SBM Bank Kenya Doubles 9-Month Profit to Ksh911 Million

SBM Bank Kenya more than doubled its profit before tax to Ksh911 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, supported by higher income, growing customer deposits and an improvement in asset quality.

The lender’s profit before tax rose by 122% from Ksh411 million recorded during the corresponding period in 2025. Operating profit increased 197% to Ksh1.3 billion, up from Ksh447 million a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the bank’s total income grew by 33% to Ksh5.444 billion during the nine months, driven by growth in both interest and non-interest income.

Net interest income increased by 29% to Ksh3.443 billion, while non-funded income rose by 39% to Ksh2.001 billion. Transactional income nearly doubled, increasing by 95%, while trade finance commissions grew by 98%, and operating costs rose by 12%.

SBM Bank Kenya Chief Executive Officer Bhartesh Shah attributed the performance to efforts to strengthen internal systems, improve credit management and deepen relationships with customers.

The bank’s customer deposits increased by 29% year-on-year to Ksh97.3 billion as of September 30, 2026, while net loans and advances grew 23% to Ksh56.5 billion.

Shah said the growth in deposits reflected customer confidence, adding that the bank would focus on maintaining reliable services and financing that supports households and businesses.

“Strong institutions are built through decisions that reinforce one another over time. We have focused on strengthening our systems, improving credit discipline and earning a larger place in our customers’ everyday lives,” the CEO noted.

“The results show progress, but our responsibility is to build the capability to sustain it. The growth in deposits is encouraging because it reflects customer confidence. Our task is to honour that confidence through reliable service, sound judgement and financing that helps households and businesses move forward.” 

On the other hand, the Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ratio declined to 16.9% in September 2026 from 32.3% a year earlier. This represented a reduction of 15.4 percentage points.

“The improvement reflects continued work on the legacy loan book and disciplined credit management. The Bank recorded a net impairment charge of Ksh418 million for the nine-month period as it continued to recognise credit risk through appropriate provisioning and write-downs,” the bank noted in its statement.

“Loans underwritten since May 2024, when the current CEO took office, have an NPL ratio of 1%. This provides a separate measure of the quality of more recent underwriting alongside the continuing work on the legacy loan book.”