• The survey was conducted by interviewing over 33,000 customers of all member banks of KBA.
• The results of the survey were released on Wednesday at a media briefing hosted by KBA, at the Sarova Stanley Hotel in Nairobi.
• This re-affirms the bank’s position as the financial institution offering the most fulfilling customer experience in the industry, Group Managing Director & CEO Dr Gideon Muriuki said.

The Co-operative Bank of Kenya has emerged as the overall winner in the Customer Satisfaction Survey conducted by the Kenya Bankers’ Association (KBA).

The survey was conducted by interviewing over 33,000 customers of all member banks of KBA.

The results of the survey were released on Wednesday at a media briefing hosted by KBA, at the Sarova Stanley Hotel in Nairobi, where Co-op Bank was presented with a certificate of recognition for excelling in customer service based on the survey’s findings.

This award comes barely  two weeks after Co-op Bank was also recognized with the “Excellence in Customer Experience in Digital Banking” award at the Digibanking Event held recently.

“This re-affirms our position as the financial institution offering the most fulfilling customer experience in the industry,” Co-op Bank Group Managing Director & CEO Dr Gideon Muriuki said.

The annual Customer Satisfaction Survey was initiated in 2018 as part of efforts being spearheaded by KBA, towards enhancing customer experience in the banking industry.

The 2022 survey was conducted amid the clamour for enhanced support towards economic recovery.

Although the impact of Covid-19 on the economy had abated significantly in the year under review, the pandemic’s adverse effects continued to linger in the economy, necessitating individual and collective strategies towards maintaining high product and service standards.

With its high response rate, the 2022 survey provides invaluable insights that will undoubtedly inform policies towards enhancing financial inclusion for the country’s highly dynamic and diverse banking public through fact-based innovation.

Performance

Co-op Bank which has operations in Kenya and South Sudan has continued to post strong financial results despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on businesses.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) listed lender’s net earnings for the nine months to September 2022 grew 47 per cent to USD134.3 million (Ksh17.1 billion) on effective cost management.

The performance delivered a competitive Return on Equity of 23 per cent to shareholders.

Gross earnings for the period grew to USD178.3 million (Ksh22.7 billion) , a commendable 38 per cent growth compared to USD129.6 million (Ksh16.5 billion)  recorded in the third quarter of 2021.

“The strong performance by the Bank is in line with the Group’s strategic focus on sustainable growth, resilience, and agility,” Muriuki said.

Customer deposits grew to Ksh432 billion (USD 3.39 billion), a three per cent increase from Sh420.4 billion (USD3.30 billion) same period the previous year.

Co-op Bank under Muriuki has built a compelling value proposition for the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) that ranks it as the leading bank in that space.

It is the leading bank in supporting MSMEs receive Lipa Na Mpesa payments, processing more thanKsh65 billion (USD510.6 million) Lipa na Mpesa payments every month.

Support to the community

When the government called for support from the private sector to help fight the biting hunger in the country, in the wake of the persistent draught witnessed since last year, Co-op Bank was among the first players to respond.

It remains the top contributor to President Wiliam Ruto’s anti- hunger fundraising appeal.

The lender extended a contribution of Ksh150 million to the fund, the largest donation.

The bank is also running a scholarship scheme dubbed “Cooperative Bank Foundation Scholarship Scheme” , the longest-running programme amongst lenders in the country.

Incepted in 2007, it has so far sponsored over 9,000 gifted but needy students from across the country.

“We are focused on sustaining the programme in the long-term. Unless corporate institutions and everyone of goodwill, come together to support initiatives within the education sector, brilliant but needy Kenyans will never realise their full potential,” Muriuki says.

According to Muriuki, a large number of Kenyans currently holding positions of responsibility were educated with loans from the Co-operative movement.

This year, the Coop Foundation has granted over 655 full secondary education scholarships. The scholarships are awarded on merit to gifted but needy students from all regions of Kenya.

Co-operative Societies, who are the face of Kenya, identify well-performing students from disadvantaged backgrounds and forward names to a regional forum, where delegates debate and select the most deserving cases.

It supports students through secondary and university, helping the needy but bright students pursue their dream careers.