KCB Group has overtaken the Equity Group on net profit and total assets in the first quarter of the current 2024 financial.

This comes after KCB Group announced a 69 per cent net profit jump to Sh. 16.48 billion in quarter one, with total assets in Q1 jumping by 22.4 per cent to Sh. 1.99 trillion in the same period. Profit before tax for the bank was an increase of 52.7 per cent to Sh. 21.1 billion.

In the first quarter of the 2023 financial year, KCB had realized a net profit of Sh. 9.75 billion, which had been a dip from the Sh. 9.86 billion the bank had made in the first three months of the 2022 financial year.

In contrast, Equity Group had earlier this month announced a 25 per cent jump in net profit to Sh. 16 billion with total assets increasing by 10 per cent to Sh. 1.65 trillion.

The results of the two banks were for the period ended March 31, 2024. According to the results given by KCB Group, total interest income grew by 46 per cent to Sh. 49 billion while total operating income increased by Sh. 31.6 per cent to Sh. 48.5 billion.

“Our investments in the regional businesses, continued to bear fruits. As we continue to expand, our operational resilience remains a cornerstone of our growth and expansion strategies,” said KCB Group chief executive officer Paul Russo.

“We have delivered a strong growth in revenue from new business lines, deepening of digital channels and innovative customer value propositions.”

The bank further announced that its loans portfolio grew strongly at 12.2 per cent. These loans were mainly to households and businesses in trade, tourism and manufacturing sectors. At the same time, customer deposits increased by 25.4 per cent year on year, and are currently at Sh. 1.5 trillion.

Equity Group announces Sh. 16 billion net profit in first three months of 2024

“KCB is well positioned to power the strong projected GDP growth across the region in 2024, driven by agriculture, tourism and services sectors,” said Mr. Russo. Businesses outside of the KCB Bank Kenya contributed 17.9 per cent of the pre-tax profits and 13.1 per cent of the total assets.

The National Bank of Kenya (NBK) increased its net profits four times from Sh. 101.1 million to Sh. 444.2 million.