Kenyan banks added 80 new branches to their network – increasing their branch network to 1,523 in 2015, from 1,443 in 2014, according to the Central Bank of Kenya Bank Supervision Annual Report 2015.
The report says the counties that registered the highest increase in the number of branches included Nairobi, which registered an increase of 38 branches, Machakos and Mombasa had seven new branches each while Kajiado had six (6) new branches.
“A total of 19 out of 47 counties registered an increase in the number of bank branches. This was lower compared to 28 counties that registered increased bank branches in 2014,” noted the report in part.
The slowdown in physical bank branches expansion is partly attributed to the adoption of alternative delivery channels such as mobile banking, internet banking and agency banking.
However, for the period ended 31st December 2015, there were seven large banks with a market share of 58.21 per cent, 12 medium banks with a market share of 32.42 per cent and 21 small banks with a market share of 9.24 per cent.
The report shows there were shifts in market share positions for the banks in the three peer groups. Banks in large peer group increased their combined market share from 49.9 per cent in December 2014 to 58.21 per cent in December 2015 – mainly attributed to Diamond Trust Bank and Commercial Bank of Africa moving from the medium peer group to the large peer group during.
The two banks moved to the large peer group mainly due to their increased deposit bases. Diamond Trust Bank’s deposit base increased mainly in the last quarter of 2015, after the placement of Imperial Bank Ltd in receivership. Commercial Bank of Africa’s deposit accounts increased as it leveraged on its mobile phone platform based M-Shwari product.
Central Bank of Kenya Bank Supervision Annual Report 2015 says the combined market share of medium peer group banks fell from 41.7 per cent in December 2014 to 32.42 per cent in December 2015.
This is mainly attributed to the exit of Diamond Trust Bank and Commercial Bank of Africa which moved to large peer group while Guaranty Trust Bank moved to the small peer group.
Banks in small peer group increased their combined market share from 8.4 per cent in December 2014 to 9.24 per cent in December 2015. This is attributed to inclusion of Guaranty Trust Bank, which was before under the medium peer group.
