be consistent kausha. it cannot be good when equity do it but suspect when barclays do so. even if equity took a massive hit,a slightly higher provision would have seen them record profit stagnation or a decline relative to last year. but q2 awaits them. granted we do not have access to their loan books to see exactly what transpired in each loan at each bank so we can all just speculate/criticize. nothing wrong with that cause we are weighing everything b4 making a decision to buy/sell/bank. banks use llp all the time to intelligently manipulate profits esp on unaudited results. do you think cbk have time to review the classification of each loan at each of the 42 banks every quarter so that they can make sure the provisions are applied to the letter? it is sometimes a means to buy time in anticipation of better performance within the year so as to announce respectable income even after the audited end of year provisions.

Can IFRS's 'outlaw'??... Aren't they just guidelines??? What are the rules in Kenya?? Must a company be guided by IFRS's in financial reporting?? What if its parent is subject to foreign GAAPs??

The concern here is not the Central Bank's rules on provisioning.

It is interrogating if and how Banks can internally manipulate loan provisions for their benefit during reporting.

It can happen. Of course banking is based on integrity a huge deal so we can only hope not...for all our sakes.