NCBA Profit Climbs 9% as Digital Lending Growth Offsets Rising Credit Costs

The bank increased provisions for credit losses by 56% to 2.5 billion shillings, reflecting what Chief Executive Officer John Gachora described as a “prudent approach” to risk assessment amid heightened economic uncertainty.

NCBA Bank Kenya remained the group’s biggest earnings driver, with profit before tax rising 20% to 6.5 billion shillings. Regional subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda generated a combined 707 million shillings in pretax profit, while non-banking units including investment banking and insurance contributed 641 million shillings.

The lender continued to lean heavily on digital finance to drive growth, with 98% of all customer transactions processed through digital channels during the quarter. Digital loan disbursements rose 27% year-on-year to 391 billion shillings, reinforcing NCBA’s position as one of East Africa’s largest digital lenders.

NCBA also said its asset-finance platform CarDuka had attracted nearly 7 million users as the bank expanded lending to small businesses and vehicle buyers. The group launched a new digitally accessible SME credit product, NCBA Boosta, aimed at accelerating lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

The lender’s capital adequacy ratio stood at 21.8%, above the regulatory minimum of 14.5%, while return on average equity remained stable at 18.4%.

Gachora said a proposed transaction with South Africa’s Nedbank Group was progressing as planned, adding that the group had not yet experienced any material impact from ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.