Co-op Bank quarterly profit flat at Ksh.3.6 billion

The Co-operative Bank of Kenya has announced a a flat growth in profit after tax for the first three months of 2020 at Ksh.3.6 billion.

Profit in the period was sustained by growth in non-interest funded income include fees and commissions on loans and forex trading income.

The bank’s non-interest funded income rose by 19 percent to Ksh.5 billion while net interest income increased by 8.5 percent in the period to Ksh.7.5 billion.

Higher provisions on expected loan losses and staff expenses however saw the bank’s operating expenses swell by 20.6 percent in the period to Ksh.7.3 billion.

Co-op’s balance sheet remained on an expansion curve as loans and deposits grew by 9.8 and 6.9 percent respectively to Ksh.276.2 billion and Ksh.339.6 billion.

The bank reported the restructure of Ksh.15 billion worth of customer loans as cushion against the Covid-19 pandemic in line with the banking industry guidelines by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

The bank like its peers continued to note risks presented by the global health emergency even as it lauded its resilience represented in the quarterly financial performance.

“The Group notes the strong performance in the first quarter of this year , and continues to pay close attention to the enormous challenge posed by the pandemic with a view to sustaining full and uninterrupted business operations in the days ahead,” said Co-op Managing Director Gideon Muriuki.