Leading banks shrug off pandemic blues to record high earnings in first quarter

KCB Bank.

Customers at a KCB bank in Nairobi on April 1, 2010. PHOTO | FILE | NMG

Top regional banks shrugged off the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic to post high dividends and reduce loan loss provisions in the first quarter of this year.

The banks had strong earnings despite rising inflation and dollar shortages, even though macroeconomic indicators point to a slowing economy later in the year.