Equity’s profit rises 5pc on State lendingEquity Bank Group CEO Dr James Mwangi (right) with Managing Director Polycarp Igathe during investor briefing for 2018 Financial Year in Nairobi on March 26, 2019. [David Njaaga,Standard]Increased lending to the Government has helped Equity Bank book a Sh19.8 billion net profit for the year ended December 2018.This was a five per cent jump from Sh18.9 billion posted last year. The bank, which made its mark through credit to small borrowers, saw its customer loans increase from Sh279 billion to Sh297 billion. Extra deposits, however, came with additional costs as interest expense on customer deposits rose from Sh8 billion to Sh9.4 billion. Equity Bank profit was also weighed down by higher provisioning on bad loans as a result of changes in accounting standards from IAS 39 to IFRS 9.

Source: Standard Digital March 26, 2019 21:45 UTC