Equity Group Holdings on Wednesday reported profit after tax of KSh 45.5 billion for the six months to June 2026, a 32% increase from KSh 34.6 billion a year earlier, as the Nairobi-based lender's regional and digital strategy translated into a step-change in earnings. Profit before tax rose 39% to KSh 57.8 billion, up from KSh 41.5 billion, in a set of numbers that ranks among the strongest half-year prints from any large East African lender in the current reporting season.
Total income grew 25% to KSh 124.9 billion, while net interest income increased 17% to KSh 69.3 billion. The group said the results reflected balance sheet growth across its subsidiaries and strong momentum in non-interest revenue streams that have been central to the strategic narrative in recent reporting periods, with 89.7% of customers now transacting through digital channels.
REGIONAL FRANCHISE POWERS EARNINGS
Net interest income growth of 17% was supported by expansion of the loan book across the group's East and Central African footprint. Non-funded income rose 36%, a materially faster clip than the interest business, reflecting fees, trading and payments income from a customer base that increasingly transacts through digital channels for everyday banking needs.
Equity Group operates subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and management has repeatedly framed the regional franchise as a central pillar of its growth strategy. The 32% increase in bottom-line profit and 39% jump in pre-tax earnings suggest that the diversification is translating into scale benefits and cross-border revenue synergies.
The gap between pre-tax growth of 39% and post-tax growth of 32% points to a modestly higher effective tax rate, likely reflecting the mix of jurisdictions contributing to earnings and the different corporate tax regimes across the group's operating footprint.
DIGITAL CHANNELS DOMINATE CUSTOMER ACTIVITY
The group said 89.7% of its customers are now digital, a milestone that underscores the extent to which Equity has migrated retail activity off the branch network onto mobile, agency and internet channels. The digital shift has been a consistent theme in the lender's strategy narrative, framed as the means to serve a rapidly growing customer base cost-effectively while broadening financial inclusion.
Management said the technology-driven growth model, combined with a strong balance sheet and regional presence, underpinned the first-half performance. The 36% surge in non-funded income is closely tied to the digital transaction volumes running through the platform, from mobile payments to foreign exchange, and reflects the monetisation of a mature digital franchise built up over successive investment cycles.
The results place Equity Group at the top end of the East African banking peer group this reporting season. With profit after tax of KSh 45.5 billion in the first half, the lender is on track for a materially stronger full-year print than 2025, assuming the trends in balance sheet growth, non-funded income and digital adoption sustain into the second half and regional macroeconomic conditions remain broadly supportive. Investors will look to the group's next trading update for confirmation that the interim momentum is carrying into the third quarter across the operating footprint.