Co-operative Bank of Kenya reports 30% growth in annual profit

The bank has also made moves towards ESG goals, continued its support for small business and developed its digital offer

The Co-operative Bank of Kenya has reported a 30% increase in its profit for 2022.

The bank reported a Kshs 29.4bn (£184m) profit before tax last year, up from Kshs 22.6bn (£150m) in 2021. Its post-tax profit was Kshs 22bn (£109m) in 2022 compared to Kshs 16.5bn (£137m) in 2021.

The bank’s total operating income increased by 17.9% from Kshs 60.4bn (£401m) to Kshs 71.3bn (£447m), and the value of its assets also grew by 4.7% to Kshs 607.2bn compared with Kshs 579.8 bn (£3.85bn) in the previous year.

Other highlights over 2022 include a focus on digital, with 92% of customer transactions moved to alternative delivery channels including call centres, ATMs, and mobile and internet banking via its Omni channel platform. 

The bank has also been providing service to micro, small and medium sized enterprises since 2018. In 2022, over 26,000 customers took up the package, making the total number of customers to pick up the package since 2018 over 170,000.

In the past year, the Co-operative Bank of Kenya has disbursed Kshs. 25.4bn (£159m) to MSMEs through its mobile E-Credit solution, making up 16.9% of its total loan book. 

The bank also embarked on an enhanced Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) roadmap, with a number of milestones achieved, including the  approval of an ESG policy framework, the appointment of an ESG Champions Committee and the establishment of a dedicated ESG Unit.

Managing director Gideon Muriuki said: “The Co-operative Bank Group continues to pursue strategic initiatives that focus on resilience and growth in the various economic sectors. This is anchored on a successful universal banking model supported by an innovative digital presence, a wide physical footprint and the unique synergies in the over 15-million-member co-operative movement that is the largest in Africa.“

Earlier this year, the bank was presented with the Excellence in Customer Experience in Digital Banking award at the Digibanking Event in Nairobi, and was recognised as the ‘Best Overall in Satisfactory Customer Experience’ following a survey of 33,000 customers of all 38 members of the Kenya Bankers’ Association (KBA).