This archive report was first published on 13 October 2019.
On October 13, 2019, Equity Bank announced that it had taken over a total of Sh2 billion worth of loans that had been advanced to East African Cables by various lenders, including Standard Chartered Bank (Kenya) and Ecobank Kenya Limited.
According to East African Cables' latest annual report, Equity Bank provided Sh1.6 billion to settle StanChart claims, with StanChart writing off Sh1.5 billion and opting to walk away from the debt-ridden firm with the Sh1.6 billion.
East African Cables has approached Equity to also take over a Sh161 million loan owed to Ecobank Kenya and Sh285 million owed to SBM Bank Kenya.
Under the new loan agreement with Equity, the cables manufacturer will enjoy a tenor of ten (10) years with a moratorium of two (2) years on principal repayments and a six (6) months moratorium on interest payments.
Equity Bank had already lent more than Sh2 billion to EA Cables prior to taking over the loans from its rivals, with most of the cable manufacturer's assets pledged to the bank.
