This archive report was first published on 15 June 2020.
On June 15, 2020, Moody's ratings agency highlighted Equity Bank as one of the few financial institutions with strong liquidity buffers and adequate liquidity assets, which will aid in easing asset quality pressure on the lender amid the pandemic.
Equity Group's Q1 2020 financials saw a 14% drop in net earnings to KSh 5.3 billion, driven by an increase in loan loss provisions, which shot up tenfold from KSh 300 million in Q1 2019 to KSh 3 billion in Q1 2020.
The bank's gross earnings in the first quarter of 2020 fell to KSh 7 billion from KSh 8.8 billion over a similar period in 2019, providing a bird's eye view of the financial strain lenders are undergoing as customers experience difficulties in meeting loan repayment obligations.
Equity Group has already informed its shareholders of its decision to withhold payment of dividends, citing the need to build enough capital and liquidity to deal with the unforeseen challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the challenges, the bank's fees and commissions on loans to customers grew marginally from KSh 10.4 billion to KSh 11.5 billion, while the Group's balance sheet size increased from KSh 605.7 billion to KSh 693.2 billion in Q1 2020.
Equity Group has rolled out various IT platforms, including Eazzy FX, Equity's new online forex trading platform that began trading in April 2019, and has upgraded its EazzyBanking App to enhance customer experience.
Thanks to a massive investment in technology, 97% of all Equity Group's transactions were already being conducted outside the branch, making it a Covid Digital Ready Bank.
