Kenya's banks have grown in the recent past - partially due to their embrace of technology - some have become hubs of other institutions worldwide keen on learning and exchanging insights on banking models.
Through their penetration of most of Africa's economies, KCB and Equity bank are now valued at more than Ksh1 trillion.
Equity is currently the largest lender in the country, followed by KCB which has enjoyed the top position for decades.
Equity Bank's financial results of 2022 indicate its total assets grew by 29 per cent to Ksh.1.3 trillion from Ksh.1 trillion in 2021.
The bank has been taking advantage of fintech to become a global player in terms of processing payments and enabling global trade with 98 per cent of its transactions taking place outside the branch.
The subsidiaries of Equity Bank are in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Equity Bank is a subsidiary of Equity Group Holdings Limited which was formed way back in October 1984 as the Equity Building Society. Currently, Equity Bank has more than 15 million customers making it the largest bank in terms of the customer base in Africa and having nearly half of its bank accounts in Kenya.
It is trailed by KCB whose total assets are currently valued at Ksh1.02 trillion up from Ksh953 billion last year reflecting a 7 per cent jump. This, according to the bank's 2022 financial report, is anchored on organic growth across the bank’s businesses and the acquisition of a business processing reengineering (BPR) strategy.
Customer deposits currently stand at Ksh786.03 billion supported by its current and savings accounts.
KCB has a rich history dating back to 1904 when it opened a branch in Kenya under the name National Bank of India. The Kenyan government later acquired 100 per cent ownership of the bank and renamed it Kenya Commercial Bank in 1970 and has since grown to have over 3 billion shares.
Another major bank is Co-operative Bank whose assets are valued at Ksh450 billion and has won a number of awards due to its innovative growth strategy.
Asset value – also known as net tangible assets - is the book value of tangible assets on the balance sheet or the money that would be left over if the company was liquidated.
