Equity Bank reports drop in staff costs as 660 workers exit

Equity Bank staff numbers declined by 660 last year in what the lender attributed to natural attrition, pointing to a gloomy job market in the financial sector. Equity Bank reported a four-per cent decline in staff costs to Sh10.3 billion from Sh10.8 billion with management expecting a further five per cent drop this year. The bank announced three years ago that it was freezing staff recruitment and letting natural attrition take its course when it adopted agency banking model [...]

Safaricom’s M-Pesa chief Betty Mwangi to quit end of this month

Safaricom’s executive in charge of the M-Pesa mobile cash services, Betty Mwangi, is set to quit the telecommunications company at the end of the month. Ms Mwangi - the director in charge of financial services at Safaricom – is leaving the listed firm after a career spanning nearly a decade, having steered M-Pesa to a significant revenue of the business over the years [...]

Kenyan banks lose Sh12.7bn in South Sudan currency hit

The total exposure of Kenyan banks to the recent devaluation of the South Sudanese Pound (SSP) Tuesday hit Sh12.7 billion after Kenya’s second-largest lender Equity announced that it had suffered a Sh5.7 billion forex loss, mainly from its South Sudan subsidiary. The losses are expected to rise further when Co-op Bank, another Kenyan lender with operations in South Sudan, announces its results. South Sudan has devalued its currency by more than 100 per cent since December [...]

Treasury mulls KQ lifeline ahead of Sh60bn bailout

Kenya Airways and the government are yet to reach an agreement over the proposed bailout for the troubled airline, although the Treasury may offer another bridging facility to ease KQ’s cash flow problems. KQ is seeking about Sh60 billion in bailout financing, and has already drawn a Sh4.2 billion bailout loan from the government. The airline has sold some of its long-haul aircraft and leased others to an Omani Airlines as it looks to focus on profitable routes [...]

NSE stocks cross-listed in Uganda post huge price fall

Although Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) realised an equity turnover of USh187.3 billion (KSh5.6 billion), from a volume of 890 million shares in 2015, cross-listed stocks from the Nairobi Securities Exchange recorded huge drops in their share prices. Of the 16 listed companies on USE, eight are locally listed while the rest are cross-listed companies mainly from Kenya [...]

Kenyan firms record highest export rate in 10 months

Exports by Kenyan firms grew at the highest rate in 10 months in February, driven by increased demand for their goods in neighbouring countries, according to a survey of purchasing managers in 400 companies [...]

Imperial Bank to get Sh375.9m from sale of its Uganda unit

The collapsed Imperial Bank Kenya is set to receive about Sh375.9 million ($3.7 million) following the sale of its majority stake in Imperial Bank Uganda to Tanzania’s Exim Bank. The Sh316.5 million balance between the sale price and the amount to be remitted to the Kenyan unit will be used to cover transaction costs and liabilities of the Ugandan operation [...]

US-based taxi firm Uber gears up for Mombasa launch

American online taxi hailing firm Uber is preparing to launch its services in Mombasa, giving it a presence in Kenya’s second biggest city [...]