NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 24 – Kenyan banks’ assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) crossed the Sh1 trillion mark in 2025 as lenders expanded their operations and acquired local financial institutions.
The Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) Bank Supervision Annual Report shows that assets held by Kenyan banks in the DRC increased from Sh933.4 billion in 2024.
The DRC accounted for 41 percent of the assets held by Kenyan banks operating outside Kenya in Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, South Sudan and Mauritius.
Uganda followed with Sh415.9 billion in assets, Rwanda at Sh396.2 billion, Tanzania Sh359.9 billion, Mauritius Sh186.9 billion, South Sudan Sh62.9 billion and Burundi Sh28.4 billion.
Bank assets include cash reserves, customer loans, securities and physical property, according to the World Bank.
The growth in the DRC has been driven in part by Equity Group and KCB Group, which have expanded their presence in the country through acquisitions.
Equity Group owns 85 percent of Equity BCDC, formed from the merger of Equity Bank Congo and Banque Commerciale du Congo (BCDC), creating one of the largest banks in the DRC.
KCB Group also owns 85 percent of Trust Merchant Bank (TMB), which it acquired in 2022.
