Diamond Trust Bank Kenya has reported its highest ever quarterly profit in the three months ended 31 March 2026, with profit before tax rising 18.6% to KSh 4.81 Bn from KSh 4.05 Bn a year earlier.
- •The result was powered by net interest income crossing the KSh 10 Bn mark for the first time, surging 30.9% to KSh 10.02 Bn as the Central Bank of Kenya's easing cycle compressed funding costs across the sector.
- •Interest expenses fell 12.2% to KSh 6.14 Bn even, customer deposits edged up to KSh 511.93 Bn, and the funding cost tailwind lifted total operating income 21.2% to KSh 12.94 Bn.
- •Data tracked over the past two decades illustrates the scale of DTB's transformation.
A 152% spike in loan loss provisions to KSh 2.23 Bn, the highest quarterly charge in DTB's history, compressed profit after tax growth to 7.7% at KSh 3.48 Bn. Gross non-performing loans ticked up to KSh 40.80 Bn from KSh 39.69 Bn a year earlier, with the absolute NPL stock hovering near KSh 40 Bn for four consecutive quarters.
Net interest income now accounts for 77.4% of total revenue, the highest quarterly ratio on record, as non-interest income slipped 3.2% to KSh 2.92 Bn. Foreign exchange trading income, which had been inflated by the shilling's depreciation cycle in 2023 and 2024, has normalised at KSh 744 Mn.
On the balance sheet, total assets held steady at KSh 660.93 Bn, essentially flat against the December 2025 close of KSh 659.12 Bn. Net loans declined marginally to KSh 323.60 Bn from KSh 324.17 Bn at year end, suggesting a pause in credit extension during the quarter. Core capital adequacy stood at 15.3%, comfortably above the 10.5% regulatory minimum.
In Q1 2006, the bank generated KSh 75 Mn in quarterly profit on a balance sheet of KSh 17.0 Bn, with customer deposits of KSh 13.9 Bn and a net loan book of KSh 10.5 Bn.
Twenty years later, quarterly profit has grown 46-fold to KSh 3.48 Bn. Total assets have expanded 39-fold to KSh 660.93 Bn. Customer deposits have risen 37-fold to KSh 511.93 Bn, and net loans have grown 31-fold to KSh 323.60 Bn.
Quarterly EPS peaked at KSh 6.09 in Q1 2016 before the interest rate cap compressed margins across the sector, did not recover to that level until Q1 2025, and has now reached a new high of KSh 11.39. Loan loss provisions, at KSh 32 Mn in Q1 2006, have become a defining feature of the income statement, peaking at KSh 2.23 Bn this quarter as gross NPLs have risen from KSh 410 Mn to KSh 40.80 Bn over the same period.
