Nairobi, March 2 -- Kenya's commercial banks grew their pre-tax profit by 20 percent in the year ended December 2025 to pass the Sh300 billion mark for the first time, signalling higher dividend payouts to shareholders and bonuses for staff.

Disclosures from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) show the lenders posted a pre-tax profit of Sh311.8 billion in the review period, up from Sh260 billion a year earlier on reduced expenses.

The performance of the lenders, such as Equity Bank Kenya and KCB Bank Kenya, will boost the group earnings of institutions, which have operations in other markets, including Uganda and Tanzania.

The performance signals a bigger headroom for banks to reward their shareholders with higher dividend payouts.

Staff ...