Standard Chartered Bank Kenya(SCBK) Limited, a subsidiary of UK-based Standard Chartered Plc, has posted a significant drop in its Profit After Tax(PAT) to KSh 9.79 Billion in the nine months ending September 2025.

This decline is attributed to revenues which went south both for its core lending business as well as non-interest income. The lender also saw a steep rise in cost of operating the business.

SCBK has already issued a profit alert expecting its 2025 end year earnings to drop by at 25%, primarily. The lender’s pockets have been hit by a Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal ruling that requires it to make an additional KSh 7 Billion in additional pension payouts to its 629 former employees.

The payments will impact SCBKL overall costs in line with ‘IAS 19 Employee Benefits’ on accounting for past service costs.

“This profit warning is based on the un-audited financial results of SCBKL for the period ended 31 August 2025, factoring in the forecasts to the year end. We would like to reassure our clients and stakeholders that SCBKL is adequately capitalised to meet the anticipated obligations. We continue to execute our strategy of combining differentiated cross-border capabilities with leading wealth management expertise underpinned by sustainability,” said Kellen Kariuki, SCBKL Board Chairperson.

The profit warning has since blown cold air on SCBK shares at the NSE, shedding around KSh 15.00 since the profit-warning announcement.

StanChart Bank Kenya saw its Interest Income fall 10.35% from KSh 24.84 Billion to KSh 22.27 Billion as the Central Bank of Kenya(CBK) went aggressive on cutting the benchmark rate. This rate cutting posture by the CBK, which has been on for the better part of 2025 and last year, which piled pressure on lenders to lower cost of loans to customers. The more expensive banks, such as SCBK, have had their bottom lines severely hit.

SCBK also had its Non-Interest Income slide 28.57% from KSh 14.23 Billion to KSh 10.16 Billion at the close of September 2025.

StanChart Bank Kenya also had its Operating Income decline 17% from KSh 39.07 Billion to KSh 32.43 Billion while Total Operating Expenses rose 15.85% from KSh 16.60 Billion to KSh 19.23 Billion at the end of September 2025.

The lender’s provisions for loan losses decreased to KSh 1.744 Billion from KSh 1.958 Billion in Q3 2024, while its Profit Before Tax(PBT) slumped from KSh 22.47 Billion to KSh 13.20 Billion in Q3 2025.

The Balance Sheet Size increased 3.65% from KSh 370.9 Billion to KSh 384.4 Billion as Customer Deposits fell 0.35% from KSh 284.4 Billion to KSh 283.4 Billion in Q3 2025.

Loan Book size shrunk as credit disbursed to customers declined to KSh 146.6 Billion from KSh 151.3 Billion in Q3 2024. This is as StanChart ramped up its investments in Government paper, from KSh 145.9 Billion in Q3 2024 to KSh 156.5 Billion at the end of September this year.

The lender cut the size of its non-performing loan book from KSh 12.14 Billion to KSh 9.132 Billion, Earnings per Share(EPS) one of the key indicators of profitability declined from KSh 41.60 to KSh 25.57, a 38.5% drop.

SCBK Share Price Performance

Analysts maintain that a fall in Q3 2025 Net Earnings, it is inevitable that SCBK counter will experience a price correction. The Bank’s share price has shown a slight decrease in recent trading sessions, with a 6.76 % in year-to-date performance.

At 11.14 am Tuesday 25^th November 2025, SCBK shares had declined by KSh 9.25 or 3.10% to KSh 289.00 from the previous KSh 298.25 with a traded volume of 6,309 shares.