SBM Bank Kenya pre-tax profit soars 122% to Ksh.911 Million

SBM Bank Kenya has recorded a 122 per cent increase in profit before tax to Ksh.911 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, up from Ksh.411 million reported in the corresponding period last year.

The lender attributed the improved performance to growth in income, increased customer deposits, stronger customer relationships and tighter credit management.

Operating profit rose by 197 per cent to Ksh.1.3 billion, compared with Ksh.447 million in the first nine months of 2025, while total income increased by 33 per cent to Ksh.5.444 billion.

Net interest income grew by 29 per cent to Ksh.3.443 billion, while non-funded income increased by 39 per cent to Ksh.2.001 billion.

The bank also reported a 95 per cent increase in transactional income and a 98 per cent rise in trade finance commissions, reflecting growth in its everyday banking and business services.

Operating costs increased by 12 per cent, remaining below the rate of income growth.

Customer deposits rose by 29 per cent year-on-year to Ksh.97.3 billion as of September 30, 2026, while net loans and advances increased by 23 per cent to Ksh.56.5 billion.

SBM Bank Kenya Chief Executive Officer Bhartesh Shah said the results reflected efforts to strengthen internal systems, improve credit discipline and deepen relationships with customers.

“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,” Shah said.

He added that the growth in deposits reflected customer confidence, which the bank intends to sustain through reliable service, sound judgement and financing for households and businesses.

The lender also reported an improvement in its non-performing loan (NPL) ratio, which declined to 16.9 per cent at the end of September, from 32.3 per cent a year earlier and 17.3 per cent at the end of June 2026.

The reduction represents a 15.4 percentage-point improvement compared with September 2025.

However, the bank recorded a net impairment charge of KSh418 million during the nine-month period as it continued provisioning for credit risks and addressing challenges in its legacy loan book.

Shah said loans underwritten since May 2024, when he took office, had an NPL ratio of one per cent, describing the figure as an encouraging indicator of the quality of more recent lending.

“We are working on the legacy loan book while building a healthier portfolio for the future. The 1% NPL ratio on loans underwritten since May 2024 is encouraging. Our responsibility is to sustain that discipline as the portfolio matures and lending grows,” he said.

The bank is also seeking to improve operational efficiency following the completion of its core banking upgrade to Oracle FLEXCUBE 14.8 and migration to the iCUST loan-origination platform.

It said the focus had shifted to integrating the systems into daily operations to support more consistent credit decisions, improve turnaround times and increase productivity.

Digital onboarding and mobile banking enhancements remain part of the bank’s strategy, alongside its Busara loyalty programme and zero-fee PesaLink transfers.

The lender said its next phase of digital investment would focus on increasing customer adoption, active usage and service reliability.

SBM Bank Kenya is part of SBM Group, headquartered in Mauritius. Since entering the Kenyan market in 2017, the bank has expanded its network to 34 branches and serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and corporate customers through physical and digital banking channels.