The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has identified seven commercial banks that have failed to meet the revised minimum core capital requirement of Sh3 billion.

• Seven banks are in violation of Section 7(1) of the Banking Act for not maintaining the minimum core capital.
• The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), led by Governor Kamau Thugge, is progressively raising this requirement towards a target of Sh10 billion.
• Additionally, five banks breached other sections of the Banking Act related to capital adequacy ratios, with four failing the core capital to total risk-weighted assets ratio (10.5%) and three the core capital to total deposits ratio (8%).

A new bill in Kenya proposes a significant increase in the minimum capital required for electronic money issuers (EMIs) and other payment service providers.

• Electronic Money Issuers will need a minimum capital of Sh250 million.
• The proposed changes are part of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) Draft National Payment Bill, 2026.
• The bill also mandates interoperability between different payment service providers and their agents.

Standard Chartered Bank Kenya has been downgraded from a tier one to a tier two bank, according to data released by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

• The bank's market size index fell to 4.5 in 2025 from 5.4 in 2024, with its total net asset market share declining to 4.4 percent from 5.1 percent.
• This shift follows Standard Chartered Bank Kenya's process of paying approximately Sh7 billion to former employees due to a Supreme Court ruling on pension benefits.
• KCB Kenya remains the largest tier one bank with a market size index of 17.3 in 2025.