Co-operative Bank of Kenya has reported a 28 per cent increase in profit after tax to KSh18 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2026, marking the lender’s strongest half-year performance to date.

The latest results represent a KSh3.9 billion increase from the KSh14.1 billion profit after tax recorded during the first half of 2025. The bank’s profit before tax also rose by 17.3 per cent to KSh23.1 billion, up from KSh19.7 billion in the corresponding period last year.

The KSh23.1 billion profit before tax is the highest half-year figure reported by the lender, according to current media reports. The performance extends a period of strong earnings growth for the bank, which had already reported an 18.1 per cent increase in profit before tax to KSh11.37 billion in the first quarter of 2026.

Co-operative Bank’s stronger earnings were accompanied by growth in the size of its balance sheet.

According to financial reporting on the results, the bank’s total assets increased by 7.1 per cent to KSh869.5 billion, compared with KSh811.9 billion a year earlier.

The increase indicates that the lender continued to expand its overall financial position during the period, even as the banking sector operated in an environment where lenders have continued to balance credit growth, funding costs and asset quality.

The latest performance also builds on the bank’s first-half 2025 results, when total assets stood at KSh811.9 billion, customer deposits reached KSh547.7 billion and net loans and advances stood at KSh391.3 billion.

The difference between the bank’s profit before tax and profit after tax is important in assessing the results.

Profit before tax increased by KSh3.4 billion, from KSh19.7 billion to KSh23.1 billion, representing growth of 17.3 per cent. Profit after tax, meanwhile, increased by KSh3.9 billion to KSh18 billion, translating into a 28 per cent year-on-year rise.

The figures show that the bank ended the first half of the year with substantially more earnings available after tax than it had during the same period in 2025.

Co-operative Bank’s first-half 2025 performance had already represented an improvement over the previous year. At the time, the lender reported KSh19.7 billion in profit before tax and KSh14.1 billion in profit after tax, with operating income rising 10.8 per cent to KSh43.5 billion.

The lender has continued to invest heavily in digital and alternative banking channels as part of its wider business strategy.

In its 2025 half-year results, Co-operative Bank said more than 90 per cent of its transactions were being conducted through digital and alternative channels, including mobile, web and USSD services, alongside its ATM, cash deposit machine and agency network. Its M-Co-op Cash platform had also disbursed KSh36.4 billion in loans during the first half of that year.

The bank’s first-quarter 2026 performance similarly showed growth in operating income, which rose by 13.5 per cent year-on-year to KSh24.05 billion, according to an earnings analysis published after the results.

These figures provide context for the stronger half-year performance, although the latest results should ultimately be assessed using the bank’s full set of financial statements rather than profit figures alone.

The June 2026 results come after Co-operative Bank reported KSh29.75 billion in profit after tax for the full year ended December 2025, making the latest half-year performance particularly significant in the bank’s recent earnings trajectory.

The lender had also delivered a strong first quarter in 2026, with profit before tax increasing to KSh11.37 billion from KSh9.64 billion in the first quarter of 2025, while profit after tax rose to KSh8.41 billion from KSh6.94 billion.

The second-quarter performance therefore helped maintain the momentum seen during the opening three months of the year.

For shareholders and investors, the results provide an indication of the bank’s earnings capacity during the first half of 2026. For customers and businesses, the wider figures, including asset growth, lending, deposits and operating income, are more useful in assessing how the bank’s financial performance is translating into its core banking operations.

Co-operative Bank, which is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, will now head into the second half of the year with its earnings significantly above the level recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.