The ranking places the East African lender in a league assessed primarily on hard financial data rather than customer perception Kenya Commercial Bank Group has earned a place among the world’s 500 top-performing banks in the inaugural Forbes World’s Top Performing Banks 2026.
The ranking places the East African lender in a league assessed primarily on hard financial data rather than customer perception. Forbes produced the report in partnership with market research firm Statista, covering 500 banks from 89 countries. The new index used audited financial performance, data providers including S&P Capital IQ, desk research and information submitted by banks.
Forbes’ methodology explicitly measures profitability, growth and earnings quality, capital and funding resilience, and asset quality and efficiency. Profitability carries the biggest weighting at 30 per cent, incorporating measures such as return on average assets, cost-to-income ratio and net interest margin.
Growth and earnings quality account for 20 per cent, while capital and funding resilience and asset quality and efficiency each carry 25 per cent. The latter categories examine indicators including equity strength, loan-to-deposit ratios, credit quality, risk management and balance-sheet resilience.
KCB’s recognition comes after a strong 2025 financial year in which the regional banking group posted a record Sh68.4 billion net profit, an 11 per cent increase. Total revenue rose to Sh211.8 billion, while total assets expanded to Sh2.15 trillion despite the disposal of National Bank of Kenya.
Net loans stood at Sh1.15 trillion and customer deposits at Sh1.59 trillion.