Members’ deposits and savings in regulated Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs) increased to Sh832.74 billion in 2025 from Sh749.43 billion in 2024, providing a larger pool of funds for lending.
At the same time, gross loans and advances grew to Sh948.67 billion from Sh845.11 billion over the same period, reflecting continued demand for SACCO-based credit.
SACCO Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) Chief Executive Officer David Sandagi said the growth in deposits and lending demonstrated members’ continued confidence in the SACCO business model.
“While deposits have continued to grow steadily, a notable gap remains between total deposits and gross loans, with loans exceeding deposits,” Sandagi said.
He said the gap was mainly financed through retained earnings and institutional reserves, with a relatively small proportion coming from external borrowing.
The number of deposit accounts held by regulated SACCOs also increased significantly during the year.
SASRA reported that total deposit accounts rose to 18.95 million in 2025 from 16.05 million in 2024, representing an 18.07 per cent increase.
Sandagi said the growth was nearly twice the 9.74 per cent increase recorded in 2024.
“This growth was nearly double the growth rate of 9.74% recorded in 2024 and reflects the overall increase in membership as well as increase in members’ multi accounts which can be certainly be interpreted as a measure of improved public confidence in the Regulated SACCO business model,” he said.
Regulated SACCOs disbursed Sh596.54 billion in loans to eight key sectors of the economy during 2025.
Land and housing received the largest share of the loans at Sh157.20 billion.
Education followed with Sh124.51 billion, while agriculture received Sh110.74 billion.
The human health sector received the smallest amount, with Sh14.65 billion disbursed during the year.
The figures highlight the growing role of SACCOs in financing household needs, investment and economic activities across the country.
Deposit-taking SACCOs (DT-SACCOs) recorded a significant improvement in their capital position during the year.
Their core capital increased from Sh163.25 billion in 2024 to Sh208.87 billion in 2025.
Consequently, the ratio of core capital to total assets increased to 19.53 per cent in 2025 from 17.28 per cent in 2024.
The ratio of core capital to total deposits also rose to 28.75 per cent from 25.14 per cent over the same period.
Institutional capital to total assets increased from 11.97 per cent to 12.44 per cent.
SASRA attributed the improvement partly to increased retention of surpluses instead of distributing them to members.
The regulator said supervisory interventions, including restrictions on dividend payments on share capital, interest payments on members’ deposits, board honoraria, staff bonuses and other expenditures, contributed to stronger capital retention.
The measures were aimed at strengthening the financial resilience of regulated SACCOs.
Non-withdrawable deposit-taking SACCOs (NWDT-SACCOs) also recorded growth in core capital, which increased from Sh14.28 billion in 2024 to Sh18.79 billion in 2025.
The ratio of core capital to total assets improved to 13.29 per cent, while the ratio of core capital to total deposits increased to 17.69 per cent.
However, the ratio of retained earnings and disclosed reserves to core capital declined from 66.89 per cent in 2024 to 59.45 per cent.
SASRA attributed the decline to the faster growth of core capital.
Core capital among NWDT-SACCOs grew by 31.61 per cent, compared with a 16.96 per cent increase in retained earnings and disclosed reserves.
The quality of SACCO loan books also improved across both DT-SACCO and NWDT-SACCO segments.
The ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) among DT-SACCOs fell from 8.56 per cent in 2024 to 6.36 per cent in 2025.
Among NWDT-SACCOs, the NPL ratio declined from 7.07 per cent to 6.44 per cent over the same period.
SASRA attributed the improvement to stricter loan appraisal and approval processes, enhanced loan recovery efforts and improved repayment performance among members.
The decline in non-performing loans is significant for the sector because loan assets remain the main source of income for SACCOs.
The earnings of regulated SACCOs also continued to grow, with total income increasing to Sh172.83 billion in 2025 from Sh153.05 billion in 2024.
Interest income from loans remained the dominant source of revenue, rising from Sh127.64 billion to Sh138.14 billion during the year.
Loan interest accounted for 79.93 per cent of total income generated by regulated SACCOs.
SASRA said the increase in interest income was supported by improvements in the quality of loan books across both DT-SACCOs and NWDT-SACCOs.
Author: Andrew Walyaula
Andrew Walyaula is a seasoned multimedia journalist. Email: [email protected]
