Two of Kenya’s top banks, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Equity Bank, have been ranked among Africa’s top 300 finance champions but experienced declines in their standings due to ongoing issues with credit quality.

According to the latest report from The Africa Report, KCB fell from 17th to 19th place, while Equity dropped from 14th to 16th.

The report highlights that KCB’s non-performing loan ratio is currently at 17.3 percent, signalling persistent challenges in credit quality.

Equity’s situation is even more concerning, with its ratio deteriorating from 7.7 percent to 7 percent.

“Kenya’s two major banks, Kenya Commercial Bank ($13.8bn in assets) and Equity ($11.6bn in assets), each dropped two places this year (from 17th to 19th for the first, from 14th to 16th for the second),” the report stated.

It further emphasised that the primary factor for the decline is the “persistent poor credit quality.”

Nigerian banks topped the rankings, with Moroccan and South African institutions following closely behind.

This shift underscores a broader trend within Africa’s banking sector, revealing significant disparities in performance among financial institutions across the continent.