The Co-operative Bank Group has announced Sh. 5.8 billion net profit in the first three months of the 2022 financial year.

This Co-op Bank net profit was a jump from the Sh. 3.5 billion that was reported in the same year in 2021.

This net profit growth came from a profit before tax of Sh. 7.78 billion for the first quarter of 2022. This represented a 56 per cent growth compared to Sh. 4.98 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2021.

During the three month period under review, total assets grew to Sh. 597.0 billion. This was a 8 per cent growth from Sh. 552.9 billion in the same period last year. Net loans and advances grew to Sh. 324.5 billion, a 9 per cent growth from Sh.298.2 billion.

At the same time, investment in Government securities grew to Sh. 183.4 billion. This was a 10 per cent rise from Sh. 166.2 billion in 2021.

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In the first three months of the year, customer deposits grew to Sh. 410.8 billion from Sh. 393.8 billion. External funds from development partners stood at Sh. 43.3 billion from Sh. 46.9 billion in 2021.

Shareholders’ funds grew to Sh. 102.7 billion, a 10 per cent increase from Sh. 93.7 billion in 2021. Net interest income grew by 6 per cent from Sh. 9.8 billion to Sh. 10.4 billion.

“Our Gross Non-Performing Loan (NPL) Book has reduced by 5 per cent from last year, with our NPL ratio improving to 13.3 per cent against 15.2 per cent in a similar period last year,” said Co-op Bank chief executive officer Dr. Gideon Muriuki.

“This affirms our Credit Quality and Growth strategies and will continue to improve to single digit pre-pandemic NPL levels.”

The bank also saw total non-interest income grew by 41.7 per cent from Sh. 4.5 billion to Sh. 6.4 billion, total operating income grew by 17 per cent from Sh. 14.4 billion to Sh. 16.8 billion.

At the same, during the first three months of this financial year, total operating expenses declined by 3 per cent from Sh. 9.3 billion to Sh. 9.0 billion.