Equity processing 74 per cent of loans via Equitel mobile platform

Equity Bank processed 74 per cent of the loans disbursed this year through its mobile phone platform Equitel, the lender’s management said Monday. The bank said 1.2 million loans worth Sh5.4 billion have been processed through Equitel in the 10 months to October compared to 438,000 loans — of higher individual values though— issued through credit officers in branches [...]

Subsidiaries boost Equity Bank nine-month profit to Sh12.8bn

Equity Bank has announced a 14 per cent jump in after-tax profit for the nine months to September, driven mainly by sharp growth of its regional subsidiaries. The bank’s latest acquisition, ProCredit of the Democratic Republic of Congo, contributed Sh440 million to its bottom-line. South Sudan remained the best performing regional unit for the bank, earning Sh700 million profit before tax. The Kenyan unit recorded the slowest growth of nine per cent to post an after-tax profit of Sh11.1 billion [...]

HF banks on Q4 property sales to boost performance

Mortgage lender Housing Finance (HF) is banking on property sales by its development subsidiary to boost its full year performance after recording a 9.6 per cent profit growth in the nine months to September. HF Group has reported an after-tax profit of Sh777 million as at the end of September, up from Sh709 million during a similar period last year [...]

Old Mutual to set up10 Faulu units at Sh200 million

Old Mutual Group has moved to consolidate its banking business with plans to expand Faulu Microfinance Bank. The subsidiary of South Africa’s Old Mutual Group is set to open 10 branches by the end of the year at a cost of Sh200 million. The new branches will be in Embu, Nyeri, Kiambu, Kitengela, Kabarnet, Kibera, Kilifi and Migori towns while another two will be opened in Nairobi [...]

Virgin Islands investor seeks to hand Dubai Bank a Sh2.2bn lifeline

A British Virgin Islands company is ready to inject $21.5 million (Sh2.2 billion) into Dubai Bank in a last-ditch effort to save the lender from liquidation, a depositor claimed in court on Monday. A proposal by Sovereign Financial Holdings to inject Sh2.2 billion in Dubai Bank has been forwarded to the Central Bank of Kenya. Richardson & David, which wants to stop Dubai Bank’s liquidation, says it and other top depositors are also willing to convert their deposits in the lender into equity, a move it insists could raise an additional Sh1 billion. The liquidator Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation, however, holds that it is too late to rescue Dubai Bank [...]

Ethiopia, Ivory Coast buy Africa Trade Insurance stake

Ethiopia and Ivory Coast have bought stakes in Africa Trade Insurance (ATI), significantly owned by Kenya, raising the number of states with interest in the regional insurer to 12. Ivory Coast acquired a stake worth Sh1.5 billion or 150 shares while Ethiopia injected Sh750 million for 75 shares. Kenya is the largest shareholder with 283 shares, equivalent to 15.6 per cent stake valued at Sh28.3 billion. Current shareholders include eastern Africa countries Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi. Other countries with stakes in ATI are the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Madagascar and Zambia [...]