| Global Awards for Excellence | ||
| African Regional Awards for Excellence | ||
| Botswana | Ghana | Kenya |
| Morocco | Nigeria | South Africa |
| Uganda | ||
 |
Best Bank: Kenya Commercial Bank |
Worries are growing that Equity Bank, the bank that showed how profit could be made from collateralizing cows and by offering services to the rural poor, is overstretching itself. In an era when tourism revenues are dipping and political concerns linger, a more uncertain market is looking increasingly towards Equity Bank’s bigger, perhaps more stable rival, Kenya Commercial Bank.
KCB is not resting on its laurels. Its expansion has continued in Uganda and Tanzania; the latter is a difficult market for Kenyan banks to enter. This adds to its existing operations in Uganda and southern Sudan.
In 2008, Kenya Commercial Bank’s pre-tax profit rose 43%, with first-quarter 2009 profit up by 5%. This is small compared with Equity Bank’s pre-tax profit growth of 111% in 2008, with first-quarter 2009 pre-tax profits up 29%. But with Equity Bank’s expansion into more remote areas continuing, its operating expenses rose 120% in 2008. Its total non-performing loans and advances were up 156%, compared with Kenya Commercial Bank’s rise of 88% in total non-performing loans in 2008.
Last summer Kenya Commercial Bank launched an oversubscribed rights issue for an equivalent of $70 million.
