Kenyan banks have posted their results for the third quarter and, apart from a few exceptions, are expected to post modest profit growth for 2009 as a whole. Following are key facts about Kenyan banks:
* The industry posted an 11% growth in assets for the year ended September to 1.31 trillion shillings ($17.5 billion).
* Total deposits rose to 1 trillion shillings and the branch network grew by 154 branches to 918 during the same period.
* There are 43 commercial banks in Kenya. The biggest, in terms of total assets, is Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) with 191 billion shillings at the end of last year.
* For decades, since independence from Britain in 1963, Kenyan banking was dominated by local units of the likes of Barclays and Standard Chartered. These have been challenged by home-grown institutions such as Equity Bank.
* The latest foreign bank to pitch its tent in Kenya is Nigeria’s United Bank for Africa (UBA).
* There are about 6.3 million bank accounts in Kenya, out of a total population of more than 36 million — up from 2.6 million accounts at the end of 2005.
* Kenyan banks employed 22,438 people as of December l, 2008.
* There are nine banks or holding companies for banks listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) with a market value in excess of 270 billion shillings, at the end of August.
* Two Islamic banks — Gulf African Bank and First Community Bank — opened their doors early last year and now have nearly 1% of gross banking assets.
Kenya Commercial Bank(KCB) | Barclays (Kenya) | Standard Chartered (Kenya) | Equity Bank | United Bank for Africa (UBA) | Gulf African Bank (GAB) | First Community Bank (FCB)
Source(s): CNBC
