Equity Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Dr. James Mwangi has experienced a sharp decline in his shares at East Africa’s biggest lender over the past month ending February 22, 2025.
According to Billionaires Africa, Mwangi who holds a 3.39-percent stake—equivalent to 127,809,180 shares at Equity Group Holdings Limited experienced a decline of Sh389 million ($3 million) in market value of his holding.
The drop in share piece has seen Mwangi’s holdings drop from Sh8.89 billion ($68.5 million) to Sh8.5 billion ($65.53 million).
Despite the fall, Mwangi remains Kenya’s wealthiest banker and one of the best-paid corporate bosses. In the bank’s financial year 2022, Mwangi had pocketed a bonus payment of Sh53 million.
His total pay for the year was Sh213.6 million. In the financial year 2023, he took home Sh158.8 million. This was inclusive of Sh106 million in salary, Sh31.8 million in gratuity, and Sh4.7 million in non-cash benefits.
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Equity Group has cemented its position as a leading Pan-African financial services provider, expanding across Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Under Mwangi’s leadership, the lender has grown into a dominant force in East and Central Africa’s banking sector.
Equity Group’s 2024 financial statement shows that the lender’s net profit for the half year ended June 2024 grew by 12 percent to Sh29.6 billion.
The bank attributed the improved income to increased interest income helped by regional subsidiaries in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
For instance, subsidiaries in the DRC and Rwanda accounted for 47 percent of total loans and contributed 51 percent of profit after tax.
“We are optimistic that the strong liquidity of the Group has positioned us to effectively support our customers as the economy starts showing signs of improvement in the key markets we operate in, signaled by some of the regulators’ reduction of the Central Bank Reference rates,” James Mwangi Equity Group Holdings Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer said.
“With the improved liquidity, the Group continued to optimize its balance sheet reducing leverage by Sh75 billion of expensive borrowings.”
Equity’s total assets also expanded by six percent to Sh1.75 trillion, with deposits jumping by 11 percent to Sh1.3 trillion.
