- Four Kenyan banks have entered Forbes’ inaugural global top-performing banks ranking.
- Co-operative Bank, Equity Group, KCB Group and Stanbic Holdings made the top 500.
- The ranking assesses profitability, growth, capital strength and asset quality.
Four Kenyan banks have been named among the World’s Top Performing Banks 2026, in the inaugural global ranking by Forbes in partnership with Statista.
The Kenyan institutions on the list are Co-operative Bank of Kenya, Equity Group, KCB Group and Stanbic Holdings. Together, they give Kenya four representatives among the 500 banks ranked globally.
Forbes said the first edition evaluates banks using objective financial data across four areas: profitability, growth and earnings quality, capital and funding resilience, and asset quality and efficiency.
Unlike Forbes’ separate World’s Best Banks ranking, which relies largely on customer surveys, this new performance ranking draws on financial data from sources including S&P Capital IQ, banks’ financial statements and information submitted by participating institutions.
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To qualify, banks had to be licensed deposit-taking institutions with more than $3 billion in assets. They also needed to publish audited financial statements and show at least three consecutive years of financial data. Eligible institutions were then divided into six asset-based peer groups before being scored.
The four Kenyan banks enter the list at a time when the country’s largest lenders continue to post strong earnings. In the first half of 2026, Equity Group reported a net profit of Ksh43.7 billion, KCB posted Ksh36.86 billion and Co-operative Bank recorded Ksh18.02 billion.
Globally, 500 banks from 89 countries made Forbes’ inaugural ranking, with Singapore’s OCBC Bank taking the top position among the largest global banks
By Khayoyo Ian
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