Author: Korir Issa

Central Bank of Kenya Governor Kamau Thugge has dismissed concerns that climbing Treasury bill yields could weaken the link between the policy rate and what commercial banks charge borrowers. Speaking after the latest Monetary Policy Committee meeting, Thugge pointed to a tightening convergence between the interbank rate and the Central Bank Rate as the reason the transmission mechanism still holds. Why the interbank rate now tracks the policy rate CBK has spent the past several months narrowing the gap between the Kenya Shilling Overnight Interbank Average Rate, known as KESONIA, and the Central Bank Rate. That alignment, Thugge argued, gives…

Co-operative Bank of Kenya Plc grew profit before tax by 17.3 percent to Kshs 23.1 billion in the six months to June 2026, up from Kshs 19.7 billion a year earlier. Profit after tax climbed 28.0 percent to Kshs 18.0 billion from Kshs 14.1 billion in H1 2025. The Group’s board approved the unaudited results on August 12, 2026. “This is the best ever half year performance for the Group, and the strong performance underscores the significant gains made under the 2025 to 2029 Good to Great strategy and the Soaring Eagle transformation agenda,” Group Managing Director and CEO Dr…

Kenya Power wants the country to slow down on wind and solar, at least in how fast new capacity gets added to the grid. The utility says variable renewable energy, wind and solar combined, now supplies 34 percent of the national energy mix during evening peak demand of 1,900MW and climbs to 36 percent when demand drops to 1,200MW overnight. That share has pushed VRE capacity past 20 percent of the grid’s firm capacity, well above the 15 percent ceiling the utility says international benchmarks recommend. The warning, issued August 11, does not call for halting renewable energy development. It…

More than 24,000 micro enterprises in Uganda received financing in the first year of a partnership between EIB Global, the development arm of the European Investment Bank Group, and Centenary Bank, one of the country’s largest domestic lenders, according to figures released this week. The results, drawn from the first annual disbursement report on the scheme, show women entrepreneurs and rural businesses taking up a larger share of the funding than either institution had targeted. The deal EIB Global and Centenary Bank signed the agreement in 2024, committing to make €100 million, equivalent to 428 billion Ugandan shillings, available to…

Absa Group’s tender offer to buy up to 895.99 million additional shares in Absa Bank Kenya closes tomorrow, 11 August 2026, at 5:00pm. The Offer The Johannesburg based lender is offering KES 34.50 per share for up to 895,989,600 ordinary shares, equivalent to 16.5% of Absa Bank Kenya’s issued share capital. The transaction is worth roughly KES 30.9 billion. Absa currently holds 3.72 billion shares, or 68.5% of the bank. If the offer is fully subscribed, that stake will rise to 4.62 billion shares, or 85.0%, cutting the bank’s public float from 31.5% to 15%. The tender price represents an…

Nairobi’s land market bounced back sharply in the second quarter of 2026, with suburb prices growing 1.4 percent after a policy shift cleared up planning uncertainty that had kept developers on the sidelines. Property prices told a more divided story: Nairobi’s suburbs kept extending a recovery in house sales even as satellite towns continued to soften, according to the latest HassConsult Property and Land Price Indices. Land prices accelerate Land in Nairobi’s suburbs grew 1.4 percent in the quarter, nearly double the 0.8 percent recorded in the first three months of the year. Langata led every suburb with a 4.1…