Equity Group Holdings on Tuesday reported a 28% increase in profit after tax to KES 34.4 billion for the nine months to 30th September 2022.
The Group recorded a 15.2% growth in total assets to KES 1.4 trillion as customer deposits grew by 15% to surpass KES 1.0 trillion mark for the first time since the bank’s founding. Loans and advances to customers grew by 21% to reach KES 673.9 billion.
The increase in Equity’s lending activity was largely driven by the Congolese unit which recorded a 50% loan book growth to KES 151.6 Billion.
Equity Bank’s earnings per share rose to KES 8.84 from KES 6.98 recorded in the same period in 2021. The board did not declare interim dividend.
Total interest income for the period under review rose 25.6% to KES 84.2 billion driven by a 43% growth in interest income from Government securities from KES 20.7 Billion to KES 29.6 Billion.
The lender’s holdings in Government bonds rose slightly by 1.4% to KES 366.5 Billion. The bank’s CEO James Mwangi said this was in line with their strategy to focus on lending to the private sector.
According to James Mwangi, the lender is considering setting aside up to KES 250 billion for on-lending to boost the government’s financial inclusion fund, popularly referred to as the Hustler Fund.
“We have offered to scale the Hustler Fund by fivefold to KES 250 billion. When one pays (the Hustler Fund loan) two times, we will graduate them to Equity lending and have a loan limit at KES 150,000,” said Equity Group Managing Director Dr James Mwangi during the announcement of the Q3 results.
READ; Equity Group Appoints Samuel Kirubi as Group Chief Operating Officer
