Kenya's Top Banks

as at June 2010

Bank Assets Pre-Tax-Profit
1. Barclays Kshs 173 billion ($2.16 billion), profit of Kshs 4.75 billion ($59.3 million)
2. KCB assets of Kshs 207 billion ($2.59 billion), profits of Kshs 4.34 billion ($54 million)
3. Equity 117,578 4,282
4. Standard Chartered 131,348 4,037
5. Cooperative 133,322 2,848
6. Diamond Trust 54,109 1,508
7. Citibank Kenya 63,812 1,499
8. Commercial Bank of Africa 60,229 1,465
9 Investment & Mortgages 56,630 1,239
10. National Bank of Kenya assets of 59,390 million ($742 million) and profits of Kshs 1,200 ($15 million) - then CFCStanbic (falling out of the top 10), NIC, Baroda, Imperial, and Bank of India.

Notes- KCB is the largest bank (and group) but is less profitable than Barclays which is the most profitable bank
- Equity may be the most profitable bank by next year: Five years ago (2006) they had 1/6 (Kshs 500m) of Barclays profits (Kshs 3 billion), now mid-way into 2010, they are the country's 5th largest in assets, and 3rd in profits - and are about 7X large by both measures compared to five years ago, while KCB is 1.5X larger and Barclays is 0.5X larger than it was in 2006.
- Equity is perceived better in market terms than KCB though its half its size and has the same profits this year.

Changes since last year
- Credit sharing between banks is now being enforced
- Anti-money laundering law now in effect
- The Government of Kenya has set out to raise Kshs 31 billion ($388 million for infrastructure projects; Kenyan banks currently have almost half as much money invested in government securities as they do with loans to customers
- The new constitution passed this month means we will have currency without the face of a president (virtually all existing currency bear the portraits of Kenya's past presidents)

- Equity and several other Kenyan banks have decided to embrace and work with M-Pesa and other mobile money channels instead of fighting them
- Micro-finance institutions (MFI's) are stepping up into the commercial banking sphere

Incoming banks (all of which have micro-finance origins)
- Faulu Kenya
- Jamii Bora (formerly City Finance)
- KWFT

Gone banks
- Southern Credit (bought by Equatorial)
- S&L (absorbed into KCB)