd 145
Faulu Microfinance Bank Ltd 151
First Community Bank Ltd 154
Guaranty Trust Bank (Kenya) Ltd 157
Guardian Bank Ltd 160
Gulf African Bank Ltd 163
Habib Bank Kenya (Kenya branch of Habib Bank AG Zurich) 166
HFC Ltd 168
I&M Bank Ltd 170
KCB Group PLC 175
Kenya Women Microfinance Bank PLC 179
KEY Microfinance Bank PLC 183
Kingdom Bank Ltd 185
M Oriental Bank Ltd 188
Maisha Microfinance Bank Ltd 191
Mayfair CIB Bank Ltd 193
Middle East Bank Kenya Ltd 196
Muungano Microfinance Bank PLC 199
NCBA Group PLC 201
Paramount Bank Ltd 205
Prime Bank Ltd 207
Rafiki Microfinance Bank Ltd 210
RentWorks East Africa Ltd 212
SBM Bank (Kenya) Ltd 213
Sidian Bank Ltd 216
Simba Corporation Ltd 219
SMEP Microfinance Bank Ltd 222
Spire Bank Ltd 225
Stanbic Bank Kenya Ltd 227
Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Ltd 231
Sumac Microfinance Bank Ltd 236
U & I Microfinance Bank Ltd 238
UBA Kenya Bank Ltd 240
Uwezo Microfinance Bank Ltd 242
Vehicle and Equipment Leasing Ltd 244
Victoria Commercial Bank Ltd 246