Commercial lender, Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Plc, has issued a profit warning, forecasting a 25% drop in net earnings for the year ending 31 December 2025, compared to the year ended 31 December 2024, mainly due to the judgment of the Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal Appeal No.8 of 2021 and directions to pay appellants.
StanChart is expected to pay KES 7 billion in pension arrears to 629 former employees after losing a 16-year suit at the Supreme Court over the miscalculation of pension benefits. In a statement last week, the lender assured its clients and stakeholders of enough capital reserves to settle the payout. However, StanChart went ahead and issued a profit warning stating that the payments would have a significant effect on its costs in line with ‘IAS 19 Employee Benefits’ on accounting for past service costs.
In a statement issued on September 12, 2025, StanChart said that it had begun processing payments to pensioners.
“We will commence the process of collecting the requisite information of the appellants in the above appeal for the purpose of verification and subsequently processing claims arising out of the judgment from Monday, September 22, 2025, at Almary Green Business Park, off U.S.I.U. off Thika Superhighway, Nairobi, daily on weekdays between 9 am and 3 pm,” said Standard Chartered Kenya Pension Fund in a notice on Friday.
StanChart annual net profit forecast
In the year ended 31 December 2024, Standard Chartered Bank recorded a robust performance, achieving an after-tax profit of KES 20.1 billion, up 45% from the previous year, 2023. In respect of the payout, the lender expects KES 15.1 billion in net earnings for the year ending 31 December 2025, 25% lower than the previous year.
The bank said that the profit warning was based on the un-audited financial results for the period ended 31 August 2025. Again, StanChart assured its clients and stakeholders of its adequate capital buffers to meet the anticipated obligations.
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