Kenya’s banking sector demonstrated strong performance in the first half of 2026, as financial statements released in August revealed. Most listed banks achieved double-digit profit growth, despite ongoing concerns about asset quality across the industry.
Equity Group emerged as the top performer, with a 32% increase in pre-tax profit to Sh45.5 billion. This growth was fueled by a 39% rise in profit before tax, reaching Sh57.8 billion, based on a 25% increase in total income to Sh124.9 billion.
KCB followed closely, reporting a 14% growth in net profit to Sh36.9 billion and a 20.8% increase in pre-tax profit to Sh49.3 billion.
Other notable performers included Co-op Bank (up 28% to Sh18 billion), Family Bank (up 62% to Sh3.7 billion), and DTB (up 34% to Sh6.4 billion). In contrast, Absa and StanChart Kenya experienced declines of 9.8% and 17%, respectively.
Growth Fueled by Regional Expansion
The success of Kenyan banks is increasingly tied to their regional presence. Equity Group’s subsidiaries in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Sudan now account for 51% of group deposits, 54% of loans, and 52% of banking assets.
KCB’s regional operations in Rwanda, DRC, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and South Sudan contributed significantly, representing 27.7% of pre-tax profit and 31.1% of the balance sheet.
In comparison, NCBA’s East African subsidiaries in Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda generated combined profits of Sh1.6 billion, a small portion of the group’s total Sh12.4 billion.
Tanzania’s banking sector also demonstrated strong growth, with net profits reaching approximately TZS 2.47 trillion ($950 million) in 2025, a 14.7% increase. This follows a 40.9% jump in 2024, driven by infrastructure investments in the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), ports, and energy.
This growth is reflected in market valuations: CRDB and NMB saw their market capitalizations rise to $2.7 billion each, up from $762 million and $1.1 billion, respectively, over the past year. They now rank third and fourth in the region, behind Safaricom and MTN Uganda.
While Kenyan banks have expanded regionally, the comparison with Tanzanian banks reveals different growth trends. Tanzanian banks are growing from a smaller base with fewer non-performing loan (NPL) issues, whereas Kenyan lenders are evolving into pan-African institutions with reduced reliance on the domestic economy.
Kenya‘s corporate environment remains more developed, with 11 of the region’s top 20 listed companies by value being Kenyan, compared to six Tanzanian and three Ugandan. This highlights Nairobi’s long-standing capital market development.
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