Kenyan banks experienced significant changes in deposit account distributions last year. The total number of deposit accounts surged to 94,643,325 from 64,022,715 in 2022. However, accounts holding over KES 500,000 decreased by 39.90%, while those with less than Ksh500 grew by 50.4%.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Annual Bank Supervision Report 2023, accounts with more than KES 500,000 dropped to 1,110,232 in 2023 from 1,847,077 in 2022. Conversely, accounts with less than KES 500,000 increased to 93,533,093 from 62,175,638 to 93,533,093 over the same period.
NCBA held the highest number of accounts with over KES 500,000, totaling 416,481, followed by Equity Bank with 124,098. KCB, Co-operative Bank, and Absa Kenya had 113,368; 86,033; and 59,326 such accounts, respectively.
Despite the overall increase in accounts, at least ten banks experienced a reduction in deposit accounts. These banks included Bank of India, Bank of Africa, HFC Limited, Sidian Bank, SBM Bank, Premier Bank, Africa Banking Corporation, UBA Kenya, and Spire Bank.
National Bank of Kenya (NBK), a subsidiary of KCB Group, saw the largest decline with a 36.7% reduction in its deposit accounts, dropping to 529,601 in 2023 from 836,648 in 2022. KCB Group acquired NBK five years ago and has faced challenges addressing inherited issues such as capital constraints and non-performing loans. In March, KCB Group announced plans to sell National Bank at 1.25 times its book value to Nigeria’s Access Bank, which already has a presence in Kenya after acquiring Transnational Bank in 2019.
Access Bank has been actively expanding its footprint across Africa through mergers and acquisitions, including Grobank in South Africa, BancABC in Botswana and Mozambique, Diamond Bank in Nigeria, and Finibanco Angola.
