Nairobi, May 29 -- Small lenders such as First Community Bank (FCB), Ecobank of Kenya and HF Bank dominate the list of banks offering lower interest rates in the latest regulatory disclosure that puts large players such as Absa and Equity Group among those with the steepest rates.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data on the average lending rates commercial banks offer show 27 of the 39 commercial banks have raised their overall rates in the three months to March.

The review puts the lowest rate at nine percent (FCB) and the highest at 17.6 percent (Credit Bank). The highest rate was 14.6 percent (Sidian) in December.

FCB, a shariah-compliant lender that was in March cleared to sell 62.5 percent stake to Premier Bank Limited of Somalia,...