Kenya Reports Record Customs Revenue and Credit Growth; CBK Clarifies Bond System - October 2025

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) achieved a record collection of KSh 85.1 billion in customs taxes in September, exceeding its target by KSh 3.8 billion. This performance, driven by robust trade and petroleum imports, marked an 18.8% increase from the previous year. In another positive economic indicator, Kenya's private-sector credit reached an all-time high of KSh 3.96 trillion in September 2025, a strong recovery from a 2024 slowdown. This was the first sustained increase since mid-2022, driven by lower lending rates. In the financial markets, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) clarified that its planned retail bond system will integrate with the existing Dhow Central Depository System (CDS). This allayed concerns about a separate platform disrupting the country's KSh 2 trillion bond market.