Equity Bank Group has announced a net profit of Sh. 36.2 billion in the first nine months of the year 2023.

This profit represented a growth of 5.3 per cent from the profit that was realized in the same period the previous year.

However, Equity Bank Kenya’s profit after tax fell by 20 per cent to Sh. 19.3 billion. This was the first time the local subsidiary has recorded a drop in profit in seven years. This profit decline was attributed to high non-performing loans that hit an industry average of 15.8 per cent.

The local subsidiary had 15.8 per cent non performing loans while the Group as a whole had 12.2 per cent non-performing loans.

Equity BCDC (DRC subsidiary) posted 142 per cent net profit growth to Sh. 11.4 billion while Tanzania subsidiary posted 136 per cent growth in net earnings.

The lender’s total loan book grew by 25.5 per cent to Sh 845.9 billion while gross non-performing loans for the group increased 83.5 per cent to Sh. 124.5 billion.

During the period under review, Equity Group  declared that its assets had risen by 24 per cent to Sh. 1.7 trillion while customer deposits had increased by 19.9 per cent to Sh. 1.2 trillion.

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Net income for the bank increased 21.3 per cent to Sh. 72.6 billion.

At the same time, the value of mobile money transactions in the first 8 months of 2023 was down 2.8 per cent year on year to Sh. 5.06 trillion. This was the first time since 2017 that there has been such a decline.

“The last time we were discussing here, our market cap was about the size of the next two largest listed banks….We are now almost the size of the next three largest listed banks in Kenya,” said Equity Bank chief executive officer Dr. James Mwangi.

“Despite the current economic turbulence, the Group has maintained and preserved its balance sheet in an exceptionally agile state demonstrating a high degree of flexibility to seize opportunities and promptly respond to shifts in the macro environment.”