Equity Group CEO James Mwangi’s stake in the lender climbed to a record Sh13.42 billion on Thursday as the bank’s share price extended a six-session gaining streak on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
Mr Mwangi, who owns 127,809,180 Equity shares, has seen the value of his investment rise by Sh1.5 billion since the start of the week to take his gain to about Sh4.89 billion since the beginning of the year when the stock was trading at Sh66.75.
His paper gain of nearly Sh5 billion in under nine months, points to the extent of wealth creation for major shareholders on the back of the strong run of NSE stocks this year. For instance, Mr Mwangi’s shareholding means every Sh1 increase in Equity’s share price adds about Sh127.8 million to the paper value of his stake.
The stock opened Monday at Sh93.25, meaning its investors have cumulatively gained Sh46.23 billion in four days.
‘There’s a lot of optimism about Equity’s strategy from a fundamental perspective. Coupled with demand and supply dynamics, this is leading to the price discovery,’ said Wesley Manambo, a senior research associate at Standard Investment Bank.
He added: ‘Investors are excited about Equity’s strategy around the planned geographical diversification towards the South African markets. Its strong balance sheet and the sustained good performance are adding to the attraction.’
The regional lender recently announced a profit after tax of Sh43.7 billion in the six months to June, up 31.5 percent from Sh33.3 billion made in a similar period last year but continued with the tradition of not declaring interim dividends.
Equity’s share price rally built on the milestone of Sh100 level reached on Wednesday, gaining five percent in yesterday’s session. At the current price, Mr Mwangi’s stake is worth Sh13.42 billion, compared with about Sh8.53 billion at the start of the year.
Equity is among the most traded stocks on the NSE, having seen volumes of 5.24 million yesterday and 11.13 million in the previous day.
A senior stockbroker who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Business Daily that a Sh600 million block trade involving six million shares was executed on Wednesday at Sh100 per share, triggering the gain from Tuesday’s Sh96.25.
‘The Sh600 million transaction was a foreign block trade and that helped take the share to the Sh100 milestone,’ said the broker.
The rally has lifted the market value of the bank by Sh144.34 billion to a record Sh396.23 billion, translating to a 57.3 percent increase since the start of the year.
Equity is among the banking stocks that have delivered some of the strongest gains on the NSE this year as investors react to higher earnings and dividends by the country’s listed blue-chip firms.
Read: Equity skips interim dividend despite Sh43.7bn profit
I and M Group has been among the leading banking stocks this year with gains of 90.8 percent, followed by Diamond Trust Bank and Co-operative Bank of Kenya with gains of 69.8 percent and 59.9 percent, respectively, since January.
The rally in banking stocks is part of the bull run at the Nairobi bourse, which has seen renewed investor interest in stocks across sectors including telecommunications, insurance, manufacturing and agriculture.
The NSE has this year gained 45.53 percent or Sh1.34 trillion, taking the market capitalisation to Sh4.285 trillion, pointing to the rally among stocks in diverse sectors including banking, insurance, telecommunications, manufacturing and agriculture.
On August 3 this year, the combined investor wealth at the NSE crossed Sh4 trillion for the first time in the wake of a sustained rally in blue-chip share prices and the entry of Kenya Pipeline Company and Family Bank.
The bourse hit the new valuation milestone just nine months after it crossed the Sh3 trillion mark for the first time on November 6 last year, making NSE returns the highest for investors this year.
The NSE has been on a bullish run since 2024 after ending a prolonged bear run that had drained investor confidence in the market.
In the period, it has outperformed other investment assets, including government securities, property, cash deposits and unit trusts, leading to higher demand for shares from investors who are seeking to maximise returns on their capital.
Higher dividends have also prompted demand in the stock market, particularly from local institutional investors, helping it shrug off foreign investor sales caused by global jitters that followed the Iran war.
Safaricom, the largest listed firm at the NSE, has added Sh384.6 billion in its market capitalisation since the start of the year, giving the company a valuation of Sh1.52 trillion. The telco’s share price has gained 33.8 percent to Sh37.95 since December 31, 2025 when it closed at Sh28.35. The firm accounts for about 28.7 percent of the NSE’s Sh1.34 trillion gain in market capitalization since the start of 2026.