Equity Bank’s Profits After Tax Up By 79% To Ksh 26.9 Billion

Equity Group has posted impressive financial results for the third quarter of 2021 despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that has hit hard on various businesses within and without Kenya. The bank says it will remain resilient as the year snails on.

Equity Bank’s profits were up by 79 percent to 26.9 billion shillings. This was growth from 15 billion shillings at the same time in 2020 helped by rising interest income and falling provisions for bad loans.

At the same time, the total assets for Equity Group are now at 1.18 trillion shillings. The lender plans to grow the assets to 3 trillion shillings in the next 5 years.

“Our largest subsidiary, Kenya, has the highest return on Assets and hence able to lift the Group as we continue to support the subsidiaries on this front,” said Equity.

Deposits for the bank grew by 27 percent to 875.7 billion shillings while the loan book rose by 23 percent to 559 billion shillings. At the same time, total income grew by 25 percent to 79.9 billion shillings. The Net interest income grew 23 percent to 48.5 billion shillings.

“Out of the KES 171bn offered in loans, we see minimal changes that will pose a risk to the current provision we have made for the loan book,” said the bank in a statement on Monday morning.

Equity also operates in Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda, and has a representative office in Ethiopia with CEO Dr. James Mwangi saying that the “bulk of this growth has come from our subsidiaries.”

Equity says together with its partners has invested USD 513 million in Social Investment Programs in education, health, enterprise development, food and agriculture, social protection and energy, and environment.

“Social capital is as good as financial capital, and Equity Group is a creation of its values and ethos. Our social impact programs are a reflection of our Shared Prosperity Model, creating value within the economy and impacting communities on a daily basis,” said the lender in a statement.

At the same time, the bank says that it has trained 2.24 million farmers, enabling them to transform into agribusiness. “Agriculture is central not only to us but has formed a large part of the ongoing global conversation centered around climate change.”

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