Equity Bank #ticker:EQTY will open four more high-class branches targeting the rich, stepping up the industry’s race for deep-pocketed clients.
The bank will increase the exclusive banking outlets to 20 from the current 16 and up from 10 four year ago, in a move that also targets high-growth small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) with a view to growing its deposits and loan book.
Customers are required to maintain a minimum deposit of Sh200,000 to qualify for the service dubbed “supreme banking.”
The branches have classy lounges with free wireless Internet. The customers have personal relationship managers and a choice to operate their accounts in the local currency or any of the global majors including the US dollar, British pound and euro.
They will also enjoy extended banking hours during weekdays as well as weekends.
“Equity Bank has embarked on a process to roll out supreme branches countrywide, as it sets its eyes on positioning the outlets as relationship management centres of excellence,” said Equity Group chief executive James Mwangi in a note to investors.
The bank has been adding an average of two branches to its supreme branch network every year since 2013 and is expected to hit 20 outlets across the country by 2020.
The 16 branches are in Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret and Kisumu. It is now seeking a presence in other counties.
Private banking has increasingly become a favoured option by banks to grow their income in an increasingly competitive market. The service charges a premium in fees and commissions and requires significant minimum deposit balances, which keep the lenders well capitalised.
Having made a name for itself by banking the bottom of the pyramid, Equity is now diversifying across the income classes.
This will put it head-to-head with rivals such as Barclays #ticker:BBK, Standard Chartered #ticker:SCBK, CBA and CfC Stanbic #ticker:CFC.
The shift to high-net-worth banking signifies Equity’s evolving strategy, which in the first quarter of the current financial year overtook KCB #ticker:KCB to become Kenya’s most profitable lender.
Mr Mwangi fashioned Equity as a mass market retail lender with no monthly charges on bank customer accounts, zero minimum operating balance, ledger fees or account maintenance fees.
Equity, a former building society, focused on attracting customers with small deposits who were previously ignored by big banks.
The positioning saw it grow rapidly to Kenya’s biggest lender by client numbers of more than 10 million customers.