Co-operative Bank Group
investors’ paper wealth at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) grew by 11.74
billion on Thursday after the lender posted a net profit of Sh21.6 billion in the first nine months to September.
The market tracker, Mystocks, mapped Co-op Bank‘s share at Sh24.75, having gained nine per cent compared to Sh22.75 the previous day. This is the lender’s highest share price since it was listed on the NSE in 2008.
The bank’s board has declared a dividend of Sh1 per share for the nine months, with net earnings growing 12.3 per cent compared to Sh19.2 billion posted in a similar quarter in 2024. Gross earnings surged to Sh30 billion.
“The results underscore the group’s strategic focus on sustainable growth, resilience and agility under the soaring eagle transformation agenda,’’ Coop Bank Group managing director, Gideon Muriuki said.
According to the financial report, customer deposits grew by seven per cent to Sh548.6 billion, boosted by rising investments in Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (Saccos) by both households and small businesses.
The bank supports at least 619 Front Office Savings and Credit Department (Fosa) nationally, extending financial services to remote areas with over 15 million members.
Similarly, net loans and advances increased by 6.6 per cent to Sh406.5 billion, with most of the credit channeled through digital platforms.
At least Sh54.2 billion has been disbursed through e-credit in the past 12 months, with 90 per cent of the bank’s transactions now on digital and alternative channels.
A fortnight ago, Co-op Bank Kenya unveiled a digital overdraft facility aimed at enabling customers to overdraw their accounts by up to Sh100,000 to complete transactions.
Dubbed Kamilisha, the product targets to boost business operations, especially for small businesses, placing it in direct competition with Safaricom's market-leading Fuliza and Equity Bank's Boostika service.
The bank’s total assets rose by 8.6 per cent to Sh815 billion during the period under review, establishing its position as the third biggest bank in the country after KCB and Equity Group Holdings.
The group’s subsidiaries posted growth in earnings in Q3, led by the Kenyan unit that contributed over 70 per cent gross earnings.
Kingdom Bank posted a profit of Sh820.6 million while the group’s investment arm, Kingdom Securities, recorded Sh89.9 billion.
Co-op Trust Investment, on the other hand, rose to among the top five fund managers in the country, with a total portfolio of Sh496.4 billion, accounting for 9.2 per cent of the market value.
Orient Asset Managers, Old Mutual Investment Group, Jubilee Financial Services and Britam Asset Managers are market leaders, each commanding at least 10.5 per cent of the total market value.
Cooperative Bank in South Sudan restated profits of Sh93.5 million after accounting for hyperinflation caused largely by currency devaluation.
Inflation rate in South Sudan increased to 112.60 per cent in October from 107.9 per cent in September 2024.
It is expected to be 120 per cent by the end of this year, according to Trading Economics' global macro models and analysts' expectations.
