Equity has been named the Best Regional Bank in East Africa by the 2021 African Banker Awards.
The award was conferred to the Bank for its strong and consistent financial performance, its role in leading the disruption of Fintech innovations in banking among others.
In a statement on Monday, Equity was nominated for the Best Bank in Financial Inclusion Award category for its commendable role in delivering financial products and services to all in society including those at the bottom of the pyramid.
The Bank was cited for its contribution in providing financial services and its active role in driving economic growth in the larger East African region.
"Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Equity demonstrated strong and consistent financial performances in all of its subsidiary countries with improvements in revenue, profits, capital, assets and market share," the statement read.
In the full year 2020 results, the Group weathered the Covid-19 disruption to register a 51 per cent growth in its balance sheet with total assets growing to USD 9.48 billion up from USD 6.73 in 2019.
CEO James Mwangi said they are honoured and humbled to receive the recognition.
"This is a testament to the success of our digital strategy and regional presence as we continue to drive financial integration, inclusive banking and to play a catalytic role in championing the socio-economic prosperity of the people of Africa," he said.
"Our operations in the six East and Central African countries that we operate in have been standardized to reflect the One Equity brand, providing inclusive financial services and cementing our positioning as a local bank with a strong regional presence.”
Group Publisher of African Banker Omar Ben Yedder said the entries indicated that the banking sector is healthy and resilient.
"What will be fundamental to our recovery is the support of the real economy, especially SMEs, and also a focus on more equity investments and investments in general. For that, as our African Banker Icon suggested, we will also need to increase our savings rate across the continent," he said.
"I should add that the institutions that were recognised in our ceremony all had strong gender programmes, both in terms of supporting women-led businesses but also strong programmes to promote women and have women leaders within their organisations.”
