Equity Group Holdings Plc, Kenya’s largest bank by market capitalization, intends to increase lending in the domestic market by 5% in the second half of the current year.
The mentioned financial institution announced its intentions after the government of the specified country announced plans to cut interest rates.
Last week, the central bank of Kenya took an action that was unexpected news that surprised the markets. For the first time since 2020, the financial regulator of this country has decided to cut its benchmark interest rate. This is a positive action for consumers, who have recently been facing increasing pressure from such an economic reality circumstance as the high cost of living. The monetary policy committee cut the key rate to 12.75%. Before this decision, the corresponding indicator was at around 13%.
Chief Finance Officer of Equity Group Moses Nyabanda said that after receiving a signal from the central bank of Kenya, this lender has a plan, which is to increase its intermediation. Also in this context, it was noted that in the first half of 2024, the volume of loans issued to consumers by the mentioned financial institution decreased by 3%. Moses Nyabanda said that the lender now expects its loan portfolio to grow between 2% and 5% in the second half of the current year.
Equity Group has plans related to cutting commercial interest rates. The corresponding statement was made by Moses Nyabanda, without naming specific figures.
If other banks follow the example of Equity Group, scaling up the relevant practices will likely become a factor affecting economic activity in Kenya. This is the opinion of Moses Nyabanda.
As we have reported earlier, Standard Chartered Reduces Its Investments in Government Securities of Kenya.
