Paul Arithi 
Capital Markets Authority (CMA) CEO-Wycliffe-Shamiah
- CMA Approves Banking ETF to Broaden Investment Options at NSE;
Kenya’s capital markets are set for a new investment product after the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) approved the listing of the WSA Banking Index Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
TThe WSA Banking Index ETF is issued by WallStreet Africa Group Limited and will be managed by Tradiam Asset Managers Limited.
The fund is structured as an open-ended scheme and will seek to replicate, as closely as practicable, the performance of the NSE Banking Index by investing its assets in the constituent banking shares.
“The rollout of the innovative ETF product by theWallstreet Africa Group is aligned to the Authority’s ambition of facilitating curation of innovative products in the capital markets space,” CMA Chief Executive Officer Wycliffe Shamiah said.
He added that the product is expected to address growing demand for innovative investment products while allowing investors to diversify their portfolios and deepen Kenya’s capital markets through an expanded range of products.
The ETF will provide exposure to 11 banking companies included in the NSE Banking Index: Equity Group,KCB Group, Co-operative Bank, Absa Bank Kenya,NCBA Group,Standard Chartered Bank Kenya, Stanbic Holdings, I&M Group, Diamond Trust Bank (DTB),HF Group and BK Group.
Instead of purchasing shares in the individual banks separately, investors will be able to gain exposure to the banking-sector basket through a single ETF investment once the fund is listed and begins trading.
The development comes as Kenya seeks to broaden participation in its capital markets and increase the range of products available to both institutional and retail investors.
CMA describes ETFs as pooled investment vehicles whose shares can be bought and sold on a securities exchange at market-determined prices.
Passive ETFs generally track an underlying index rather than relying on discretionary stock selection.
The WSA Banking Index ETF will be denominated in Kenya shillings, while the underlying banking shares are also listed and traded in Kenya shillings on the NSE.
This means investors will not face foreign-exchange exposure arising from the fund’s underlying investments.
The NSE currently has two other ETFs namely,the Absa NewGold ETF,which tracks the price of physical gold, and the Satrix MSCI World Feeder ETF,which provides exposure to large and mid-cap companies across developed markets. The WSA Banking Index ETF will therefore add a locally focused sector product to the exchange’s growing ETF market.
The fund’s units will be listed and traded on the NSE,with market makers or authorised participants potentially supporting secondary-market liquidity by facilitating the creation and redemption of ETF units and helping maintain orderly trading.
Recent regulatory initiatives by the Authority have similarly focused on expanding the range of investment products and strengthening market participation.
The ETF is expected to proceed through the remaining NSE listing and pre-listing requirements before trading begins. Recent market reports indicate that the product is targeted for listing later in 2026,subject to completion of the necessary approvals and requirements.
The launch could provide investors with a simpler route to participate in Kenya’s banking sector while giving the capital markets a new instrument for portfolio diversification and sector-focused investment.
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