Equity first bought into HF in July 2007 when it teamed up with Britam to acquire CDC Group Plc’s 24.99 per cent stake in a deal that saw the lender pay Sh433 million for its stake (20.17 per cent).

The two partners increased their stakes the next year when HF made a rights issue at the ratio of one-for-one in a cash call that the government and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) skipped.

This saw Equity’s stake in HF rise to the current level, with Britam’s jumping to 21.46 per cent.

The twin transactions have overtime proved lucrative for the two institutions with Equity’s stake surging to the current market value of Sh2.2 billion based on HF’s share price of Sh42.75.

This means that Equity stands to harvest a return of more than 500 per cent, including dividends that the lender has been receiving from HF over the years.

The share [Housing Finance] has gained 64.3 per cent over the past year, making it the best performing bank on the Nairobi bourse over the period.

Equity has gained 44 per cent in the period, KCB (35.1 per cent), Standard Chartered (10.7 per cent) and Barclays Bank (6.39 per cent).

But it is a fallacy to suggest that the Nairobi market generates out-sized returns just because of the few examples you have given . You are making a hasty generalization to only give a few examples (and with the advantage of hindsight).

@Maich I own some britam which is at the center of the current musical chairs.got in @9 so after about 1 year you can see why I'm all smiles. Let these guys continue doubting n sitting on the sidelines watching us make REAL money.And btw this is my 4th stock to hit over 50% in 1 year.

Congrats!!! And these same fellows will be calling you an illuminati in 10 years wondering where you got all the money and yet you used to work in the same company and were probably earning a higher salary than you!!