KCB Group has been recognized among the world’s top-performing banks in the inaugural Forbes World’s Top Performing Banks 2026 ranking, which assesses financial institutions based on profitability, growth and earnings quality, capital and funding resilience, and asset quality and efficiency.
For KCB Group, the accolade offers a global perspective on its performance as it continues to strengthen its presence across East Africa and expand financial solutions for retail, business and corporate customers.
The distinction is particularly notable as it comes in the first edition of Forbes’ World’s Top Performing Banks ranking, produced in partnership with market research firm Statista.
Unlike Forbes’ existing national and global bank rankings, which are based primarily on customer evaluations obtained through surveys, the new ranking assesses institutions using objective financial data.
Forbes describes the new ranking as distinct from its existing national and global bank rankings, which are based primarily on customer evaluations obtained through surveys. Instead, the new ranking uses objective financial data to assess bank performance.
The inaugural ranking features 500 banks from 89 countries, providing a global assessment of banking institutions across different markets.
In addition, the banks were evaluated using financial measures covering profitability, growth and earnings quality, capital and funding resilience, and asset quality and efficiency.
Forbes’ assessment is based on objective financial data obtained from leading data providers, including the S&P Capital IQ platform, as well as desk research and data submitted by banks through Forbes.com.
This approach was designed to incorporate the most up-to-date financial information available.
How Forbes Assessed the Banks
To qualify for the ranking, institutions had to meet several criteria. They had to be licensed deposit-taking banks whose core business includes lending to retail or corporate clients.
They also had to report under reconcilable national accounting standards and publish financial statements for the most recent fully available and audited fiscal year.
In addition, eligible banks were required to provide at least three consecutive years of financial data and have more than US$3 billion in assets.
The qualifying banks were then assessed across four dimensions. Profitability accounted for 30% of the score, growth and earnings quality for 20%, capital and funding resilience for 25%, and asset quality and efficiency for 25%.
Forbes says the profitability assessment incorporated measures such as return on average assets, cost-to-income ratio and net interest margin.
Growth and earnings quality considered earnings growth and stability, as well as customer deposit growth over three-year periods.
Capital and funding resilience considered measures including equity ratios and loan-to-deposit ratios, while asset quality and efficiency incorporated credit quality, risk management and balance-sheet resilience.
Read More: KCB Group H1 Profit Before Tax Rises 20.8% to KShs. 49.3B
Banks Assessed Within Peer Groups
Before calculating the scores, Forbes segmented eligible banks into six tiers based on total assets, allowing institutions to be compared within their respective peer groups.
The largest category, Tier 1, comprises global banks with more than US$500 billion in assets. Tier 2 covers banks with US$100 billion to US$500 billion, while Tier 3 covers those with US$50 billion to US$100 billion.
Tier 4 comprises banks with US$20 billion to US$50 billion in assets. Tier 5, classified as lower mid-size banks, covers institutions with US$10 billion to US$20 billion.Tier 6 comprises smaller banks with US$3 billion to US$10 billion in assets.
