ABSA BANK KENYA
Unpacking 2024: A year of resilience, purposeful growth, and delivering value
In a year when global uncertainty filtered into every corner of the economy, from household budgets to boardroom decisions, Absa Bank Kenya PLC chose a path less travelled: staying close to the people and businesses it serves. While the headlines often told stories of economic tightening and cautious lending, the bank’s approach was refreshingly grounded, balancing disciplined financial management with a genuine commitment to long-term value creation.
It is this balance that sees Absa Bank Kenya PLC ranked among the top 10 highly per-forming public listed company (PLC) on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), a recognition not just of financial strength, but of a business that understands its role in people’s lives and the broader economy.
While navigating a complex year with clarity and focus, the numbers tell a story of deliberate choices and disciplined execution. Absa Bank Kenya PLC closed the financial year with a KES 20.8 billion net profit, marking an impressive 27.5% year-on-year growth. In a high-interest rate environment, the bank’s total interest in-come rose by 19.2% to KES 64.7 billion, while net interest income grew by 15.4% to KES 46.2 billion, clear evidence of a well-managed balance between risk and return.
However, this growth did not come from aggressive expansion. In fact, the bank took a prudent stance, with its loan book contracting by 7.9% to KES 309 billion, and total assets easing to KES 506.4 billion. These were not signs of re-treat, but careful recalibration, choosing quality over volume in lending and man-aging exposure in a market where many were overextending. Deposits grew modestly by 1.2% to KES 367.1 billion, a re-flection of customer trust during uncertain times. More importantly, this stability allowed Absa Bank Kenya PLC to focus on delivering real value back to shareholders, increasing its dividend per share by 12.9% to KES 1.75, and lifting earnings per share to KES 3.84, also up 27.5% year-on-year.
Behind the numbers is a story of people, purpose, and prudence. The bank’s leadership understood that 2024 was not just about man-aging balance sheets; but managing human stories, of businesses fighting to stay afloat, of families trying to make ends meet, and of a generation of young people looking for economic opportunity in uncertain times. Rather than chasing short-term wins, the bank doubled down on strategic priorities: investing in digital platforms that made banking more accessible, supporting SMEs with tailored financial solutions, and playing an active role in sustainable financing that looks beyond profit to long-term societal impact.
This was also a year where the Bank continued its quiet but deliberate work in advancing financial literacy and youth empowerment. Through initiatives under the Absa Kenya Foundation, thou-sands of young Kenyans through the ready to work initiative gained the skills and knowledge needed to navigate today’s job market. Thes small, often unseen interventions change the trajectory of individual lives and, by extension, the nation’s future.
While others may have pursued aggressive lending, Absa Bank Kenya PLC’s leadership stayed grounded in realism. In a period marked by relatively high inflation and market volatility, many businesses required more than credit. These businesses need-ed partnership, advice, and in some cases, patience. The Bank’s decision to slow down lending reflected this understanding, ensuring customers did not take on more debt than they could reasonably manage: this rep-resents a responsible approach to growth.
This conservative approach has left Absa Bank Kenya PLC well-positioned for the future with a strong capital base, healthier asset quality, and the capacity to support economic recovery as the market stabilises. The true test of a financial institution is not in the profits it posts during good times but in the decisions, it makes when the road gets rough. Absa Bank PLC’s 2024 performance reflects leadership that is not only financially astute but deeply attuned to the human realities behind the balance sheet.
As the bank looks to 2025 and beyond, it carries forward hard-earned lessons, a belief in patient growth, in staying close to customers, and in building a business that remains relevant not just to the markets, but to the everyday lives of the people it serves. In a nutshell, Absa Bank Kenya PLC opted to remaining close to the story that matters most as a guiding North Star.
