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Customer deposits at Equity Bank are expected to cross the Sh1 trillion mark as the lender unveils its financial results for the third quarter on the back of an expansive drive and continued mobilisation of deposits across the five countries where it operates.

Equity will be the first lender in East Africa to hit the milestone, beating its close rivals such as Cooperative bank and KCB bank. KCB placed its customer deposits at Sh922 billion for the first nine months of this year while Cooperative’s hit Sh432 billion during the same period.

Bullish mobilisation

By the end of June 2022, Equity’s customer deposits were valued at Sh970.9 billion, just Sh29.1 billion shy of the Sh1 trillion mark, implying the lender mobilised on average Sh323 million every day from its depositors between July and September.

The lender is yet to give an official release on this milestone, however, during a previous investor briefing Equity Bank chief executive James Mwangi linked growth in deposits to ‘trust capital’.

“To align to the realities of the operating environment, the business challenges of disruptions by Covid-19 and the broken global supply chains, the Group strategically opted to focus on becoming a leading Trade Finance regional bank to ease the cost of financing trade,” said Dr. Mwangi.

Equity’s saw a surge in customers to hit16.9 million in the half-year ending June as it focused on the lower strata of the economy. In September, Equity acquired approximately 20,000 customers of Spire Bank holding Sh1.3 billion in deposits. Also netted during the transaction was approximately 3,700 loan customers of Spire Bank who have outstanding loan balances of about Sh945 million.

“The proposed transaction will mean that Spire Bank’s deposit and loan customers will enjoy uninterrupted access to banking services,” Mwangi said during the Spire Bank acquisition. Banks often value increased deposits to enable them fund their lending activities while strengthening their profitability trajectory through interest earnings. The banks’ increase in deposits could also signal a gradual improvement of business activities, following the economic recovery and election conclusion in Kenya.An analysis by rating agency Moody’s already revealed last week that Equity Group, Co-operative Bank, and KCB Group are set to end this year with an average Return on Assets (RoA) of 3.8 per cent, their highest since 2016.