KCB Group remained Kenya’s largest commercial bank by market share at the end of 2025, accounting for 17.3 per cent of the banking sector, according to data from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

Equity Bank ranked second with 11.8 per cent, followed by Co-operative Bank at 9.4 per cent. NCBA held fourth position with 7.9 per cent, while Absa Bank Kenya, Stanbic Bank and I&M Bank recorded 6.4 per cent, 5.8 per cent and 5.6 per cent, respectively. Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) also posted a 5.6 per cent share.

The figures are contained in the CBK Bank Supervision Annual Report 2025, which groups banks according to their relative market size.

The regulator uses a weighted market-size index to determine the peer groups, rather than relying solely on the size of a bank’s assets. The assessment takes into account total net assets, deposits, shareholders’ funds, as well as the number of deposit and loan accounts.

Based on the CBK classification, Kenya’s 39 commercial banks operating at the end of December 2025 were divided into three categories.

Tier 1 — Large banks

  1. KCB — 17.3%
  2. Equity Bank — 11.8%
  3. Co-operative Bank — 9.4%
  4. NCBA — 7.9%
  5. Absa Bank Kenya — 6.4%
  6. Stanbic Bank — 5.8%
  7. I&M Bank — 5.6%
  8. Diamond Trust Bank — 5.6%

Together, the eight large banks controlled 69.7 per cent of the market.

Tier 2 — Medium banks

  1. Standard Chartered Bank Kenya — 4.5%
  2. Prime Bank — 4.3%
  3. Bank of Baroda — 2.6%
  4. Family Bank — 2.4%
  5. Citibank Kenya — 2.1%
  6. Bank of India — 1.6%
  7. National Bank of Kenya — 1.5%
  8. SBM Bank Kenya — 1.1%
  9. Sidian Bank — 1.1%
  10. Ecobank Kenya — 1.0%
  11. Housing Finance (HF) — 1.0%

The 11 medium-sized banks collectively accounted for 23.2 per cent of the sector.

Tier 3 — Small banks

  1. Victoria Commercial Bank — 0.8%
  2. Gulf African Bank — 0.6%
  3. Bank of Africa Kenya — 0.5%
  4. GTBank Kenya — 0.5%
  5. ABC Bank — 0.5%
  6. Kingdom Bank — 0.5%
  7. Habib A.G. Zurich — 0.4%
  8. Dubai Islamic Bank Kenya — 0.4%
  9. Premier Bank Kenya — 0.4%
  10. CIB Kenya — 0.3%
  11. Credit Bank — 0.3%
  12. Development Bank of Kenya — 0.3%
  13. Middle East Bank Kenya — 0.3%
  14. Guardian Bank — 0.2%
  15. Paramount Bank — 0.2%
  16. M-Oriental Bank — 0.2%
  17. UBA Kenya — 0.2%
  18. Access Bank Kenya — 0.2%
  19. Consolidated Bank of Kenya — 0.2%
  20. Spire Bank — 0.0%

The 20 banks in the small-bank category collectively held 7.1 per cent of the market.

The ranking came as the Kenyan banking industry recorded continued expansion in balance-sheet size. CBK said total net assets held by commercial banks rose by 10.3 per cent to Sh8.35 trillion in December 2025, up from Sh7.57 trillion in December 2024.