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. Profit before tax rose 39% to KSh 57.8 billion, up from KSh 41.5 billion.
Total income grew 25% to KSh 124.9 billion, while net interest income increased 17% to KSh 69.3 billion. Fees, commissions and other income rose 36% to KSh 55.6 billion, while total costs rose 14% to KSh 67.1 billion.
REGIONAL FRANCHISE POWERS EARNINGS
Net interest income growth of 17% came as interest income rose 8% to KSh 91.2 billion and interest expense fell 12% to KSh 21.9 billion, while net loans rose 19% to KSh 981 billion. Non-funded income rose 36%, faster than net interest income.
Equity Group operates subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and subsidiaries outside Kenya accounted for 52% of banking assets, 54% of loans and 47% of profit before tax in the half. Regional profit before tax rose 42% to KSh 26.2 billion, led by EquityBCDC in the DRC, whose profit after tax rose 30% to KSh 11.8 billion.
Tanzania posted the fastest growth in the group, with profit after tax up 82% to KSh 2 billion, while Rwanda's rose 12% to KSh 2.9 billion.
BALANCE SHEET AND ASSET QUALITY
Total assets grew 20% to KSh 2.16 trillion and customer deposits rose 21% to KSh 1.59 trillion, while borrowed funds fell 23% to KSh 88 billion. Loan loss provisions fell 6% to KSh 6.5 billion even as the loan book grew.
Group CEO James Mwangi said the balance sheet had grown "from KES 1.8T to almost KES 2.2T", adding: "That is a Tier 1 bank being built in that momentum."
Equity's first-half profit after tax and total operating income were the highest among Kenyan banks.