Standard Chartered Bank Kenya(SCBK) has moved from Central Bank of Kenya(CBKs) Large Peer Group to the Medium Peer Group in 2025. SCBK market-size index fell to 4.5% from 5.4%, with its ranking moving from 8th to 9th. The shift reflects a contraction in relative balance-sheet scale:

  •  Net assets: KSh364.5billion, down 5.4%
  •  Deposits: KSh284.7billion, down 3.8%
  •  Shareholders’ funds: KSh66.2billion, down 7.4%
  •  Deposit accounts: down 7.0%
  •  Loan accounts: down 11.1%
Why SCBK has downgraded

The year 2025 also saw the conclusion of the long-running pension dispute involving former employees, with the SCBK facing a payment estimated at about KSh7billion. The amount was material relative to annual earnings and contributed to the bank’s 2025 profit outlook.

Investor meaning:

The peer-group move is not a regulatory, solvency or capital-adequacy downgrade. It is primarily a reflection of SCBK’s reduced relative market size.

For investors, the bigger question is whether the 2025 contraction is temporary or represents a sustained loss of balance-sheet momentum.  The advice is therefore to watch deposit and loan growth, customer numbers, profitability, capital generation and dividend capacity through 2026.

The label “Medium Peer Group” matters less than whether the underlying franchise starts growing again.