Mauritian-based SBM Holdings is now eying SMEs and the vast commercial activities in the Mount Kenya region with the opening of a branch in Nanyuki, bringing the total number of branches in Kenya to 34.
This is through its subsidiary–SBM Bank Kenya as it continues to strengthen its presence in Kenya’s banking sector since its entry into the Kenyan market in 2017.
SBM Holdings expanded into Kenya by acquiring Fidelity Commercial Bank in 2017 and taking over portions of Chase Bank (in receivership) in 2018.
This year, it injected about Sh405 million into SBM Bank Kenya for the year ending December 2025, helping the subsidiary meet the Central Bank of Kenya's new target of raising minimum core capital to Sh10 billion by 2029.
The Nanyuki branch is seen as a strategy to tap into the Laikipia region, which is currently a service district built around Mt. Kenya's conservancy economy, including Ol Pejeta, Lewa, Borana and Loisaba, alongside high-end tourism lodges.
The region also hosts large scale flower and horticulture exporters, the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK), and a growing pool of SMEs, real estate developers and agribusinesses in Nanyuki and Timau.
Speaking at the launch of the new branch, Laikipia governor Joshua Irungu said: “Laikipia's economy has thriving sectors that create a perfect investment environment, especially for the private sector. I take this opportunity to invite the private sector to take a serious look at what our region has to offer.”
Currently, businesses and residents across the Laikipia region have had to travel out of the county for full-service and relationship-led banking.
This gap has constrained access to credit to entrepreneurs, day-to-day transactional banking and tailored financial services despite the region driving a significant share of Kenya's tourism and agricultural exports.
According to SBM, the new branch aims to close that gap, providing conservancies, flower and horticulture exporters, SMEs, farmers, and institutional customers with a dedicated local banking partner, supported by in-person advisory and a tailored digital banking suite.
“Nanyuki is exactly the kind of market our strategy is built for. The region is a high growth economy where relationship banking and digital convenience should work together. We are determined to bring banking closer to our customers at a time when our own numbers show the model is working,” SBM Bank Kenya CEO, Bhartesh Shah, said.
“This branch is not a one-off activity, it is proof that we can back our growth ambitions with a strong balance sheet.”
The branch launch follows SBM Bank’s financial results for the six months ended June 30, which showed the lender’s sharpest earnings growth in recent years.
Profit before tax rose 171.3 per cent to Sh548 million, while net profit after tax climbed 88.2 per cent to Sh380.2 million, as operating profit went up 279 per cent to Sh852 million.
Customer deposits grew 24 per cent to Sh 94 billion and net loans and advances rose 18 per cent to Sh54.1 billion, with total assets hitting Sh109.9 billion, up from Sh105.7 billion at the end of December 2025.
Asset quality improved sharply, with the gross non-performing loan ratio nearly halving to 17.3 per cent from 32.4 per cent a year earlier, while shareholders' equity strengthened to Sh11.1 billion.
The Nanyuki branch is SBM's newest outlet since it opened another branch in Kilifi in July 2025.
The bank now records a nationwide network of 34 branches, a deliberate strategy to deepen market penetration and improve accessibility in emerging commercial hubs beyond Kenya's major urban centres.
