SBM Bank Kenya more than doubled its pretax profit in the first nine months of 2026 as higher income, deposit growth and an improving bad-loan ratio strengthened its financial performance, BusinessTech reports.
Profit before tax rose 122% to KSh911 million in the nine months ended September 30, compared with KSh411 million a year earlier. Operating profit climbed 197% to KSh1.3 billion from KSh447 million.
Total income increased 33% to KSh5.444 billion, with net interest income rising 29% to KSh3.443 billion and non-funded income gaining 39% to KSh2.001 billion.
Transactional income increased 95%, while trade finance commissions rose 98%. Operating costs grew 12%, below the rate of income growth, helping support profitability.
Customer deposits rose 29% year-on-year to KSh97.3 billion at the end of September, while net loans and advances increased 23% to KSh56.5 billion.
The non-performing loan ratio fell to 16.9% from 32.3% a year earlier and 17.3% at the end of June. The bank recorded a net impairment charge of KSh418 million during the nine-month period.
Loans underwritten since May 2024, when Chief Executive Officer Bhartesh Shah took office, had a non-performing loan ratio of 1%, according to the bank.
“We are working on the legacy loan book while building a healthier portfolio for the future,” Shah said.
SBM Bank Kenya has completed an upgrade to Oracle FLEXCUBE 14.8 and migrated to the iCUST loan-origination platform. It is now focused on using the systems to improve service delivery, credit decisions and productivity.
The bank is also advancing digital onboarding and mobile banking, alongside its Busara loyalty programme and zero-fee PesaLink transfers as digital onboarding and mobile-banking remain part of the Bank’s payments strategy. SBM Bank Kenya is part of Mauritius-headquartered SBM Group and entered the Kenyan market in 2017.
