Kenya: Co-operative Bank net profit jumps 52% to Sh16.5 billion

Co-operative Bank’s net profits for the year ended December 2021 jumped 52% to Sh16.5 billion on improved lending and acquisition of Kingdom Bank.

Co-op profits rose from Sh10.8 billion last year supported by a 12% jump in operating income from loans, fees, and subsidiaries including Kingdom Bank.

Net interest income grew 13% to Sh41 billion while non-funded income grew 11% to Sh19 billion.

The lender which bought Jamii Bora Bank and renamed it Kingdom says the new subsidiary gross profits have crossed half a billion.

“Kingdom Bank Limited has contributed a profit before tax of Sh512.4 million in FY2021 compared Sh124.2 million reported last year,” Cooperative Bank managing director Gideon Muriuki said.

The bank has turned around the mid-tier acquisition in its first year of operations making the strategic buy a great bargain for the lender.

Cooperative Bank will pay Sh1 dividend per share making the total payout Sh5.86 billion as it continues with the policy to pay shareholders through the pandemic to support recovery.  

The lender’s total assets stand at Sh579.8 billion for the year ended December 2021.

“Shareholders’ funds grew to Sh100.2 billion (10%) from Sh90.7 dillion in 2020 enabling us to continue pitching for big-ticket deals,” Mr. Muriuki said.

Co-op has seen double-digit growth in lending to customers and increasing government securities portfolio as the economy recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Loans to customers increased 8% billion while government securities rose 14% to Sh184.1 billion.

The lender has also been keen to keep costs down, managing its bad loan exposure and keeping a lid on operation costs which only grew 3% to Sh39.4 billion.

The bank has set aside Sh7.9 billion as loan loss provisioning down from Sh8.1 billion a year ago indicating improving quality of asset book as businesses and households continue to recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The bank has also strengthened its digital banking with 5.3 million customers registered on the MCo-op Cash, giving loans worth Sh71.2 billion year-to-date, over Sh6 billion per month on average.