South Sudan war: Equity Bank suspends operations

South Sudan war: Equity Bank suspends operations

A second foreign commercial bank operating in South Sudan Kenya’s Equity Bank  has closed more than half of its branches in the war-ravaged country. The banks chief executive say they are quitting because of hyperinflation, a battered local currency and an economic slowdown

The bank closed 7 of its 12 branches, James Mwangi, Equity’s chief executive told a shareholder meeting in Juba

“Because of uncertainty, and because of a lack of peace, we have been forced to reduce those branches,” Mwangi told investors on Tuesday and later posted online. “I think we now have five.”

Equity follows another Kenyan bank, KCB which quit earlier this month because of the tough operating environment and economic conditions.

South Sudan has one of sub-Saharan Africa’s lowest banking penetration rates as the country has been ravaged by war since 2015