Equity Bank profits up 21 pct on loan growth

NAIROBI, KENYA: Kenya's Equity Bank posted on Wednesday a 21 percent rise in pretax profit to 10.82 billion shillings ($123.38 million) for the first half of 2014, driven by growth in its loan book.

Chief Executive Officer James Mwangi told a briefing that loans advanced to customers grew 24 percent to 186.5 billion shillings, while net interest income rose 6 percent to 14.02 billion shillings.

"When you look at the loan book, it is very exciting," Mwangi said.

Equity, which also has operations in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and South Sudan, said its assets grew to 302.92 billion shillings from 261.58 billion in the first six months of 2013.

Mwangi said that all the firm's subsidiaries had broken even and together contributed 15 percent to the pretax profit.

The bank said its mobile banking business had also grown during the first half of the year, with 3.04 million customers as at the end of June 2014, from 2.78 million customers at the end of 2013.