Equity ranked Kenya’s top bank in new survey

 

By Monitor Correspondent

 

Equity Bank beat 42 other local lenders to rank as the best in Kenya in a survey conducted by the ThinkBusiness magazine.

The bank has grown over the years to become the second most profitable in the country, posting a Ksh12 billion net profit last year. It has more than half of all bank customers in Kenya having revolutionised the retail banking segment with innovations such as allowing customers to open accounts without deposits.

The survey by ThinkBusiness found that Equity had the lowest charges in the industry. The bank also emerged top among large banks, ahead of Standard Chartered and Barclays, which were ranked second and third.

KCB won the Best Bank in Microfinance title, signifying the giant’s shift to the bottom of the pyramid market.


Dr Martin Oduor-Otieno, the former CEO of KCB, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the industry and at KCB, which he led to become the largest and most profitable bank in the country.

Using alternatives
For those who may not have the resources to invest in research, just Google it, said Mr Byarugaba. In an interview Prof Augustus Nuwagaba said last week that conducting research is not as expensive as it is portrayed. He said there is no business that is too small to conduct research. He said research comes with creativity, innovation and informs strategic planing and positioning.

“How will you know about your competition, how will you understand market analysis and dynamics, and how will you comprehend internal and external elements of your business if you do not conduct?” Prof. Nuwagaba wondered