Equity Bank Kenya Limited

Equity Bank Kenya Limited, is a financial services provider headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. It is licensed as a commercial bank, by the Central Bank of Kenya, the central bank and national banking regulator.

History

Equity Bank Kenya Limited was incorporated in 2014 as a result of the corporate restructure of Equity Group Holdings Limited. Prior to November 2014, Equity Group Holdings Limited operated both as a licensed bank and a holding company for its subsidiaries.

On October 31, 2014, Equity Bank announced its intention to incorporate a new wholly owned subsidiary, Equity Bank Kenya Limited, to which it would transfer its Kenyan banking business, assets and liabilities. The rationale for the re-organisation is that by converting Equity Group Holdings Limited into a non-trading holding company (as defined under the Banking Act) that owns both banking and non-banking subsidiary companies and provides strategic, brand, risk and talent management to its subsidiaries, the Group will be better placed to invest and to develop the existing and new businesses as part of its third phase of growth and transformation.

Equity Bank Tanzania Limited

Equity Bank Tanzania Limited, is a commercial bank in Tanzania, the second-largest economy in the East African Community. It is licensed by the Bank of Tanzania, the country's central bank and national banking regulator. The bank is a member of the Equity Group Holdings Limited, a large financial services conglomerate, headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

Overview

As of September 2014, Equity Bank Tanzania Limited owned total assets valued at US$143.42 million, with US$107.68 million in customer deposits and a loan book of US$87.1 million.

Equity Group Holdings Limited

Equity Group Holdings Limited is a large financial services group in East Africa.As of March 2014, The group had an asset base valued at over US$3.45 billion (KES:295 billion), with a total customer base in excess of 8.7 million, in the region the group serves. The companies that comprise the Equity Bank Group include the following:

Equity Bank Rwanda Limited

Equity Bank Rwanda Limited (EBRL), is a commercial bank in Rwanda. The bank is licensed by the National Bank of Rwanda, the central bank and national banking regulator.

Overview

EBRL is a medium-sized financial services provider in Rwanda, with an estimated total asset valuation of about US$133.25 million (RWF:90.7 billion), as of 30 September 2014. The shareholders' equity was not publicly known at that time.

History

The bank was granted a banking license by the National Bank of Rwanda, in 2011 and commenced banking services in the fourth quarter of 2011. Rwanda was the fourth East African country where the Equity Bank Group has opened a subsidiary. Operations in Tanzania commenced during the first quarter of 2012. The bank group maintains financial services subsidiaries in Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. Operations in Burundi are planned to begin in the next five years.

Ownership

Equity Bank Rwanda Limited is a 100% subsidiary of the Equity Group Holdings Limited. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, Equity Group Holdings Limited is the second largest financial services provider in East Africa, by assets, behind Kenya Commercial Bank Group (KCB Group). As of September 2014, Equity Group Holdings' asset base was valued at over US$3.83 billion (KES:339.44 billion), with shareholders' equity in excess of US$644.6 million (KES:57.1 billion). At that time, the group's customer base was estimated at over 9.2 million in the five East Arican countries that it serves, making it the largest commercial bank on the African continent, by customer numbers.