Nairobi, Kenya – Kenyan banks delivered record earnings in 2025 despite a rate-cutting cycle, with combined after-tax profit of 11 listed lenders rising 15.7 percent to KSh280.4 billion ($2.16 billion), according to data compiled by Abojani Investment Limited.
Okay News reports that the profit rebound marks a recovery from KSh83 billion in 2020 and KSh143 billion in 2021. The operating environment was shaped by more stable macroeconomic conditions, with inflation aligned with the Central Bank of Kenya’s target, interest rates declining, and the currency stabilising.
Earnings are no longer primarily driven by interest income. Growth is increasingly coming from non-funded income streams, as loan expansion remained modest. Banks shifted focus towards efficiency and diversified revenue streams, allocating significant funds to low-risk instruments while wealth management emerged as a key revenue driver.
Equity Group led the market with KSh72.0 billion ($554 million) in profit, contributing 25.7 percent of total sector earnings, followed by KCB Group at 17 percent and Co-operative Bank at 11.5 percent. Seven banks ended the year with over KSh100 billion ($769 million) in shareholders’ funds, up from five in 2024.
Kenya’s banking sector more than doubled its MSME lending last year, disbursing KSh326.5 billion ($2.51 billion). The surge comes amid one of Africa’s most sustained easing cycles, with the central bank cutting rates by 175 basis points to 9.0 percent in December.
Some analysts caution that the profit surge may not be entirely structural. The reduction in interest rates lowered banks’ cost of funds, supporting margins, but profit growth was partly driven by write-backs of loan loss provisions and government settlement of pending bills.
, according to data compiled by Abojani Investment Limited.){kind=link}