Co-op Bank’s 2020 third-quarter Report: Kshs. 13.8 billion profit before tax

For the third quarter of 2020, the Co-operative Bank Group has reported a Ksh13.8 billion profit before tax.

This means a staggering Ksh1.7 billion difference compared to Ksh15.5 billion recorded in the third quarter of 2019.

In a press release from the bank, the 11% drop was attributed to increased Covid-19 related loan loss provisions.

Profit after tax was ksh9.8 billion compared to Ksh10.9 billion in the previous year which represented a 10% drop.

“The group has taken a 90% increase in loan loss provision from Ksh2.1 billion in 2019 to Ksh4 billion in appreciation of the challenges that businesses and households are grappling with from the disruption occasioned by the ongoing pandemic.

“We continue to serve our customers to support them through this period by re-aligning the servicing of facilities, funding and transactional needs as the situation unfolds. As at the close of the third quarter, a total of Ksh46 billion in loans have been restructured to support customers impacted by the pandemic,” the company explained.

The bank’s total assets grew by Ksh70 billion to Ksh510 billion compared to Ksh440.8 billion in the same period in 2019.

Net loans and advances books grew by Ksh15.4 billion from Ksh268.9 billion to 284.2 billion.

Investment in government securities grew by Ksh47.7 billion to Ksh142.3 billion in comparison to ksh94.6 billion in the previous year.

Customer deposits grew by 16% from Ksh322.5 billion to Ksh375.5 billion.

Borrowed funds from development partners decreased by Ksh3.6 billion to Ksh26.2 billion from Ksh29.7 billion in 2019.

Shareholders’ funds grew to Ksh82 billion from Ksh73.9 billion in 2019, enabling the bank to continue pitching for big-ticket deals.

Co-operative Bank’s latest acquisition, Kingdom Bank (previously Jamii Bora), is expected to break even in 2021, banking on its over 444,000 customers in 17 branches.

The Co-operative Bank Group has put in place a proactive mitigation strategy anchored on a strong enterprise risk management framework to enable uninterrupted access to banking services.

“We shall, riding on the unique synergies in the over 15 million-member co-operative movement that is the largest in Africa, continue to pursue a strategic initiative that focuses on resilience and growth in the new normal as the nation focuses on flattening the curve and as vibrancy returns to the economy,” Co-op Bank Group MD Gideon Muriuki concluded.