March 31st was the deadline for all Kenyan Banks to publish their annual reports for the year ended in a daily newspaper. This is a commendable requirement of the Banking Act, that the government should also extend – and require all commissions of inquiry, constituency development funds, special projects, catering and fuel levy, city councils, ministry and all government body budgets etc to publish their 2004 income vs. expenditure and budgets for 2005. Sure it will make a lot of money for newspapers, but the greater good is an informed public with a greater awareness of how their taxes are spent.

Banking is Good
Anyway, as for banks, 2004 was a good year, despite the lower interest rates. Most of Kenya’s 43 Bank’s were profitable, with few exceptions posting losses. Only 4 (Consolidated, Akiba, Fina & Oriental) of Kenya’s 43 banks posted losses – the rest had profits that varied from 23 million at Middle East Bank to 5.4 billion shillings (before tax) at Barclays.

Barclays will distribute its 5.3 billion as follows: (1) Barclays Plc (UK) 36.2% (2) Kenya Government 31.5% as taxes (3) 15.6% will retained profits, and (4) local shareholders will receive 16.7% (a dividend of 14 shillings per share for 2004)