Nairobi, April 24 -- Equity Group significantly reduced interest rates on customer deposits to 3.3 percent in 2025 from 8 percent the previous year, leveraging lower funding costs to widen margins and boost profitability during the period.

Disclosures in the bank's 2025 annual report show that term deposits grew by 4.6 percent, or Sh18.3 billion, to Sh416.05 billion, while non-interest and low-interest deposits rose by 3.5 percent, or Sh35.5 billion, to Sh1.04 trillion.

Banks generally benefited from a decline in funding costs last year as interest rates fell in line with cuts to the Central Bank Rate, which signals the risk-free floor of the cost of money in the economy.

As a result, Equity's net interest income rose by 16.8 percent t...