Co-op Bank’s net profit has risen 47 per cent to Sh. 17.1 billion in the first nine months of 2022.

This saw the bank return a competitive Return on Equity of 23 per cent.

In the period under review, gross earnings hit Sh. 22.7 billion which was equal to a 38 per cent growth compared to Sh. 16.5 billion that was recorded in the same period the previous year.

Customer deposits grew to Sh. 432 billion, a three per cent increase from Sh. 420.4 billion while shareholders’ funds grew to Sh. 100.9 billion from Sh. 95 billion in 2021.

“The strong performance by the Bank is in line with the Group’s strategic focus on sustainable growth, resilience, and agility,” Co-op Bank Group chief executive officer Dr. Gedion Muriuki said.

Co-op Bank also delivered a Cost to Income ratio of 45.8 per cent in the nine months from 59 per cent in the full year 2014 when it launched the Soaring Eagle strategy.

External funds from development partners stood at Sh41.9 billion from Sh43.8 billion in the same period last year.

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Total Assets grew to Sh. 622.1 billion, a five per cent growth from Sh. 592.9 billion in the same period last year.

Net loans and advances grew to Sh. 335.2 billion, which was a 9.4 per cent growth, from Sh. 306.3 billion in 2021.

Co-op Bank’s costs grew at a slower rate of 5.7 per cent to stand at Sh. 29.6 billion as at the end of September 2022.

They were supported in part by lower loan-loss provisioning costs with the cover for expected bad loans declining from Sh. 6 billion to Sh. 5.7 billion.

The reduced cover for bad loans has come on the backdrop of a slower climb in gross non-performing loans which were up by 4.6 per cent at Sh. 51.8 billion.