3.6 million bank accounts closed in 2021: CBK
A total of 3.6 million bank
accounts were closed in 2021 according to new data from the Central Bank of
Kenya (CBK).
The data from the 2021 Bank
Supervision Annual Report shows the number of deposit accounts under 39 of
Kenya’s commercial banks fell to 66.3 million from 69.9 million accounts a year
earlier.
The 19.1 per cent decline in
the number of accounts has been linked to the closure of dormant accounts along
with the closure of accounts by customers during the year.
While the report does not
give an attribution to the closure of accounts by customers, the active
shutdown of accounts by Kenyans likely points to the strain caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic affecting customers cash-flows and ability to maintain
savings.
Overall deposit accounts held
in both banks and 14 microfinance banks (MFBs) fell by 4.8 per cent or by 3.5
million to 69 million accounts from 72.5 million accounts in 2020.
Nevertheless, deposit
accounts in MFBs rose by 2.7 per cent to 2.665 million accounts from 2.594
million accounts in 2020.
NCBA Bank holds the highest
number of bank deposit accounts at 32.5 million ahead of Equity and KCB at 12
million and 9.8 million accounts respectively.
On the MFB’s front, the Kenya
Women Microfinance Bank Limited holds the highest number of deposit accounts at
1.044 million.
This is the first recorded
slump in the number of deposit accounts held by commercial banks in a CBK data
set going back to 2006.
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