This archive report was first published on 13 November 2019.
Equity Group has posted a 10% growth in its nine-month profit after tax to Sh17.46 billion, up from Sh15 billion reported over a similar period last year.
Group Chief Executive James Mwangi attributed the growth to the bank's ability to register growth in both interest and non-interest income despite the effect of the interest rate cap during the period under review.
“The last three years under the rate caps gave us the opportunity to reinvent ourselves and diversify into other revenue streams,” said Mr Mwangi at an investor briefing in Nairobi.
He noted that the removal of the interest rate cap is unlikely to change the lender's strategic objective, saying, “The removal of the interest rates for us can only be a bonus and is unlikely to change our strategic objective.”
During the period under review, Equity Group saw interest income grow from Sh38 billion last year to Sh42 billion this year, while non-funded income went up by 14% from Sh19.8 billion last year to Sh22.54 billion this year.
“Our non-funded income now stands at 41% of the company's gross income and we expect it to cross the 50% mark in the near future,” explained Mwangi.
The lender's net loans went up 21% from Sh288.4 billion in the third quarter of last year to Sh348.9 billion over a similar period this year, with non-performing loans standing at 8.3%.
