Francis Muli
The Co-operative Bank of Kenya (Co-op Bank) restructured loans worth Ksh39.2 billion to support borrowers who have been affected by Covid-19 pandemic between March and June.
Releasing the half year financial results for the period ended June 2020, the bank said that several of their clients had faced reduced cash flow after the first case was confirmed and containment measures announced.
“We are actively engaging our customers to support them through this period by re-aligning servicing of facilities, funding and transactional needs as the situation unfold,” said Co-op Bank Group MD Gideon Muriuki.
As of June, the total amount of restructured loans in the banking sector stood at Ksh2.9 trillion, following a Central Bank of Kenya’s directive to banks to cushion affected customers.
Co-op Bank’s net profit for the period fell to Ksh7.2 billion compared to Ksh7.5 billion in the corresponding period last year, representing a 3.6 per cent drop.
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Gross earnings shrunk to Ksh9.6 billion compared to Ksh10.4 billion in the same period last year.
The bank’s income grew to Ksh24.2 billion from Ksh23 billion while net interest income rose by 12 per cent to Ksh15.9 billion.
Total assets grew by a Ksh84.3 billion to hit Ksh514 billion compared to Ksh430 billion the same period last year.
Co-op Bank’s loan book grew by six per cent to Ksh272.2 billion from Ksh257.6 billion while investors’ fund grew by Ksh80.1 billion from Ksh71 billion similar period last year.
Operating expenses grew by 16 per cent from Ksh12.6 billion to Ksh14.6 billion especially on higher loan loss provision.
The bank says that 90 percent of their operations have been digitised, to discourage over-the-counter transactions.
“We have fortified our digital channels to support uninterrupted access to banking services by our customers. At least 90 per cent of services are away from counters,” Muriuki said.
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