Equity bank has been listed number seven in Africa as one of the best performing banks 2020.
This is according to The Banker’s Top 100 African Banks ranking for 2020.This year’s ranking shows stabilisation in the finances of the majority of African major lenders.
In the year under review, Equity improved on its performance with a 14% profit after tax growth to Sh 22.6 billion from Sh19.8 billion in 2018.
Equity had a score of 5.82 in the overall category of the best performing banks.
The performance registered during an interest capping period was driven by a 23% growth in loan book to Sh 366.4 billion from Sh 297.2 billion in 2018.
CEO James Mwangi said that the enhanced efficiency and cost optimization saw the cost-income ratio improving to 51% from 52.4% in 2018.
The Group has maintained its yield on interest-earning assets at 11.2% despite the challenge of interest capping and declining yield curve.
On financial soundness, Equity ranked number 5 on the backdrop of an agile balance sheet with a liquidity of 52.1%, a loan deposit ratio of 75.9% and a core capital to risk-weighted asset ratio of 19.8%.
The balance sheet reflects solid diversified funding with customer deposits constituting 72% of the total funding, shareholders and long-term borrowing contributing 17% and 8% respectively.
“The ranking is an indication that Equity remains robust, despite the challenging operating environment. We have developed and adopted a sustainable business model,” Mwangi said.
The ranking, which tracks the health and wealth of the African banking sector, used an array of metrics including the overall growth performance, financial soundness, profits on capital, leverage and return on risk.
The Banker Top 1000 World Banks 2020 ranked Equity Bank 754 in balance sheet size overall in its global ranking, 62nd in soundness (Capital Assets to Assets ratio), 55th in terms of Profits on Capital and 20th on Return on Assets.
