The Co-operative Bank of Kenya has continued its continental reign after it was ranked as East Africa's Regional Bank of the Year at the African Banker Awards Gala Ceremony.
The bank was crowned during the gala held in Ghana on Wednesday, May 25 that took place at the Kempinski Hotel in the West African nation's capital of Accra.
The event was held under the High Patronage of the African Development Bank, being part of the programme of the Bank’s Annual Meetings.
The bank was awarded for its overall excellence in the banking sector across the region.
The African Banker Awards are a landmark annual event for African banking taking place during the annual meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Established in 1965, Co-operative Bank has grown in leaps and bounds and as of 2021, the bank ranked as the third-largest in Kenya with regard to asset size valued at Ksh536.9 billion assets.
It also had the biggest dividend payout in 2020 which stood at 5.8 billion.
In May 2022, the Bank announced that it had recorded a 56 per cent before tax growth in the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the same period last year.
The total profit before tax stood at Ksh7.78 billion, a positive deviation from that of the first quarter of 2021 which stood at Ksh4.98 billion.
The achievement was in line with its strategy with the highest growth experienced in the bank's investment in government securities which grew to Ksh183.4 billion representing a 10% rise from Ksh166.2 billion realised in 2021.
The institution also saw a growth in total assets to Ksh597.0 billion from Ksh552.9 billion in the same period last year while net loans and advances grew to Ksh324.5 billion from Ksh298.2 billion.
Customer deposits also grew to Ksh410.8 billion representing a 4% increase from Ksh393.8 billion while external funds from development partners stood at Ksh43.3 billion from Ksh46.9 billion in 2021.
The awards recognise the personalities and banks that are driving Africa’s rapidly transforming financial sector, the African Banker Awards bring together industry leaders from Africa and the world.