Absa profit hits Sh8.3b as rainy day funds increase by 74 per cent

Absa Bank Kenya Managing Director Abdi Mohamed (left) shares a light moment with Kenya Bankers Association CEO Habil Olaka. Looking on is Kennedy Mutisya, KBA's Chief Finance Officer. [Courtesy]

Absa Bank Kenya's fund to guard against loan losses jumped 74.42 per cent to Sh5.1 billion in the six months to June compared to the previous year.

The tier-one lender, which is a unit of South Africa's Absa Bank, joins other leading commercial banks in the country who have ratcheted up credit loss reserves by billions of shillings in response to heightened economic and credit market uncertainty.