Co-operative Bank Overtakes Barclays and Standard Chartered Banks In Profit Ranking

Banking News. Co-operative Bank of Kenya has overtaken Barclays and Standard Chartered banks on the profit ranking deepening the dominance of indigenous banks against the multinationals. 

Results for the first quarter show that Co-op Bank posted a net profit of KES 2.6 billion, beating Standard Chartered Bank (KES 1.8 billion) and Barclays Bank (KES 1.6 billion).

This made Co-op Bank the third most profitable bank in the country behind its home-grown peers KCB Bank and Equity Bank, whose net profits stood at KES 3 billion and KES 3.2 billion respectively. 

The stronger performance by the indigenous banks was helped by major cutbacks in interest expenses compared to the multinationals that reduced their deposit costs marginally. The local banks have also benefited from aggressive lending, especially on the retail and SME sectors, compared to the multinational rivals who have adopted a cautious approach.  

The three local lenders were the only top tier banks to grow their profits by double digits, with the earnings of Barclays and Standard Chartered shrinking by double digits in the first quarter.