The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
Co-operative Bank recorded a 28 percent increase in profit after tax to Sh18 billion in the first half of 2026, compared with Sh14.1 billion posted during a similar period last year.
The lender attributed the strong performance partly to a 13 percent rise in net interest income, which reached Sh33 billion. The growth in interest income, alongside resilient non-funded income, pushed operating income up 12.5 percent to Sh48.9 billion.
The bank’s subsidiaries also delivered improved results during the period.
Kingdom Bank’s profit before tax surged 77.8 percent to Sh873 million. Co-op Bancassurance Intermediary’s gross profit climbed to Sh812.7 million, driven by greater uptake of insurance products among customers.
Co-optrust Investment Services, the Group’s fund management arm, recorded funds under management of Sh505.2 billion. Its profit before tax rose 77.5 percent to Sh640.5 million, up from Sh360.8 million in H1 2025.
Meanwhile, Co-op Bank of South Sudan reported profit before tax of Sh224 million, compared with Sh56.9 million a year earlier.
Kingdom Securities also posted stronger results, with profit before tax increasing 23.3 percent to Sh77.9 million from Sh63.2 million in H1 2025, supported by increased activity in the capital markets.
Co-op Bank Group Managing Director and CEO Gideon Muriuki said the lender remained well positioned, with strong liquidity and capital buffers during the period.
He said the Group’s liquidity ratio stood at 57.3 percent, while total capital to total risk-weighted assets was 22.9 percent, providing room for continued lending, investment and long-term growth.
The bank also reported an improvement in asset quality. Its non-performing loan ratio fell to 13.9 percent from 17.2 percent in H1 2025.
IFRS loan-loss coverage improved to 80.7 percent from 69.9 percent, while the cost of risk declined to 1.8 percent from 2.4 percent.
