Three Kenyan-founded banks have earned places among the world’s top-performing lenders in Forbes’ inaugural 2026 ranking. Equity Bank, KCB Bank Group and Co-operative Bank of Kenya were recognized alongside 500 banks from 89 countries.
The ranking places Equity at position 71 and KCB at 79. Both lenders are in Tier 5, which covers banks holding between $10 billion and $20 billion in assets.
Co-operative Bank, meanwhile, ranks 120th in Tier 6. The category includes banks with assets ranging from $3 billion to $10 billion. Forbes and Statista assessed eligible banks using financial data, research and information submitted by the lenders. The assessment therefore looked beyond size, while also considering the quality and resilience of their performance.
Profitability carried the highest weight at 30 per cent. Capital and funding resilience accounted for 25 per cent, while asset quality and efficiency also contributed 25 per cent. The remaining 20 per cent measured growth and earnings quality. Banks were eligible if they had more than $3 billion in assets and at least three consecutive years of financial data.
The recognition comes as the three Kenyan lenders report stronger earnings in 2026. Their latest results show that profitability has remained a key driver of their performance. Equity Group recorded a 32 per cent rise in profit after tax to Sh45.5 billion. KCB Group also increased its profit by 14.5 per cent to Sh36.9 billion.
Co-operative Bank posted a 28 per cent increase in profit to Sh18.02 billion. Together, the results highlight stronger earnings across the three institutions. The rankings therefore offer global recognition at a time when Kenyan banks are expanding their financial performance. However, their positions also reflect differences in asset size and the tier used for comparison.