Equity Bank founder and Chairman of the Group Dr. Peter Kahara Munga has retired from the company after 35 years of service. While celebrating his 75th birthday, the Group announced that Mr. David Ansell Vice Chairman of the Group is the Chairman Designate.
He led the institution from a small village building society to become the largest financial services provider in the region.
Dr. Munga has seen Equity grow from a rural building society ranked position 66 out of 66 when only 2 percent of the Kenyan population had access to banking services, to become the current market leader with a market capitalization of sh213 Billion (10th April 2018), sh528 Billion in asset base and with a footprint in six countries in East & Central Africa. Today 86 percent of the population has access to banking services with Equity Bank having 12.3 million customers.
Under his leadership, the bank made three major leaps of growth and development. Between 1984 and 2004, the bank, then a building society moved from a start-up to a micro enterprise and led the market by democratizing access to finance. This brought dignity to the majority of low income earners who moved their money from under the mattress and found a safe and secure place to save in the bank.
Between 2004 and 2014, the bank made a second leap by becoming a fully licensed commercial bank listed at the Nairobi Securities exchange. By embracing an innovation culture, the bank invested heavily in mobile and online banking, scaled up its distribution to a global enterprise network and became an employer of choice attracting global talent.
From 2014 to date, the bank has focused on technology driven innovations, giving the it fintech capabilities. By virtualizing banking, the Group has delivered on 24-hour banking services resulting in the convenience of compressing geography and time allowing customers to access their money any time anywhere, ushering in lifestyle banking. 97 percent of the bank’s transactions happen outside the branches.
Mr. David Ansell, a Kenyan-American, who has been named the Chairman Designate has been serving as the Non-Executive Vice-Chairman. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, a second Bachelor’s degree in Finance from the Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management and an Advanced Management Degree (AMP) from the Wharton Business School.
During his working career he served in various assignments at Citibank in the Emerging Markets, including 16 years in Africa. He has served as President of Citibank Russia and later as Managing Director and the first CEO of Ecobank Transnational Inc, located in Lome, Togo.
He was first appointed as a Director of Equity Bank in 2012 and has been the Non-Executive Vice-Chairman of Equity Group Holdings Plc. He has been serving in various capacities on the Boards of the Equity Group subsidiaries.
The bank said that Dr. Munga and Mr. Ansell will work collaboratively to ensure a smooth transition is completed by the time of the next AGM in 2019.
