Equity Group profit rises 24% to Ksh.19 billion on digital growth, regional expansion

The lender’s balance sheet expanded by 16 per cent to KSh2.04 trillion, supported by a 13 per cent rise in customer deposits and a 9 per cent growth in net loans, underscoring continued customer confidence and increased economic activity across its markets.

The Group said its customer base grew to 22.7 million, supported by an extensive distribution network comprising 86,910 agents and 1.4 million merchants across the region.

The strong performance comes as Equity accelerates its transition into a technology-led pan-African financial services group, with digital transactions now accounting for 89.5 per cent of all activity, while 98.3 per cent of transactions are conducted outside branch networks.

Operational efficiency also improved, with the cost-to-income ratio declining to 50.6 per cent from 54.2 per cent over the same period last year, reflecting gains from digital migration, shared services and productivity improvements.

Return on assets stood at 3.9 per cent while return on equity was 22.6 per cent, signaling strong profitability and efficient capital deployment.

Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Dr. James Mwangi said the results reflected the success of the bank’s long-term transformation strategy focused on diversification, technology and regional expansion.

“Our Q1 performance reflects the success of our deliberate transformation into a diversified, regional, technology-led financial services Group,” he said.

Asset quality also improved significantly during the quarter, with the non-performing loan ratio declining from 14 per cent to 10 per cent year-on-year. Loan loss provisions fell by 18 per cent, while NPL coverage improved to 72 per cent from 67 per cent.

Regional subsidiaries continued to play a larger role in the Group’s earnings, accounting for half of total banking profitability and 52 per cent of total banking assets.

Equity Bank Kenya posted a 21 per cent increase in profit after tax to KSh10.3 billion, while EquityBCDC in the Democratic Republic of Congo recorded a 32 per cent rise to KSh5 billion.

Equity Rwanda posted a 36 per cent growth in profit to KSh1.5 billion, while Equity Tanzania recorded the fastest growth, with profit surging 150 per cent to KSh1.04 billion.

The Group’s insurance business also registered strong growth, with gross written premiums increasing by 30 per cent to KSh4.5 billion and profit before tax rising 53 per cent to KSh640 million.

Equity said it continued investing heavily in technology and artificial intelligence capabilities as part of its long-term growth strategy. The bank disclosed that 80 per cent of its staff had completed generative AI training programmes as it seeks to modernise operations and improve service delivery.

Through the Equity Group Foundation, the lender also expanded social investment programmes across education, healthcare, agriculture, climate action and youth technology training across Africa.

Looking ahead, the Group said it remains focused on its 2030 strategy under the Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan, which targets expansion into 15 countries and growth of its customer base to 100 million people across the continent.