Equity Bank Kenya Limited is a financial services provider headquartered in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. It is licensed as a

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with cor ...

by the

Central Bank of Kenya The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) ( sw, Banki Kuu ya Kenya) is the monetary authority of Kenya. Its head office is located in Nairobi. CBK was founded by in 1966 after the dissolution of East African Currency Board (EACB). Dr. Patrick Ngugi Njoroge ...

, which is the

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central ba ...

and national banking regulator of Kenya. In 2010 the bank introduced the

Agency banking model The agency banking model is a function of certain commercial banks in Kenya. The activity is regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya, which allows banks to contract third-party retail networks as a Banking agent. Upon successful application, vetting ...

, which has proved a success and is regulated by

Prudential guidelines.

History

Equity Bank Kenya Limited was incorporated in 2014, as a result of the corporate restructure of its parent company

Equity Group Holdings Limited Equity Group Holdings Limited (EGHL), formerly Equity Bank Group, is a financial services holding company based in the African Great Lakes region. EGHL's headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sud ...

. Prior to November 2014, Equity Group Holdings Limited operated both as a licensed bank and a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

for its subsidiaries. On 31 October 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. 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 personnel management to its subsidiaries, the group would be better able to invest and develop the businesses. During an extraordinary

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

s general meeting held on 24 November 2014, it was resolved to restructure the firm, leading to the formation of Equity Bank Kenya Limited. Equity Bank Kenya won the most Socially Responsible Bank of the Year by the African Banker Awards for the year of 2019 and also Bank of the Year in Kenya award by The Banker for the year 2019. According to the

business daily The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

, the bank rebranded in 2019 in a bid to do business under one brand for the next phase of growth as the bank was marking 35 years. In 2020, Equity Bank acquired Banque Commercial Du Congo (BCDC).

Ownership

The Equity Bank Kenya Limited is wholly owned by the

Equity Group Holdings Equity Group Holdings Limited (EGHL), formerly Equity Bank Group, is a financial services holding company based in the African Great Lakes region. EGHL's headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sud ...

, which has a customer base in excess of 14 million in six East African countries, making it one of the largest commercial banks on the

African continent Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

by number of customers.

Branch network

Equity Bank maintains a network of 190 branches across Kenya, which includes 52 branches in Nairobi.

Governance

The eight-member board of directors is chaired by ''Ambassador Erastus J O Mwencha''. Gerald Warui, serves as the managing director of the bank.

References

{{Banking in Kenya Banks of Kenya Banks established in 2014 Banks established in 1984 Kenyan companies established in 2014 Kenyan companies established in 1984

History

Ownership

Branch network

Governance

See also

References