NAIROBI, Kenya— Equity Group Holdings has successfully obtained an exemption from the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) mandatory local-ownership rule, a move that will enable the Kenyan banking giant to retain its full 85pc stake in its DRC subsidiary, Equity BCDC.
The DRC’s central bank, Banque Centrale du Congo (BCC), under Instruction 18, had issued a directive requiring that all commercial banks operating in the country must be at least 45pc owned by Congolese nationals.
To achieve this, banks must have four unrelated shareholders, each holding a minimum of 15pc equity, and comply by the end of 2026.
The requirement posed a significant challenge for Equity Group and its peer, KCB Group, both currently holding 85pc stakes in their respective DRC units Equity in Equity BCDC and KCB in Trust Merchant Bank (TMB).
Should the rule stand, both would be forced to divest approximately 30pc amounting to a combined secondary offering of about USD 388 million.
Equity Group presented a case to the DRC Senate, the President, and relevant authorities, arguing that as a widely listed company with broad and transparent shareholder structure, it met the spirit of the directive.
“I’m happy to say we lodged our presentation to the Senate, to the President, and everybody, and I’m glad the Senate ceded we are no longer required to cede we will be exempt in that country, like we are in Kenya or any other country, to be fully owned,”said Equity CEO James Mwangi.
The developments out of Kinshasa is a bolstered move for the lender, which had earlier merged ProCredit-derived Equity Bank Congo (EBC) with Banque Commerciale du Congo (BCDC), forming Equity BCDC—a subsidiary now controlling significant assets and profitability in the DRC.
Beyond safeguarding its ownership structure, the exemption spares Equity from engineering a complex divestment, easing execution risk in a relatively underdeveloped investment market.
It also sets a precedent for other foreign banks, such as KCB, which has yet to secure a similar concession.
