Skip to content
Subscriber Only

National Bank Kenya Considering Branch Closures to Cut Costs

  • Lender is considering closing some of its 85 outlets
  • Banks have closed 39 branches, cut 1,620 jobs since 2016
A National Bank of Kenya Ltd. bank branch in Mombasa, Kenya.

A National Bank of Kenya Ltd. bank branch in Mombasa, Kenya.

Photographer: Luis Tato/Bloomberg
Updated on

National Bank of Kenya Ltd., which has the biggest bad-loan book in the Kenyan banking industry, is considering closing some of its 85 branches to cut costs, Chief Executive Officer Wilfred Musau said.

Lenders in East Africa’s biggest economy are being forced to lower expenses after a government-imposed cap on commercial lending rates impaired their ability to provide loans and as consumers embrace digital banking, including Safaricom Ltd.’s M-Pesa platform. Banks have closed at least 39 branches and cut 1,620 jobs since the caps were announced in August 2016, according to Cytonn Investment Management Ltd., a Nairobi-based money manager.