Full List of Small Banks (Tier 3) in Kenya

Updated 26 October 2026

Kenya has 39 licensed commercial banks, and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) sorts them into three peer groups every year: large (Tier 1), medium (Tier 2) and small (Tier 3). According to the CBK Bank Supervision Annual Report 2024, 21 banks were in the small peer group as at 31 December 2024, holding a combined weighted market share of 7.7 percent. This guide lists every Tier 3 bank with its CBK market size index and total net assets, explains how the tiers are worked out, and covers what the classification means for you as a customer.

How CBK Decides Which Banks Are Tier 3

CBK does not rank banks by profit or branch count alone. It uses a weighted composite index built from five measures: net assets, total deposits, capital and reserves, number of deposit accounts and number of loan accounts. In the 2024 report, net assets, deposits and shareholders’ funds each carry a 33 percent weight, while the number of deposit accounts and loan accounts carry 0.5 percent each.

• Large (Tier 1): a weighted composite index of 5 percent and above.
• Medium (Tier 2): between 1 percent and 5 percent.
• Small (Tier 3): below 1 percent.

Because the index is recalculated each year from published financial statements, a bank can move between tiers. In 2024, HFC Ltd left the small peer group and joined the medium group, which is why the number of small banks fell from 22 in December 2023 to 21 in December 2024.

Full List of Tier 3 Banks in Kenya (December 2024)

The table below follows the order in Appendix IV of the CBK report. Market size index is the bank’s weighted composite score; total net assets are in KSh millions.

Together these 21 banks held KSh 613.4 billion in net assets, KSh 448.9 billion in deposits and KSh 87.4 billion in shareholders’ funds at the end of 2024. That compares with KSh 5.7 trillion in net assets for the nine large banks.

How Tier 3 Banks Performed in 2024

The small peer group made a combined profit before tax of about KSh 1 billion in 2024, down from KSh 4 billion in 2023, according to Table 2 of the CBK report. Results varied widely from bank to bank. Appendix V of the report shows the following:

• Most profitable small banks: Gulf African Bank (KSh 1,966 million profit before tax), Kingdom Bank (KSh 1,002 million), Habib Bank AG Zurich (KSh 593 million), Guaranty Trust Bank (KSh 581 million), Victoria Commercial Bank (KSh 556 million) and Guardian Bank (KSh 541 million).
• Loss-making small banks: Credit Bank (loss of KSh 1,467 million), Access Bank Kenya (KSh 1,287 million), CIB Kenya (KSh 1,020 million), African Banking Corporation (KSh 594 million), UBA Kenya (KSh 587 million), Premier Bank (KSh 454 million), Consolidated Bank (KSh 148 million) and Spire Bank (KSh 98 million).

A loss in one year does not on its own mean a bank is unsafe. Several of these lenders are subsidiaries of larger regional or international groups, and losses often reflect bad loan provisions or restructuring costs. It is still worth reading a bank’s latest published results before you move large sums.

Why Spire Bank Shows Almost No Assets

Spire Bank, formerly Equatorial Commercial Bank and majority-owned by Mwalimu National Sacco since 2014, appears last with net assets of just KSh 76 million. CBK announced that Equity Bank (Kenya) Limited acquired certain assets and liabilities of Spire Bank with effect from 31 January 2023. Equity said the deal moved about 20,000 deposit customers and 3,700 loan customers to Equity Bank. Former Spire customers who were part of that transfer now bank with Equity.

The KSh 10 Billion Capital Rule and What It Means for Small Banks

The Business Laws (Amendment) Act 2024 raised the minimum core capital for commercial banks to KSh 10 billion by December 2029, rising in steps over five years. CBK says the change is meant to build a well-capitalised banking sector that can withstand economic shocks. Many Tier 3 banks hold shareholders’ funds far below KSh 10 billion; in the 2024 table, Guaranty Trust Bank had the largest at KSh 11.1 billion, while most others were between KSh 1 billion and KSh 9 billion. Small banks therefore have to raise fresh capital from shareholders, merge, or be acquired. Expect more ownership changes, name changes and mergers in this group before 2029.

Is Your Money Safe in a Tier 3 Bank?

All Tier 3 banks are licensed and supervised by CBK under the Banking Act, the same as large banks. They are also members of the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC). KDIC covers up to KSh 500,000 per depositor per member bank, a limit raised from KSh 100,000 with effect from 1 July 2020. All your accounts at one bank are added together for this cover, and payment is made only when CBK places a bank in liquidation, not during receivership. Balances above KSh 500,000 are paid later from whatever the liquidator recovers.

Practical steps if you bank with a small lender:

• Keep balances you cannot afford to have frozen below the KDIC limit at any one bank, or spread them across banks.
• Read the bank’s quarterly published financial statements, which banks must publish in newspapers and on their websites.
• Compare loan and account charges; small banks often price more keenly to win customers. Our bank vs Sacco loans guide and the GTBank loan calculator help with comparisons.

Where to Find Branches and Contacts

Most Tier 3 banks have a small branch network concentrated in Nairobi, Mombasa and a few other towns. We have branch and contact guides for Development Bank of Kenya and CIB Kenya branches in Nairobi, and our Nairobi bank branch finder covers many more. For M-Pesa deposits, see our list of bank paybill numbers in Kenya. If you are looking for work in banking, jobinkenya lists current openings.

Frequently asked questions

How many Tier 3 banks are in Kenya?

21, according to the CBK Bank Supervision Annual Report 2024, down from 22 in 2023 after HFC Ltd moved to the medium peer group.

What is the biggest Tier 3 bank?

Victoria Commercial Bank, with a market size index of 0.8 percent and net assets of KSh 64,953 million at December 2024.

What makes a bank Tier 3?

A weighted composite index below 1 percent, based on net assets, deposits, capital and reserves, and numbers of deposit and loan accounts.

Are Tier 3 banks regulated by CBK?

Yes. All 39 commercial banks are licensed and supervised by the Central Bank of Kenya and are KDIC members.

How much of my deposit is insured?

Up to KSh 500,000 per depositor per bank through KDIC, payable when a bank is placed in liquidation.

Will small banks merge?

The KSh 10 billion minimum core capital required by December 2029 is expected to push some small banks to raise capital, merge or be acquired.

Sources: Central Bank of Kenya Bank Supervision Annual Report 2024 (Table 2, Appendix IV market share and Appendix V profitability); CBK press release of 30 January 2023 and Equity Bank release of 1 February 2023 on the Spire Bank transaction; Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation deposit insurance page and FAQs; Legal Notice 159 of 2020.