Sidian Bank, a 50-branch lender closely associated with the late tycoon Chris Kirubi, has been officially reclassified as a middle-sized lender by the Central Bank of Kenya(CBK). This is after it registered strong growth in large corporate accounts, mainly from state-owned entities and institutions. The CBK did the upgrade in September this year after the lender met the assets, deposits, shareholder funds, and number of deposit and loan accounts thresholds.
Sidian Bank has seen its upgrade boosted by KSh 3 billion rights issue and a total of KSh 6 billion capital injection from shareholders.
Sidian Bank’s core capital is approximately KSh 6.8 billion as of September 2025 up from KSh 4.8 billion in 2024. The CBK has set the minimum core capital requirements for all banks of KSh 3 billion by end of December 2025.
Sidian Bank top 10 shareholders include Wizpro Enterprises (24.95%), Afram Limited (24.36%), Pioneer General Insurance (16.89%), William Byaruhanga-a Ugandan lawyer (14.63%), Centum Investments (12.64%), K-Rep Group (11.4%), KWA Multi-Purpose Co-operative Limited (3.26%), Telesec Africa and Pioneer Life Investments. Over the years, the shareholding structure has changed including Centum cutting down its stake and new owners coming on board.
Sidian Bank Financial Performance and Shareholders
Data from the Sidian Bank website shows that its top shareholders include Bakki Holdco Limited 27.27%, Pioneer General Insurance Limited 16.89%, Wizpro Enterprises Limited   24.95%, Afram Limited  24.36%, Telesec Africa Limited3.47% and Pioneer Life Investments Limited 3.06%
Centum has been gradually exiting Sidian Bank beginning October 2023 when it sold 38.91% of its stake to a consortium of local and UAE-based investors, reducing its ownership to 44.52%. In 2024, Centum further reduced its stake to 29.26% following a KSh 1.9 billion rights issue by Sidian Bank. In September 2025, Centum’s stake fell to 12.64% with Ugandan lawyer William Byaruhanga acquiring a 14.63% stake, making him the fourth largest shareholder.
Wizpro Enterprises, a company owned by Solomon Muriithi Maina, is part of the consortium that owns one of the largest chunks of Sidian, and includes Pioneer General Insurance, Afram Limited and a string of other nominees and companies.
Bakki Holdco Limited, is a subsidiary of Centum Investments Plc. Centum acquired K-Rep Bank (now Sidian Bank) in 2014 and still holds a significant stake in the Bank through Bakki Holdco Limited.
The Government of Kenya through Kenya Development Corporation (KDC), owns 22.97% of the shares in Centum Investment Company PLC thus ultimately owning indirectly a stake of 3.13% in the Bank.
Financial Statements of Sidian Bank shows that its net earnings have grown significantly from KSh 202.3 Million in September 2024 to KSh1.4 billion in September 2025. In just under a year, the lender’s customer deposits rose from KSh2,288,415,000 in Q3 2024 to KSh3,001,779,000 in Q3 2025. The lender’s Total Operating Income rose to KSh 2,812,325,000 in September 2024 to KSh5,470,702,000 in September 2025.
Total Shareholders’ Funds, what owners of Sidian Bank were to be paid if the lender was to be liquidated, nearly doubled from KSh5,802,329,000 in September last year to KSh9,348,450,000 in September this year.
Investments in Government securities increased from KSh1,308,363,000 in Q3 2024 to KSh3,071,190,000 in September 2025. Within a space of one year, the lender’s balance sheet size grew from KSh57,074,588,000 in Q3 2024 to KSh94,817,551,000 in September this year.
Kenya has several tier2 banks, with a combined market share of 16.29%. Some of the notable players in this pool, whose focus is on niche markets, SMEs and specific industry sectors, include Bank of Baroda with total assets of more than KSh 201.9 billion, Citibank Kenya with assets worth KSh 166.1 billion, Family Bank with assets worth KSh 142.3 billion, SBM Bank with assets worth KSh 94.6 billion and Ecobank with balance sheet size worth KSh 103.9 billion.
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