Top banks’ counters glow on improved Africa ranking

Co-operative Bank Co-Op House branch/FILE

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The news of Cooperative Bank Group and NCBA Group joining the list of 25 top banks in Africa excited investors at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), prompting a marginal surge in their share prices.

The two have joined KCB Group and Equity Group, which also grew solidly in this year’s ranking in the top 1,000 banks globally, according to the study by the Financial Times released mid-week. KCB has moved from position 21 to 13 in Africa.

The two lenders' asset bases have surged to Sh712.5 billion and Sh656 billion, respectively, in the first quarter of the current financial year.

The Co-operative began the year with a share price of Sh16.45 and has since gained 5.17 per cent on that price valuation, ranking it 40th on the NSE in terms of year-to-date performance.

“Shareholders can be optimistic about knowing the stock has accrued 12 per cent over the past four-week period—24th best on NSE,’’ analysts at Africa Stock Exchange commented on Friday.

NCBA, on the other hand, has gained 30.2 per cent on that price valuation, hitting Sh62.75 on Friday from Sh48.20 at the beginning of the year. It is currently ranking 17th on the NSE over the past four-week period.

Other counters that performed well at NSE during the week under review include Kenya Power, Sameer Africa and Eveready.

Generally, the news of Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) likely to be listed at NSE triggered activities at the Nairobi bourse, with the NASI, NSE 25 and NSE 20 share price indices increasing by 6.8, 6.4 and 5.6 per cent, respectively.

Market capitalization, Equity Turnover and total shares traded, also increased by 6.8 per cent, 189.3 per cent and 87.6 per cent, respectively.

The government’s short-term securities recovered from a shambolic state witnessed the previous week when investors tendered gave them a wide berth.

Data from a weekly bulletin by the apex bank shows T-Bills received bids totaling Sh21.8 billion against an advertised amount of Sh24 billion, representing a performance of 90.9 per cent. Interest rates on the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day Treasury bills stagnated.

Kenya’s official foreign exchange reserves held by the Central Bank of Kenya have surged to a historic high of $11.09 billion (Sh14.3 trillion), buoyed by surplus funds remaining after international investors declined to fully participate in the government’s $900 million Eurobond buyback offer.

The unexpected windfall comes after Kenya floated a new $1.5 billion Eurobond in March, aimed at refinancing part of its 2024 debt obligations through a buyback of an older $2 billion Eurobond initially issued in 2014.