KCB Overtakes Equity as Kenya's Largest Bank

KCB Bank has dethroned Equity as the largest lender in the country by asset size on the back of an aggressive expansion of foreign subsidiaries.

KCB’s total assets stood at Sh1.55 trillion in the year ending December, compared to Equity’s total assets of Sh1.44 trillion, regulatory filings show.

However, KCB trailed Equity in profitability in the period with KCB stating it did not include the full-year profits from its recently acquired subsidiary in DRC.

KCB said it absorbed a loss of Sh65 million out of the DRC business for the month of December.

Equity pipped its Kenyan rivals including KCB in the year ended December 2022 when its profit before tax led the Kenyan banking industry at Sh59.8 billion equivalent to Sh2.5 billion ahead of KCB’s Sh57.3 billion.

KCB chief executive Paul Russo and his Equity counterpart James Mwangi have maintained that the wider eastern Africa region offers an immense opportunity for new growth and signaled plans to continue with their expansion. 

According to the regulatory disclosures, KCB’s customer deposits stood at Sh1.14 trillion ahead of Equity’s Sh1.05 trillion. 

KCB’s shareholder funds stood at Sh200 billion ahead of Equity’s Sh182 billion. 

KCB Bank Kenya's total assets sit at Sh971 billion ahead of Equity’s Sh894 billion, revenue at Sh93 billion ahead of Equity’s Sh86 billion.