Eleven commercial banks must raise a combined Sh15 billion by December 2025 or risk losing their licenses as the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) enforces new minimum capital rules.
The tier III lenders are under pressure to lift their core capital to Sh3 billion, up from Sh1 billion, in less than four months. They are expected to plug the gap through stake sales, shareholder rights issues, mergers, or capital injections from parent companies.
The lenders include Paramount Bank, M-Oriental, ABC Bank Kenya, Premier Bank, CIB International Bank, Middle East Bank Kenya, Development Bank of Kenya (DBK), UBA Kenya Bank, Credit Bank Plc, Access Bank Kenya, and the state-owned Consolidated Bank of Kenya.
Several of them are subsidiaries of foreign banks and are banking on fresh capital from their parent firms. Last week, UBA Kenya confirmed it was pursuing new funding from Nigeria’s UBA Plc to cover its Sh1.51 billion deficit.
“Our current core capital stands at Sh1.49 billion. To bridge the gap, we are pursuing capital injection from our parent company,” the bank told Nation in an emailed response.
Consolidated Bank faces the deepest hole at Sh3.7 billion, having ended June with only Sh701 million in core capital. Others with large gaps include Access Bank Kenya (Sh3.4 billion), Credit Bank (Sh1.72 billion), CIB International Bank (Sh1.09 billion), and UBA Kenya (Sh1.51 billion).
Seven banks, including Paramount, Premier, and DBK, face smaller deficits ranging from Sh260 million to Sh930 million. Continued losses in the first half of 2025 have further eroded capital buffers for some of these institutions.
CBK Governor Dr Kamau Thugge has defended the enhanced capital rules, saying they will strengthen the sector’s resilience and likely spur a new wave of mergers and acquisitions.
The Business Laws (Amendment) Act, 2024, signed in December, requires banks to progressively increase minimum core capital to Sh10 billion by 2029—Sh3 billion by the end of 2025, Sh5 billion in 2026, Sh7 billion in 2027, Sh8 billion in 2028, and Sh10 billion by 2029.
In February, CBK directed 24 banks below the Sh10 billion mark to submit detailed capital-raising plans. “We have written to the banks to tell us what their plan is…not just the first year,” Dr. Thugge said at the time.
Some lenders have already moved. HF Group raised Sh6 billion through a rights issue earlier this year, lifting it above the Sh3 billion threshold and into tier II status. Ecobank Transnational, the parent of Ecobank Kenya, injected Sh3.5 billion into its Kenyan subsidiary in March, raising its capital to Sh8.5 billion.
Other foreign-owned lenders, including UBA Kenya, Access Bank Kenya, Premier Bank, CIB International Bank, and Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), are counting on parent company support. DIB has disclosed a Sh6.7 billion standby credit line from its UAE-based parent, while Ecobank’s March injection brought its Kenyan unit closer to the Sh10 billion end-goal.
The next four months will be decisive, as the 11 banks scramble to secure capital lifelines—or face the risk of being forced out of Kenya’s banking sector.
