Equity Group H1 2026 Profit After Tax Rises 32% to KSh45.5B

In Short

Equity Group reported higher profits in the first half of 2026.

What Happened

Equity Group announced its first-half 2026 results on August 19, 2026. Equity Group said profit after tax rose 32% year on year to KSh45.5 billion, up from KSh34.6 billion.

Profit before tax increased 39% to KSh57.8 billion. Total income rose 25% to KSh124.9 billion. Net interest income, which is money earned from lending after paying interest on deposits, grew 17% to KSh69.3 billion.

The group said its balance sheet grew 20% to KSh2.16 trillion. Customer deposits rose 21% to KSh1.59 trillion. The loan book grew 19% to KSh981 billion.

Equity said non-funded income reached 44.5% of total income, up from 40.8% in H1 2025. Non-funded income is revenue not tied to interest, like fees, commissions, and foreign exchange income. It grew 36% to KSh55.6 billion.

On asset quality, the non-performing loans ratio improved to 9.5% from 13.7%. NPL coverage, which shows how much of bad loans are backed by provisions (cash set aside for potential losses), increased to 70% from 68%.

Equity Bank Kenya posted a 32% rise in profit after tax. Deposits in Kenya grew 24% and loans grew 8%. The bank also reported 11% quarter on quarter loan growth, its first double-digit quarterly loan growth since Q3 2021.

Regional subsidiaries also contributed to earnings. Equity Bank Tanzania profit after tax increased 82%, while Equity Bank DRC grew 30%. Equity BCDC in the Democratic Republic of Congo recorded profit after tax of KSh11.8 billion.

Why It Matters

For founders and SMEs, the key signal is credit is picking up again. Equity’s loan growth and improving NPL ratio suggest the group is lending more while managing risk.

For investors, the rise in non-funded income and improved cost-to-income ratio to 48.6% points to better efficiency and more diversified revenue. That matters in a cycle where interest margins can tighten.

For the wider fintech and banking market in East and Central Africa, Equity’s results show that scale plus regional diversification still helps. Growth in Tanzania, Uganda, and the DRC is increasingly central to group performance.