Equity fastest growing bank in Africa, survey
Kenya’s Equity Bank has been ranked the fastest rising bank in Africa by the Banker, a publication of Financial Times which ranks the Top 1,000 banks globally.
This has seen the bank now join the league of the 25 largest lenders in the continent. Equity Bank that has operations in Tanzania, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda last year recorded a core capital of $650million, a 29.8 percent growth
Kenya Commercial Bank, the other bank to feature prominently in the list was the third highest mover in Africa following a 10.9 per cent growth which saw it jump to position 961 globally up from 981 last year.
KCB, the largest bank in the country by asset base and number 808 in the world, now ranks 24th in Africa following a 2.2 per cent growth in tier 1 capital, which is used as the ranking standard.
“The relative strength of this performance can in part be attributed to the performance of the Kenyan shilling in 2015, which declined modestly against the US dollar relative to many other African currencies,” said The Banker.
Kenyan lenders have been able to squeeze higher returns from their assets owing to introduction of cost-effective products such as agency and mobile banking. Equity offered the second best return on assets in Africa, eighth globally, of 5.6 per cent while KCB ranked fourth in the continent at 4.76 per cent.
The two are leading in agency and mobile banking in the country with both channels doing more transactions than bank clerks and automated teller machines (ATMs). The technological gains are yet to translate to cheaper services to customers, allowing the lenders to book massive profits and expand the gap between large and small banks in the country.
KCB could acquire Chase Bank underlining the financial muscle of the top banks. Equity’s management has rule out acquisition of a bank in the local market arguing that its annual growth was the size of a mid-sized bank though.
The rise of the Kenyan banks on the continental scene follows their aggressive geographical expansion as they bid to protect the East and Central Africa territory from their larger Nigerian and South African rivals.
Last year KCB opened a representative office in Ethiopia pushing its regional presence to seven countries including Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. The banks are using operations in the less competitive regional markets to keep their profit growth high, which is paying dividends as they are rising in the global ladder.
Kenya’s Equity Bank has been ranked the fastest rising bank in Africa by the Banker, a publication of Financial Times which ranks the Top 1,000 banks globally.
This has seen the bank now join the league of the 25 largest lenders in the continent.
Equity Bank that has operations in Tanzania, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda last year recorded a core capital of $650million, a 29.8 percent growth
Kenya Commercial Bank, the other bank to feature prominently in the list was the third highest mover in Africa following a 10.9 per cent growth which saw it jump to position 961 globally up from 981 last year.
KCB, the largest bank in the country by asset base and number 808 in the world, now ranks 24th in Africa following a 2.2 per cent growth in tier 1 capital, which is used as the ranking standard.
“The relative strength of this performance can in part be attributed to the performance of the Kenyan shilling in 2015, which declined modestly against the US dollar relative to many other African currencies,” said The Banker.
Kenyan lenders have been able to squeeze higher returns from their assets owing to introduction of cost-effective products such as agency and mobile banking.
Equity offered the second best return on assets in Africa, eighth globally, of 5.6 per cent while KCB ranked fourth in the continent at 4.76 per cent.
The two are leading in agency and mobile banking in the country with both channels doing more transactions than bank clerks and automated teller machines (ATMs).
The technological gains are yet to translate to cheaper services to customers, allowing the lenders to book massive profits and expand the gap between large and small banks in the country.
KCB could acquire Chase Bank underlining the financial muscle of the top banks.
Equity’s management has rule out acquisition of a bank in the local market arguing that its annual growth was the size of a mid-sized bank though.
The rise of the Kenyan banks on the continental scene follows their aggressive geographical expansion as they bid to protect the East and Central Africa territory from their larger Nigerian and South African rivals.
Last year KCB opened a representative office in Ethiopia pushing its regional presence to seven countries including Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.
The banks are using operations in the less competitive regional markets to keep their profit growth high, which is paying dividends as they are rising in the global ladder.