Equity Bank has yet again claimed its place as market leader after emerging ‘Overall Best Bank in Kenya’ for the 7th year running, at this year’s Think Business Banking Awards.
The Bank recorded a resounding victory in varied categories, bagging 22 awards including sweeping the top slots for SME Banking, Agency Banking, Mobile Banking, Asset Finance, Internet Banking, Digital Banking, Product Innovation and Sustainable CSR among others.
This comes hot on the heels of similar success at the Banker Africa (EA) Awards where the Bank bagged 5 Awards including Best Commercial Bank in Kenya and East Africa; Best Bank in Digital Offering; Most Innovative Bank in Kenya and for the second year running, Dr. Mwangi was recognized as Banker of the Year 2018.
This also applied to the Think Business Awards where for the second year running, Equity Group MD and CEO Dr. James Mwangi won the CEO of the Year Award. Additionally, the Bank’s Daniel Gachau won the Outstanding Young Banker of the Year Award, marking the second year running that the bank has won the award. The award is a testament to Equity’s rigorous mentorship and coaching that has developed leadership which has placed the Bank at the helm of the industry.
Commenting on the awards, Dr. Mwangi said: “These awards recognize the efforts we have put in and we are continuing to put in, to increase financial inclusion and integrating new banking technologies in line with our vision to champion the socio-economic prosperity of our people.”
The Bank was also recognized as being the ‘Bank with the Lowest Charges for Individuals’. This award recognizes the fact that Equity has long positioned itself as a bank for all, developing products and services that support all members of the society and in different sectors of the economy. Equity’s banking model caters to all categories of customers be it corporates, SMES, institutions, parastatals, salaried and wage workers, farmers, young people, and women.
Dr Mwangi further added “Equity’s strategy is to be the region’s leading digital bank delivering a remarkable client experience in key digital touch points. In the region, we have witnessed how rapid adoption of mobile and other digital channels have transformed how people bank. We continue to put effort in being responsive to customers’ emerging needs and preferences.”
The Bank won the top award in digital banking and this was attributed to the tremendous uptake of its Eazzy suite of products that were launched a little over a year ago. Moreover, the Bank won the award for ‘Most Customer Centric Bank’, which is informed by the fact that products and services are designed with the customer in mind. Giving customers the necessary tools to transform their lives positively.
The CEO of Think Business, Mr. Ochieng Oloo, indicated that the awards are key for benchmarking against the best and encouraged all banks to make entries in order to raise the standards in the banking industry.
Below is a list of the awards at the Think Business Banking Awards 2018:
- Overall Best Bank in Kenya 2018
- Best Bank in Tier I
- Best Bank in Corporate Banking – 2nd Runners Up
- Best Bank in SME Banking
- Best Bank in Retail Banking
- Best Commercial Bank in Micro-Finance
- Best Bank in Agency Banking
- Best Bank in Mobile Banking
- Best Bank in Digital Banking
- Best Bank in Internet Banking
- Best Bank in Product Innovation – 1st Runners Up
- Best Bank in Asset Finance
- Best Bank in Mortgage Finance – 1st Runners Up
- Best Bank in Trade financing – 1st Runners Up
- Best Bank in Agriculture and Livestock Financing – 2nd Runners Up
- The Bank with the Lowest Charges for Individuals
- Best Bank in Product Marketing
- The Most Customer-centric Bank
- Best bank in Sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility
- Special Judges Awards for Product Innovation – Equity Afia
- Outstanding Young Banker of the Year: Daniel Gachau
- Chief Executive Officer of the Year: Dr. James Mwangi