The Best Bank in Kenya 2018 will be the Bank that best demonstrates the following: Commitment to corporate governance best practices, products and systems innovation, engaging in sustainable corporate social responsibility as well as financial performance.

Tier I are banks with total assets less in excess of Ksh. 150 Billion. All banks under this category are first assessed on the basis of financial soundness. The financial soundness will be determined by 10 different parameters shown in Appendix 2, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.

Tier II are banks with total assets less than Ksh 150 Billion but more than Ksh. 50 Billion. . All banks under this category are first assessed on the basis of financial soundness. The financial soundness will be determined by 10 different parameters shown in Appendix 2, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.

Tier III are banks with total assets less than Ksh 50 Billion but more than Ksh 15 Billion. All banks under this category are first assessed on the basis of financial soundness. The financial soundness will be determined by 10 different parameters shown in Appendix 2, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.

Tier IV are banks with total assets less than Ksh 15 Billion. . All banks under this category are first assessed on the basis of financial soundness. The financial soundness will be determined by 10 different parameters shown in Appendix 2, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.

A tariff survey on bank tariffs will inform the winners in this category. An index for banks based on the charges levied to their customers. The basis of the rankings will be on three scenarios modeled around the banking activities of three typical customers then assessing how each customer would have been charged for similar transactions by each bank over a twelve month period. The banks will then be ranked from the lowest in charges to the highest. There will be two sub categories for this category

• The bank with the lowest charges for individual customers.
• The bank with the lowest charges for SMEs

The category looks at the overall customer experience with their banks. A country wide Customer satisfaction survey commissioned by Think Business and conducted by Infotrak Harris, amongst other information derived from entry document will be used to determine the winners.

Customers are looking for convenient banking, Mobile banking offers them this opportunity and the bank that will survive the competition is the bank that offers the most effective mobile banking application.

Internet Banking has grown tremendously over the years particularly with the middle class and corporate banking clientele. This category will award the best bank in provision of internet banking as an alternative channel to its customers particularly through a website.

Several banks within the region have embraced agency banking as a means to spread their network, moving services closer to the people and easing congestion in their banking halls. The advent of agency banking is already lowering the cost of doing business for many banks.

Entry is open to all products in the banking sector that entrants feel are most innovative. The judges will be looking for breakthrough products developed through cutting edge design, research and development that has redefined the market by improving usability, access and value to the customer.

Here the judges typically assess the product that was presented and delivered most effectively to the market. The winning entry will be that product that offers greater value to the customer based on the core elements of marketing - the bank’s pricing model, distribution network, promotional strategy and value addition of the product. Through a survey, bank customers are also asked to state what bank products were effectively sold to them. The team of expert judges then pick the winners from a weighted score which is determined also by the volume of actual business attracted by the marketing process.

This is open to all banks whose focus is mainly on SME banking. First they are assessed on the basis of their corporate governance practices and financial soundness using the ten key financial ratios that are also used to determine the Best Bank in Kenya with a maximum score of 60%

This category is open to banks that have a focus on mortgage finance.

This is open to all full-fledged Islamic banks and other commercial banks with Islamic banking windows. Under this category, banks are first assessed on the basis of corporate governance and financial soundness (of the Islamic component).

This category is open to banks that have a focus on asset financing.

This category is open to banks that have a focus on agricultural financing

This category is open to banks that have a focus on Trade Financing and Trade Financing related products.

This is open to the Tier I banks, because of their lead in customer numbers and deposits. Under this category, banks are first assessed on the basis of corporate governance and financial soundness.

This is open to all banks whose focus is mainly on SME banking. First they are assessed on the basis of their corporate governance practices and financial soundness using the ten key financial ratios that are also used to determine the Best Bank in Kenya with a maximum score of 60%.

Typically, the big companies will only deal with banks that measure up to their needs and quality standards.

Additionally, banks are encouraged to send entries highlighting their service to other non-listed but large corporate detailing the following:

List of such corporate with an annual turnover of more than Ksh 10 billion.

• Period of time that they have been clients of the bank.
• Types of corporate banking services offered to or consumed by them.
• The panel of judges looks at the banks most preferred by the top companies listed at the Nairobi Stock Exchange based on market capitalization. The banks are then ranked on the basis of which is the most preferred and how they are rated by their corporate clients.

The judges assess the banks with the best focus in Micro finance. This category is open to banks offering micro finance products under the following definitions:

• Small loans to the mass market
• Informal appraisal of borrowers and investments
• Collateral substitutes, such as group guarantees or compulsory savings d) largely targets the lower section of the income spectrum.

This shall basically be determined by the lowest cost income ratio in 2018. This is a financial ratio that looks at what it costs to generate a certain level of income. All the banks are assessed equally regardless of size.

The Judges will be looking at the most sustainable turnaround from loss making to profitability. The winner will be the bank that has sustained profitability for at least three years.

The critical need for corporates to be socially responsible by giving back to society cannot be gainsaid. The objective of this award is to recognize banks that are doing well on this front and to encourage those that have not embraced CSR to do the same. The Judges will be looking at organizations that have adopted a CSR policy and continued commitment to sustainability.

Digital technology is dramatically changing how banks interact with their customers. Social media is transforming banking relationships in very significant ways, from improving customer service to allowing users to send money to others via online platforms.

All Micro-Finance Banks are first assessed on corporate governance practices and financial soundness. Financial soundness is determined by 10 different parameters that are used in The Banking Survey rankings, which measure asset quality, liquidity, earnings and capital adequacy.

Entry is open to all banking products development by the Micro-Finance banks that provide innovative solution for the informal and micro finance sector.

The judges will be looking for breakthrough products developed through cutting edge design, research and development that has redefined the market by improving usability, access and value to the customer.

This category is open to MF banks that have a focus on Agriculture and Livestock Financing.

This is the MF bank that has exhibited the fastest growth consistently over the past 3 years (2014 - 2018)

This is a new category that aims at showcasing tomorrow’s pacesetters in the Kenyan banking industry. The entrant should be below 35 years and working in the banking sector. The entrant should have shown the ability to generate new ideas, drive innovation and sustainable growth. Through his or her deeds (actions) the individual should have positively changed the fortunes his/her institution to the benefit of customers, colleagues, counterparties, communities and the banking sector. Submissions may be sent by the employing institution or by a person other than the entrant

The will be won by a person in the banking sector who has contributed significantly to the growth of a corporate division of a bank by building a formidable corporate clientele, significantly growing the revenue stream from the corporate banking division in 2018.

This award shall be won by a chief executive in any of the three different tiers deemed by the judges to have made the greatest contribution in the growth of their bank’s business in 2018.

We invite CEOs of banks to send in nominations for long serving individuals in the banking sector, active, retired or posthumous for considerations for the lifetime achievement in banking.

The individual must have spent at least 20 years in banking and has had an outstanding and lasting contribution to the growth of the sector.

This award is given in recognition of innovative products developed outside the banking sector but which have a major impact on the lives of existing and potential bank customers. The judges will be looking for breakthrough products developed through cutting edge design, research and development that have redefined the market by improving usability, access and value to the customer.