Equity Bank enters deal to boost global visibility

Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi during a recent investor briefing at the bank’s headquarters in Nairobi. [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

NAIROBI, KENYA: Equity Investment Bank (EIB) has entered a new partnership to allow it gain international visibility.

The investment subsidiary of the Equity Bank Group announced it entered into a partnership with London-based Exotix Partners LLP, an investment bank specialising in illiquid bonds and loans, equities, structured finance and capital raising.

Equity Bank’s Chief Executive Officer James Mwangi said the collaboration is testament to the group’s desire to leverage world class partnerships for the best interests of its clients. He said it would drive EIB’s ambitious agenda to become a leading brokerage and investment banking firm in Kenya and East Africa, serving local and international institutional investors alongside local retail investors.

“The partnership is one of the key efforts to revitalise EIB’s capacity as a key player in the local and regional investment banking market,” Mwangi added in a statement.

The pact will see EIB execute Kenya and East Africa fixed income and equity trades for Exotix’s international and regional institutional clients. EIB’s equity and fixed income sales team will be integrated within Exotix’s Global Frontier sales teams. Equity Investment Bank will also benefit from Exotix’s international distribution capability on East African research giving it global visibility.

The collaboration which is subject to local regulatory approvals will see all research published under the collaboration co-branded including all current East African research published by Exotix. Exotix’s CEO Phillip Southwell described the partnership as a ‘logical step’ geared towards deepening the two firms’ delivery capacity.

FRONTIER MARKETS

“This collaboration is very exciting for Exotix and its clients. Partnering with a leading East African bank with such a strong position in Kenya is a logical next step in our growth strategy. This move will build on Exotix’s existing African capability, and make the most of our existing offering,” Southwell said.

Ali Khalpey, Exotix global head of equities, added: “I am delighted to announce this collaboration with Equity Bank, and look forward to meeting the demand for our compelling offering in East Africa.

“This is a strong signal of our intent to grow in Africa and Frontier Markets, following the recent expansion of our equities team across research, sales and trading.” Exotix also has offices in Dubai, Lagos and New York.

The bank has in the recent past seen rapid growth in the operations in Kenya and the East African region.

Equity Bank was in April granted a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) licence alongside Mobile Pay Ltd and Zioncell. Equity plans to use the licence to roll out mobile banking services jointly with Airtel. Equity is currently doing testing using conventional SIM cards, having been issued with 0763 as the mobile numbering prefix.

The bank says the MVNO accords it the opportunity to continue its mission of furthering financial inclusion and innovative service offerings for all Kenyans by presenting their financial services offering on to a single platform.