Equity Bank Group, the leading regional financial services solutions provider has maintained its track record, managing to post a 53% profit before tax in its third quarter financial results.
Riding high on increased customer deposits and a modestly favorable economic climate, Equity Bank Group Profit’s before tax grew to Kshs 6.53Billion during the nine month trading period ended September 30th up from Kshs 4.25Billion posted during the same period last year. Equally the period under review saw the after tax profit grow by 51% from Kshs 3.38 billion to reach Kshs 5.13 Billion.
Within the period under review, the bank also managed to impressively grow its asset base to stand at Kshs 136.5Billion up from Kshs 97.4Billion reflecting a more than 40% growth. The growth in assets has been fueled by growth in customer deposits by 50% from Kshs.65.6Billion in 2009 to Kshs.98.8Billion in 2010. Total operating income within the same period grew by 46% from Kshs 11.2 billion to Kshs 16.5Billion, with the growth mostly coming from interest income which increased by 53 per cent from Kshs 7.84billion in September 2009 to Kshs 11.98 Billion in the period under review.
The Group’s Non interest income grew by 32 per cent from Kshs 4.56 billion to Kshs 6.02 billion, mainly driven by commissions and fees from transactions. Operating
Kshs 7.05 billion to expenses grew by 42 percent from Kshs 10.04 billion.
The Equity Bank Group further managed to reduce its non performing loans portfolio by an impressive 20% to stand at Kshs 3.57 Billion down from Kshs 4.46Billion registered during the same period last year.
Speaking when he released the results, Equity Bank Group Chief Executive Officer Dr. James Mwangi further attributed the positive results to the bank’s ongoing strategy
innovative customer oriented to adopt Information Technology and Communication (ICT) solutions, and a growing loan book which has been buoyed by the increased optimism in the economic outlook.
While addressing a cross section of Equity Group Investors, Dr. Mwangi disclosed that the bank’s M-Kesho product is currently enjoying tremendous success and has already hit the 700,000 customer mark.
Buoyed by such success and as part of the Group’s commitment to bridge the gap between the banked and unbanked masses, Dr. Mwangi pledged to further step up mutually beneficial partnerships with other ICT related solutions providers in coming months. The bank is also growing its loan book by targeting its micro, small and medium clients. Recently Equity signed up a partnership with China Development Bank for a Ksh.4.billion to support small and medium enterprises in the country. The loan facility is available to small and medium enterprises (SME) at the interest rate of between 7 to 9 percent for periods of 3-7 years making it the cheapest source of funding for the sector in the country.
“Our mission is to offer inclusive; customer focused financial services that socially and economically empower our clients and other stakeholders and that’s a cardinal role that we shall continue playing in the medium and long-term,” he assured.
And Added: “as part of our vision to be the champion of the socio-economic prosperity of the people of Africa, we shall continue to embrace ICT solutions and forge close links with like minded partners in our quest to one day bank all of Africa’s unbanked people.”
With regional and local political/economic reforms now underway, Dr Mwangi confirmed that Equity Bank and its subsidiaries will continue playing a keying role in facilitating finance services growth.
Dr James Mwangi who is also the chairman of Kenya’s Vision 2030 Delivery Board was in October 2010 awarded the 2010 African Banker of the Year and cited for pioneering the first mobile banking technology in the world to reach out to the unbanked, and for championing the empowerment of ordinary people through inclusive finance.
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