Co-operative Bank of Kenya has recorded a strong financial performance in the first half of 2026, with net profit rising by 28 percent to Sh18.02 billion, supported by growth in both interest and non-interest income.
The lender’s earnings increased from Sh14.08 billion reported in the first six months of 2025. The growth was driven largely by a 13 percent increase in net interest income to Sh33.19 billion, while non-interest income rose by 11.6 percent to Sh15.75 billion.
The performance comes despite an increase in operating costs during the period. Expenses rose by 9.2 percent to Sh26.26 billion, compared with Sh24.07 billion a year earlier.
Staff costs accounted for a significant portion of the increase, rising 13.4 percent to Sh11.22 billion. The bank attributed the higher personnel expenses to recruitment undertaken as it expanded its branch network.
Co-op Bank increased its workforce by 741 employees during the period, taking its total headcount to 6,591. Its physical branch network also expanded by 11 outlets to 223 branches.
The lender also reported an improvement in the quality of its loan book. Provisions for loan defaults declined by 17.5 percent to Sh3.73 billion, while gross non-performing loans fell from Sh76.28 billion to Sh72.56 billion.
Consequently, the non-performing loan ratio improved to 13.9 percent at the end of June 2026, compared with 17.2 percent in the corresponding period last year. Co-op Bank managing director Gideon Muriuki attributed the improvement to stronger credit management, customer engagement and portfolio monitoring.
The bank’s subsidiaries also contributed to the improved group performance. Kingdom Bank, which is 90 percent owned by Co-op Bank Group, increased its net profit by 80.1 percent to Sh574.45 million from Sh318.93 million.
Co-op Bancassurance Intermediary also recorded growth, with its pre-tax profit increasing to Sh812.7 million from Sh790.8 million. Meanwhile, Co-optrust Investment Services reported a 77.5 percent increase in gross profit to Sh640.5 million, reaching Sh640.5 million from Sh360.8 million. Its funds under management rose to Sh505.2 billion from Sh461.7 billion.
Co-op Bank’s South Sudan subsidiary, in which the Kenyan lender holds a 51 percent stake, nearly quadrupled its pre-tax profit to Sh224 million from Sh56.9 million. The bank attributed the improvement to better operating conditions in the South Sudan market.
Kingdom Securities also remained profitable, recording a 23.3 percent increase in pre-tax profit to Sh77.9 million, compared with Sh63.2 million in the previous year, helped by increased activity in the capital markets.
The stronger earnings were accompanied by continued expansion of the group’s balance sheet. Total assets increased to Sh869.47 billion from Sh811.91 billion, while customer deposits grew by 13.4 percent to Sh621.27 billion.
The latest results reinforce Co-op Bank’s position as one of Kenya’s major banking groups, with growth being supported not only by its core lending business but also by an expanding range of subsidiaries and financial services.
The performance also follows the group’s strong 2025 results, when full-year profit after tax reached a record Sh29.75 billion, representing a 16.9 percent increase from 2024.
