Nairobi, March 28 -- Insured bank deposits more than doubled to Sh710 billion in 12 months to June 2021 from Sh305 billion a year earlier after the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) raised the deposit coverage limit to Sh500,000 from Sh100,000.

According to KDIC's latest annual report, the higher insured deposits translate to a protected value of 16 percent of the entire banking industry's deposits from eight percent previously.

The improved deposit coverage has seen the full protection of 65 million accounts out of 66 million accounts in the banking system, which represents an account coverage ratio of 99 percent.

The deposit coverage limit was raised to Sh500,000 per account in July 2020 following amendments to the KDIC Act,...