Kenya’s listed banks have achieved a combined net profit of Sh240.1 billion for the year ending December 2024, marking a new record despite the challenging economic environment, which was worsened by an increase in bad loans.
However, this strong performance comes amid a decline in lending by commercial banks. High interest rates discouraged Kenyans from taking out costly loans during an economic downturn that limited borrowing capacity.
Despite the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) lowering the base lending rate from 13% in June last year to 10.75% last month, hoping banks would pass on the benefits to customers, the banks’ earnings were unaffected by fiscal challenges.
Among the top performers, KCB Group reported the highest net profit of Sh61.8 billion, a 64.9% increase from the previous year. The bank proposed a total dividend of Sh3 per share, amounting to Sh9.6 billion in payouts. KCB Group Chairman Joseph Kinyua expressed optimism, highlighting strong profits across all entities and anticipating an economic recovery this year, driven by resilient service sectors, agriculture, and a recovery in credit growth and exports.
Equity Group followed with a profit of Sh48.8 billion and plans to distribute Sh16 billion in dividends, up from Sh15.1 billion in the previous year. Co-operative Bank of Kenya posted a 9.8% increase in net profit to Sh25.5 billion, maintaining a dividend of Sh1.50 per share, which translates to Sh8.8 billion in payouts.
NCBA Group saw a modest 1.9% rise in profit to Sh21.86 billion but raised its dividend by 15.8% to Sh5.50 per share, totaling Sh9.06 billion, marking its fourth consecutive year of dividend growth. The Kenyatta and Ndegwa families, major shareholders in NCBA, benefited significantly from this generous distribution.
Absa Bank Kenya’s profits surged by 27.5% to Sh20.87 billion, and it increased its dividend payout to Sh1.75 per share, totaling Sh9.5 billion. Standard Chartered Bank Kenya saw the largest dividend relative to share value, declaring Sh45 per share following a 45% rise in profit to Sh20.1 billion, resulting in a record Sh13.9 billion dividend payout.
I&M Group grew its net profit by 21.9% to Sh15.3 billion and raised its dividend by 17.6% to Sh5 billion or Sh3 per share. Stanbic Holdings posted a record net profit of Sh13.71 billion, a 12.8% increase, and raised its dividend payout by 35.1% to Sh8.1 billion, continuing a three-year streak of rising dividends.
