• The Group is appointing former BCDC Managing Director Yves Cuypers, as its first African Regional Director
• Appointment signals Group’s continuing plans for expansion across Africa

Nairobi, Kenya: February 15, 2021 – Equity Group Holdings has today announced the appointment of Mr. Yves Cuypers as the first Equity Group Holdings Plc Regional Director in charge of the Central and Southern Africa Region. Yves is the immediate former Managing Director of Banque Commerciale du Congo (BCDC) which has since merged with Equity Bank Congo (EBC) to form Equity BCDC, the second largest bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The appointment signals the Group’s strategy to expand its presence outside of Eastern Africa by creating a dedicated sub-continent office for Central and Southern Africa. As the new Regional Director, Yves will focus on establishing the financial services organization firmly in the region and will support the new Managing Director of Equity BCDC in the DRC, Mr. Celestin Mukeba, to achieve a smooth transition for the new Equity BCDC subsidiary.

Announcing the new appointment from Kinshasa, Equity Group Holdings, Chief Executive Officer, Dr. James Mwangi said, “We are excited to have Yves become our first Regional Director for the Central and Southern Africa Region. Yves brings to the Group extensive knowledge and experience of the banking industry from his work with European banks, and his tenure as the Managing Director of BCDC for the last 17 years. As we seek to expand our footprint and impact, Yves will play a strong role in our consolidation and delivery of financial services to new markets across Central and Southern Africa.”

Yves Cuypers brings more than 30 years of experience in the banking and financial industry, across two continents. He has dedicated his career to the development and sustainability of client success with deep knowledge of credit facilities, financial analysis, risk and compliance, tax optimization, derivatives and cash management. A seasoned executive he has led the strategic and organizational planning for large multinational financial institutions, most recently serving as the Director General for the former Banque Commerciale du Congo (BCDC) – now Equity BCDC – in the DRC for the past 17 years. He brings deep experience in governance and regulatory management, while also being a strong advocate in protecting the interests of customers agents and shareholders. Yves was instrumental in the acquisition of BCDC by Equity Group Holdings which was successfully completed in 2020.

Dr. Mwangi added, “The Group celebrates Yves and welcomes him to the Equity family. We are confident that his experience in leading BCDC for the last 17 years successfully and through challenging and sometimes uncertain environments speaks of his leadership skills, his strategic mindset and strong capabilities that led BCDC to become one of the largest banks in DRC.” Dr Mwangi said he was optimistic that Yves will help to establish the Equity brand firmly in the Central and Southern Africa region.

About Equity Group Holdings Pan African Expansion

Africa is divided into five regions, Eastern Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa, Northern Africa and Western Africa. For the bulk of its history, Equity Group Holdings has had a presence in Eastern Africa and Central Africa. Six of the seven subsidiaries of Equity Group Holdings are in Eastern Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan and a representative office in Ethiopia) while its presence in Democratic Republic of Congo marks its presence in Central Africa. By establishing a regional Office for Central and Southern Africa, Equity signals its interest in firmly establishing its presence in that part of Africa.

About Equity Group Holdings

Equity Group Holdings Plc is a financial services company listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Uganda Securities Exchange, and Rwanda Stock Exchange. In addition to Equity BCDC, the Group has banking subsidiaries in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, and a Commercial Representative Office in Ethiopia; with additional non-banking subsidiaries engaged in the provision of investment banking, custodial, insurance agency, philanthropy, consulting, and infrastructure services.

Equity Group has an asset base of over USD 10 billion. With over 14.2 million customers, the Group is one of the biggest banks by customer base in the Africa. The Group has a footprint of 335 branches, 52,742 Agents and 35,386 Merchants and 720 ATMs. The Group is the largest bank in market capitalization in East and Central Africa. The Banker Top 1000 World Banks 2020 ranked Equity Bank 754 overall in its global ranking, 62nd in soundness (Capital Assets to Assets ratio), 55th in terms of Profits on Capital and 20th on Return on Assets. In 2020, Equity was ranked position 7 in the list of top 10 banks in Africa in The Banker’s Top 100 African Banks, becoming the 1st bank in Eastern and Central Africa to achieve this milestone, paving way for East African banks to play in the league of big banks together with South Africa, North Africa and West Africa. The bank was ranked 5th on soundness, 9th on growth performance, 8th in return on risk, and 6th on profitability. In the same year, Moody’s gave the Bank a global rating of B2 with a negative outlook same as the sovereign rating of the Kenyan government due to the Bank’s strong brand recognition, solid liquidity buffers and resilient funding profile, established domestic franchise and extensive adoption of digital and alternative distribution channels.

Equity Group Holdings Plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya.