Equity Group Holdings has appointed Yves Cuypers, the immediate former Managing Director of Banque Commerciale du Congo (BCDC) as Regional Director in charge of the Central and Southern Africa Region. The new office headed by Yves has been charged with consolidating EGH’s financial services in Central Africa after the acquisition of BCDC, now Equity BCDC last year, as the lender eyes entry into the Southern Africa market.
Yves, a seasoned banker with 30 years of experience in the banking industry is expected to enhance operations of the group in Centra Africa and support transition of Equity BCDC subsidiary which he headed for 17 years prior to the acquisition.
“We are excited to have Yves become our first Regional Director for the Central and Southern Africa Region. Yves brings to the Group extensive knowledge and experience of the banking industry from his work with European banks, and his tenure as the Managing Director of BCDC. As we seek to expand our footprint and impact, Yves will play a strong role in our consolidation and delivery of financial services to new markets across Central and Southern Africa,” said Equity Group Holdings CEO Dr James Mwangi.
Equity Group announced the acquisition of additional 66.53% stake in BCDC whose merger was approved in December last year, making it the majority shareholder in the lender with 77.5% stake.
Yves who has been lauded as instrumental in BCDC acquisition also brings deep experience in governance and regulatory management.
“The Group celebrates Yves and welcomes him to the Equity family. We are confident that his experience in leading BCDC for the last 17 years successfully and through challenging and sometimes uncertain environments speaks of his leadership skills, his strategic mindset and strong capabilities that led BCDC to become one of the largest banks in DRC,” Dr Mwangi added.
The creation of the new regional office signals Equity Group’s intention to continue with its regional expansion strategy after backing out of a deal that would have seen it enter the Southern Africa region through Zambian in 2020.
Equity Group which is now largest bank in the region with Kshs. 1 trillion ($10 billion) in assets after merger of BCDC currently operates in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan, DRC and a Commercial Representative Office in Ethiopia.