Nairobi — Standard Chartered Bank has booked a Sh2.5 billion ($19 million) pension charge in its Kenya unit following a 2025 ruling by the Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal in favour of 629 former employees.

In notes accompanying its latest financial statements, the lender said the increase in its global pension deficit was partly driven by regulatory and legal developments in Kenya and India.

"In Kenya, the Retirement Benefits Appeals Tribunal ruled broadly in favour of a longstanding legal case brought by 629 former employees," the bank said, adding that a past service cost reflects the financial impact of the judgment, including a requirement to fully fund the pension plan.

The bank recognised the $19 million as a past service cost, increasing its retirement benefit liabilities for the year under review. It noted that where some former employees have not yet been traced, any temporary surplus arising from the mandated funding has been disregarded under IFRIC 14 accounting rules.

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The disclosure follows a major development in the long-running dispute. In September 2025, the Supreme Court of Kenya upheld a ruling requiring the lender to pay about Sh7 billion ($54 million) to the 629 former employees, affirming earlier findings that their retirement benefits had been underpaid.

The decision reinforced the tribunal's directive that the pension scheme be fully funded in line with its determination.

Globally, Standard Chartered also reported a $48 million past service cost in India after new regulations expanded the definition of pay used to calculate statutory lump sum plans, further widening the group's pension deficit.