Nairobi, April 25 -- The weakening of the shilling lifted Absa Bank Kenya's debt load by Sh4.2 billion to Sh24.02 billion in the 12 months to December 2023, despite the lender not making new foreign currency borrowings in the period.

The lender says in its annual report for 2023 that the foreign currency impact on its debt stood at Sh4.51 billion, up from Sh837 million in 2022.

The shilling depreciated by 21 per cent against the dollar in 2023 -moving from Sh123.37 to Sh156.46 per dollar- hurting those with dollar-denominated liabilities and rewarding those holding assets in US currency.

For the bank, the weakening of the shilling has therefore had the effect of raising financing costs and eating into the bottom line, and also increasi...