Co-op Bank Starts 2026 Strong as Q1 Profit Rises 18.1% to KES 11.4B

Co-operative Bank of Kenya opened 2026 with strong earnings growth, supported by expansion in lending, higher customer deposits, and resilient non-funded income performance.

The lender posted a Profit Before Tax of KES 11.4B for Q1 2026, an 18.1% increase from KES 9.6B recorded in Q1 2025. Profit After Tax rose by 21.3% to KES 8.4B from KES 6.9B.

Balance Sheet

Total assets increased by 14.3% to KES 884.6B from KES 774.1B a year earlier, reflecting continued expansion across the bank’s loan book, liquidity position, and investment securities portfolio. Customer deposits grew by 16.6% to KES 612.2B from KES 525.2B, reinforcing the bank’s strong funding base at a time when deposit mobilization remains competitive across the sector. Meanwhile, net loans and advances rose by 13.6% to KES 436.8B from KES 384.5B, showing continued credit uptake.

Interest Income Remains the Main Earnings Driver

Total interest income increased by 4.8% to KES 23.3B from KES 22.2B in Q1 2025, supported by growth in loans and government securities holdings. Interest earned from loans and advances rose by 4.6% to KES 14.6B, while income from government securities increased by 3.3% to KES 7.3B. At the same time, interest expenses declined by 8.3% to KES 7.3B from KES 8.0B, largely helped by lower customer deposit costs. This pushed net interest income up by 12.2% to KES 16.0B from KES 14.2B.

Non-Funded Income Shows Strong Momentum

Non-interest income increased by 16.3% to KES 8.1B from KES 6.9B.

Fees and commissions on loans rose by 18.4% to KES 3.3B, while other fees and commissions increased by 10.7% to KES 3.4B.

Foreign exchange trading income however fell slightly by 2.2% to KES 783M from KES 801M.