NCBA Group PLC has reported a 7% increase in net profit to KES 23.4 billion (UGX 660 billion) for the year ended 2025, supported by sustained asset growth, improved net interest margins and accelerated expansion in digital lending, Pedson Mumbere reports.
These are the numbers that make shareholders and competitors sit up and pay attention.
Operating income rose 17% to KES 73.3 billion. These are not marginal gains; they represent a bank that has been building methodically and is now harvesting the rewards of five years of discipline.
The dividend tells the same story. NCBA lifted its total pay-out from KES 9.1 billion to KES 11.7 billion, a signal to shareholders across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda that this is a business generating real, distributable cash — not just paper profits.
Group Managing Director John Gachora was measured but pointed in his assessment.
“The 2025 outcomes represent a key milestone as we conclude our 2020–2025 strategic cycle,” he said.
“Disciplined execution and enhanced diversification have positioned the Group as a more resilient institution with strong momentum for future growth.”
Nowhere is that diversification more striking than in digital lending, where disbursements grew 33% to KES 1.4 trillion.
Digital services now account for 32% of total Group profitability. That figure alone should reframe how regulators, competitors and investors across East Africa think about NCBA.
This is no longer primarily a branch-based institution with a mobile app bolted on; it is increasingly a technology-driven financial platform that also happens to run 123 branches.
Uganda features prominently in the next chapter. Regional subsidiaries contributed KES 3.6 billion in profit before tax – 13% of Group earnings – with loans and deposits both growing at roughly 14% year-on-year.
The new Ubuntu strategy (2026–2030), themed “Banking on Belief — Empowering Ambitions,” makes regional expansion an explicit priority.
For Ugandan businesses and consumers, that is a concrete commitment, not a footnote.
Then there is Nedbank. The Johannesburg-headquartered giant – one of South Africa’s Big Four banks with a heritage stretching to 1888 – has issued a formal notice of intention to acquire approximately 66% of NCBA’s ordinary shares in a deal valued at $856 million.
NCBA would become a Nedbank subsidiary while retaining its Nairobi listing, brand and local management.
The implications for East Africa are significant. NCBA would gain access to Nedbank’s deep capital base, international networks and institutional expertise – exactly what a region increasingly financing large infrastructure, energy and agribusiness deals requires.
The consolidation trend across African banking is real and accelerating. NCBA-Nedbank would arrive at that table with serious weight.
Gachora’s closing words capture the posture well: “We remain confident in our growth prospects and committed to delivering sustainable value to our customers, shareholders and stakeholders.”
For East Africa, and Uganda in particular, that confidence is worth watching closely.
The quiet work of the last five years has produced a bank ready for bigger things. The next five will show whether the ambition matches the moment.
