[caption id="attachment_7093" align="aligncenter" width="595" caption="Customers at KCB-Kencom Branch banking Hall in Nairobi. (Picture: Business Daily)"][/caption]

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) group has announced that it will be lowering its base rates by close to 3 percentage points beginning June 1st. The lender will drop its average lending rate which has been at 25% to 22%.

At the same time, the group's mortgage division S&L will also be dropping its rates on mortgage loans to 19%.

The increase in lending rates to about 25% cent from 15 % since October last year impacted negatively on KCBs lending in quarter one as its loan book dropped to Sh195 billion from Sh198 billion in December.

A recent survey by The Central Bank of Kenya indicated that small banks were charging lower rates of 19% down from what they were charging six months earlier while large banks which include KCB were increasing their lending rates.