Banking & Microfinance
Q & A: Why the Equity Group Brand was Ranked Top

1. Was the Equity Bank Group the first within East Africa to be recognized or has there been a previous mention in the past from the geographical area?
There have been previous iterations of Kenya’s 25 Most Valuable Brands and Africa’s Most Valuable Brands (50-150), where Equity Bank has been mentioned along with other Kenyan banks.
2. How much value did you place on the Equity Group Brand and what does the figure mean for the overall business of the Group?
The Brand value came at KES 65 billion Which is 39% of the value of the business (market Cap) as of the 1st of January KES 167,929.00 is the market cap.
3. Have you independently done any research to ascertain which is the priciest brand within East Africa and two, generally within the African continent, and what figure are the brands worth? And in the world which brand tops and how much is it worth?
Yes, we have.
Please see Kenya Report on Brandirectory.com
4. Specifically how many banks showed interest in participating in the competition in 2023 and from which regions were they disproportionately drawn from?
Brand Finance assesses all listed banking brands independently. It’s free from bias and no brand needs to enter. It’s more about merit
rather than a peer rating
5. And does your organisation use the same metrics irrespective of which geographical jurisdictions a corporate brand originates from or are companies from certain regions given preferential treatment say because their economies are adjudged as being poor or emerging?
We use the same metrics for all banking brands globally. Scale is reflected in Brand Value, but Brand Strength accounts for scale bias.
6. What does a ranking mean or do to a business?
It reflects the success and or failures of the brand in question. The values and rankings can be used for many different reasons by management
from strategic, to ROI measurement to communication spending and its effectiveness in education, etc.
7. Why should brand ranking matter?
See above
8. And can any sort of organization participate or should a company have attained certain metrics -eg capital capitalization, number of employees, and so on to engage in this ranking competition?
Any listed organisation.
9. Please indicate what a brand needs to do to join for example the Brand Finance Banking 500 ranking.
See above.
10. And disproportionately within the African continent where do most participants come from? The East, West, North, and South African regions, and why do you think that is the case?
South Africa. Scale.
11. Which African brands beat the Equity Bank Group brand in 2023 and what cachet did they possess that denied the Equity Bank Group pole position?
See the report on Brandirectory.com
12. And why should the world believe that Brand Finance is authoritative in carrying out this business of branding businesses compared say to its peers?
We are the only firm with 2 ISO accreditations (ISO 10668 and 10671), we have the largest database of brand valuations in the world, and conduct a global market research programme for over 4,500 brands. We work with and our work is audited by all the big 4 accounting firms. We are members of the MASB, ICAEW, and CIMA organisations.
Banking & Microfinance
Equity Bank Plots New Ksh 7.6 Bn Staff Share Reward Scheme

Equity Group has announced the revival of its employee share ownership plan (Esop) in an effort to retain and attract talented staff. The bank plans to distribute 198.6 million shares, valued at Sh7.6 billion, to employees over the next 10 years. This comes after a previous attempt four years ago to implement a similar plan, which was abandoned just before the allotment of 205.7 million shares in 2019.
Equity Group’s board has proposed the creation of additional shares to support the Esop and will seek shareholder approval during the upcoming annual general meeting on June 28.
The newly created shares will amount to five percent of the company’s share capital, raising the maximum share capital from Sh1.886 billion to Sh1.986 billion. The directors will have the flexibility to issue the additional shares in tranches and based on terms and conditions they deem appropriate.
Notably, the Group’s CEO, James Mwangi, is among the employees expected to benefit from the share allotment. The previous Esop plan in 2019, which was withdrawn during the AGM, would have allocated 205.7 million shares worth Sh8.4 billion to bank staff.
This new Esop will be the second of its kind for Equity Group, as the bank initially established a stock-based compensation scheme before its listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange in 2006. Esops are employee benefit plans that provide ownership interest in the company through shares. They are designed to enhance staff productivity, reward employees, and attract and retain talent. The approval of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) is required for the implementation of Esops. According to the CMA, as of March 2021, it had approved 14 Esops.
Banking & Microfinance
StanChart wins Court Case Against Taxman over Ksh 350 million Tax Row

The High Court this June delivered a significant blow to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) by ruling that it cannot impose levies on the fees collected by banks from card transactions.
Justice David Manjanja concurred with Standard Chartered Bank’s argument that the KRA cannot impose both the 16% value-added tax (VAT) and excise duty on the fees paid by merchants for the use of point-of-sale (POS) machines.
This ruling represents a second defeat for the KRA, as the Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT) had previously determined that the role of banks is solely to verify cardholder information during money transfers.
The core issue at stake was whether interchange fees are exempt from VAT and whether the commissioner’s application of the shortfall penalty was justified. Standard Chartered contended that interchange fees are ancillary to money transfers and, therefore, should be exempt from VAT. According to the bank, the fees charged to merchants are strictly for the purchase of goods or services and cannot be considered as money transfers.
On the other hand, the KRA argued that card users of VISA International Services Association, MasterCard, Inc., and American Express Ltd pay a royalty to the global service network system for facilitating the transaction, making it subject to VAT at the standard rate.
Justice Majanja determined that while the KRA relied on a Court of Appeal decision regarding ABSA’s payments to Visa companies for trademarks and logos, the appellate court did not specifically address royalty payments. As a result, Justice Majanja rejected the commissioner’s argument that interchange fees constitute royalty payments and are subject to VAT, noting that the Court of Appeal’s decision indicates otherwise.
In its defense before the TAT, Standard Chartered also argued that excise duty should be paid by the receiving bank that owns the point-of-sale (POS) machine, with the remaining fees distributed among issuing banks and payment service providers like VISA. The tribunal concluded that imposing excise duty on fees received by Standard Chartered would amount to double taxation.
The KRA conducted a review of the financial statements of lenders from January 2014 to September 2018. As a result, it claimed that Standard Chartered owed additional excise duty on earned fees and commissions, totaling Sh505.7 million, including interest and penalties.
As of March 2021, there were 48,355 POS machines in the country, facilitating a total of 3,511,453 transactions.
Banking & Microfinance
Kenya’s Equity Group Q1 2023 Pretax Profit up 10%

Equity Group Holdings, a leading financial institution in Kenya with operations in several other African countries, announced a 10% increase in pretax profit for the first quarter of 2023. The pre-tax profit reached 16.9 billion Kenyan shillings ($124 million), driven by the growth of its loan book.
Equity reported a significant rise in net loans, which increased by over 20% to 756.3 billion shillings compared to 623.6 billion shillings in the same period the previous year. This expansion in the loan portfolio contributed to the bank’s positive financial performance.
Additionally, Equity Group obtained regulatory approval to establish a general insurance business in Kenya, expanding its offerings beyond life assurance.
The bank’s total assets also experienced substantial growth, surging by 21% to 1.54 trillion shillings from 1.3 trillion shillings in the first quarter of 2022, indicating the bank’s strong overall performance and increasing market presence.
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