Christmas comes early for borrowers as banks cut loan rates

CBK’s Monetary Policy Committee says the base lending rate reduction was underpinned by a favourable inflation outlook. [File, Standard]

Borrowers have received an early festive season boost after three of the country’s largest lenders cut their base lending rates, following a cue from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). The move is set to ease credit costs, in turn boosting customers’ consumer power ahead of peak Christmas and New Year spending.

Equity Group, the largest bank by customer base, KCB Group, the largest by asset size and Absa Bank Kenya, notified customers of the reduction, which aligns with a 25-basis-point cut in the Central Bank Rate (CBR) to 9.0 per cent announced by the CBK’s Monetary Policy Committee on December 9.