Equity Bank Reports Historic Ksh75.5 Billion Profit

File image of Equity Group Holdings CEO James Mwangi

Equity Group Holdings PLC has announced a historic profit after tax of Ksh75.5 billion in the 2025 Financial Year, making it the most profitable company in the region.

The group’s profit after tax grew by 55 percent, up from Ksh48.8 billion posted in the 2024 financial year.

Equity Group Managing Director and CEO James Mwangi attributed the strong performance to the group’s strategic transformation, driven by diversified revenue streams, improved efficiency, and growing contributions from regional subsidiaries.

“The 2025 performance reflects the success of our deliberate transformation into a diversified, regional financial services group. We delivered strong profit growth by expanding and deepening our income streams, improving efficiency across the franchise, and strengthening the quality of our balance sheet,” said Mwangi.

He added, “Importantly, our regional subsidiaries now contribute about half of our banking profitability, demonstrating the value of our pan-African footprint and the resilience that comes from diversification.”

Equity’s balance sheet expanded by 9% to KSh1.97 trillion, with customer deposits rising 4% to KSh1.46 trillion and net loans increasing by 8% to KSh882.5 billion.

The group closed the year with 22.4 million customer accounts, supported by a strong regional distribution and digital ecosystem.

The strong revenue performance saw the net interest income grow by 17% to Ksh126.9 billion, non‑funded income rise by 7% to Ksh90.8 billion, and total income increase by 12% to Ksh217.7 billion.

Meanwhile, the operational efficiency improved significantly, with the cost‑to‑income ratio falling to 51.0% from 58.2%, driven by continued migration to self‑service channels, productivity gains, and tighter cost discipline supported by Group-wide shared services and digital infrastructure.

The group noted that over 98% of customer transactions were conducted outside branches, with 88.4% processed through digital channels, reflecting continued demand for digital services with increased investment in customer‑centric digital infrastructure.

Loan loss provisions declined 28%, while NPL coverage strengthened to 67.7%, supported by a reduced cost of risk of 1.7%.

On the back of this performance, Equity Bank Directors have recommended a dividend of Ksh5.75 per share, up from Ksh4.25 amounting to a payout of Ksh21.7 billion representing a 35.3% growth in dividends.

Equity Bank Kenya reported a 63% rise in profit after tax to KSh39.2 billion, up from ksh24.1 it recorded in the 2024 financial year.

Shareholders’ funds grew 11% to KSh136.2 billion, while returns on assets and equity strengthened to 3.9% from 2.4% and 26.8% from 20.2%, respectively.

Regional operations accounted for about half of group profitability in the 2025 financial year, underscoring Equity’s emergence as a pan-African financial services group.

In the DRC, profit after tax rose 58% to KSh24.7 billion, supported by 17% loan growth. Uganda’s profit after tax jumped 500% to Ksh3.6 billion, while Rwanda posted profit after tax of KSh5.4 billion, with total assets up 5% and the loan book expanding 22%.

Tanzania’s profit after tax grew by 125% to KSh2.7 billion, alongside a 75% increase in shareholders’ funds.

Overall, subsidiaries contributed 51% of banking profit before tax and 48% of banking profit after tax.