Standard Chartered Bank Kenya posted a profit after tax of KES 6.73 billion for the first half of 2026, down 16.8% from KES 8.09 billion in the same period last year, as falling interest rates squeezed lending margins even as the balance sheet grew.
Profit before tax fell 12.1% to KES 9.58 billion. Earnings per share dropped 17% to KES 17.58. The board declared an interim dividend of KES 8.50 per share, up 6.3% from KES 8.00 a year earlier.
Interest income keeps sliding as CBK rate cuts bite
Net interest income fell 19.8% to KES 12.27 billion, the line item behind most of the profit decline. Total interest income dropped to KES 14.20 billion as yields on loans and government securities tracked the Central Bank of Kenya’s rate cutting cycle down. Interest expenses fell too, but at a slower pace, leaving the bank earning less on each shilling lent out.
The bank’s Q1 2026 results, released in May, showed profit after tax down 26.3% for that quarter alone. The smaller 16.8% decline over the full six months points to a milder Q2, with fee income and trading gains offsetting some of the pressure on margins.
Fees and trading income cushion the drop
Income from fees, commissions and other sources grew 15.9% to KES 7.86 billion. Foreign exchange trading income rose 16.4% to KES 2.32 billion. Neither gain came close to covering the loss in net interest income, and total operating income fell 8.8% to KES 20.14 billion.
Credit quality improves as lending expands
Loan loss provisions fell 56.9% to KES 507.7 million, and gross non performing loans dropped 6.5% to KES 8.97 billion. Net loans and advances grew 11.1% to KES 169.17 billion over the same period, so the bank lent more while setting aside far less for bad debt, a signal that its book held up well through the rate cycle.
Balance sheet still expanding
Total assets rose 12.4% to KES 418.13 billion. Customer deposits grew 6.4% to KES 309.11 billion. Both gains came even as profit fell, underlining that Standard Chartered Kenya’s growth this year has come from volume rather than margin.
Leadership change frames the results
The half closed under a new chief executive. Birju Sanghrajka took over as Managing Director and CEO in April, succeeding Kariuki Ngari after his retirement following a 24 year career at the bank. Sanghrajka moves into the role from the bank’s corporate and investment banking unit, one of the businesses that has held up best through the earnings slide.
Speaking about the bank’s regional priorities, Sanghrajka said: “Our two big wealth hubs for Africa remain Nigeria and Kenya.”
The results also arrive against a wider divergence. Standard Chartered’s global parent reported a record first half in 2026, with group net profit up 10% to USD 3.37 billion. The Kenya unit’s profit fell over the same period, a reminder that a rate cutting cycle at home can move against the tide of a bank’s international results.
H1 2026 results at a glance
| Metric | H1 2025 | H1 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total assets | KES 372.09B | KES 418.13B | +12.4% |
| Net loans and advances | KES 152.21B | KES 169.17B | +11.1% |
| Customer deposits | KES 290.59B | KES 309.11B | +6.4% |
| Net interest income | KES 15.30B | KES 12.27B | -19.8% |
| Non interest income | KES 6.79B | KES 7.86B | +15.9% |
| FX trading income | KES 1.99B | KES 2.32B | +16.4% |
| Total operating income | KES 22.09B | KES 20.14B | -8.8% |
| Loan loss provisions | KES 1.18B | KES 507.7M | -56.9% |
| Profit before tax | KES 10.90B | KES 9.58B | -12.1% |
| Profit after tax | KES 8.09B | KES 6.73B | -16.8% |
| Earnings per share | KES 21.18 | KES 17.58 | -17.0% |
| Interim dividend per share | KES 8.00 | KES 8.50 | +6.3% |
| Gross non performing loans | KES 9.59B | KES 8.97B | -6.5% |
What comes next
Standard Chartered Kenya heads into the second half of 2026 with a book that keeps growing and a margin that keeps thinning, the same combination that has defined most of the industry through this rate cycle. Under Sanghrajka, the bank is leaning further into corporate banking and wealth management, the two units that have grown fastest through the downturn, betting that fee income can eventually close the gap that falling interest rates have opened.
