The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) reported that total fines imposed on commercial banks and foreign-exchange bureaus reached KSh93 million for the year ended June 2026, marking a 57.6 per cent increase from the previous year.
The latest figure follows a fall to KSh59 million in the year to June 2025 after a peak of KSh191 million in 2024 and an earlier level of KSh66 million in 2023.
CBK did not identify the individual banks that were fined, but noted that the rise occurred after the regulator introduced a new penalty framework under the Banking (Penalties) Regulations, 2025, which became effective in July of the preceding year.
The regulations allow sanctions of up to KSh20 million or three times the monetary gain from a breach, depending on the seriousness of the violation and any loss avoided.
“The amendment ensures penalties are effective, proportionate, dissuasive, aligned with global standards, and entrench a compliance culture in banks,” the CBK said in its annual report.
In the year to December 2025, CBK fined a record 33 commercial banks for breaches related to loan-rate pricing, representing 86.8 per cent of the 38 banks inspected, while two other banks faced administrative action and only three were judged fully compliant with the risk-based credit pricing model.
The enforcement drive coincided with seven reductions in the Central Bank Rate between August 2024 and August 2025, which lowered the benchmark from 13 per cent to 9.5 per cent, and with the rollout of a revised risk-based pricing model that uses the Kenya Shilling Overnight Interbank Average as the reference rate for variable-rate loans.
CBK officials repeatedly urged lenders to pass on lower funding costs to borrowers and warned that daily fines could be imposed for non-compliance.
