Equity Bank on the Move to Spread its Mobile Banking Platform

Equity Bank Ltd (NSE: EQTY) is planning to spread its mobile banking services, Equitel, to new geographical areas it currently operates. The platform, launched last year, has two million active users in Kenya and the financier expects to introduce it to Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and DR Congo where it already has presence.

This move comes at a time when the bank is in the process of widening its tentacles to new markets expecting to target the largely un-banked populace. This will be a boost to its revenue stream, with the current users having transacted KES 62.5 Billion as of end 1Q16, while also fostering its loan book, given the current mobile loans on the service which currently stands at KES 14.1 Billion.

In a recent survey by The Banker (Financial Times publication) the tier I lender, was ranked as the fastest growing large lender in Africa (29.8% growth in core capital), bringing it to the top 25 largest banks in the continent.

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Equities

The equities market closed on mixed trends as depicted by the market indicators and the value of transactions. The NSE All Share index inched up by 0.43% to close at 140.84 points from 140.23 points the previous day.

The NSE-25 share index followed suit, advancing marginally by 0.22% to close at 3978.48 points while the NSE 20 Share Index bucked the trend, shedding 0.10% to close at 3664.78 points. Market Capitalization expanded marginally by 1.80% to close at KES 2,025.28 billion from KES 1,989.54 billion.

Equity turnover dipped by 70.64% to close trading at KES 0.341Bn. Market breadth, the measure of market performance however favoured the decliners as 22 stocks depreciated in price against 16 advancers.

Currencies

The Kenyan Shilling (KES) remained on a neutral ground against most currencies during a quiet trading session before the Eid Holiday. Marginal losses worth 0.02% were reported against the USDKES which closed the midweek trading session at 101.09 (12:30pm GMT). On the international front, the dollar moved back higher against the other major currencies on

Wednesday, after the release of strong U.S. service sector activity data and as concerns over the global ramifications of the Brexit vote continued to support demand for safer assets. The local unit stood on firmer ground against the Sterling Pound and Euro, recording gains of 1.59% and 0.04%, respectively. Similarly, on the regional front the KES posted the strongest gain against the South African Rand as it stepped up by 0.20%.