Co-operative Bank of Kenya chief executive Gideon Muriuki has strengthened his position as the bank’s top individual shareholder after buying 12 million additional shares worth Sh202.8 million in the first five months of 2025.

Regulatory disclosures for May 2025 show that Muriuki has now increased his shareholding to 129.53 million shares, which translates to a 2.19 percent stake. This marks a rise from two percent at the close of 2024.

It is also the first time in two years that he has expanded his stake, the last being in early 2023 when he moved from a 1.75 percent holding to two percent.

Insider buying by top executives is closely watched by investors and is often viewed as a show of confidence in the company’s growth prospects. The interest is particularly strong when such acquisitions are made through personal funds, rather than being awarded through stock options or discounted share grants.

Co-op Bank’s stock has risen by 3.6 percent since the start of the year and is currently trading at Sh16.90.

On a one-year basis, the share has climbed 31 percent, supported by a general improvement in the banking sector’s performance, including better profitability and higher dividend payouts.

All 11 publicly listed banks have seen double-digit growth in their share prices over the past 12 months. HF Group led the way with an 81.4 percent rise, followed by DTB Group at 70.8 percent and I&M Holdings at 67 percent.

Figures from the Central Bank of Kenya indicate that in the first quarter of 2025, commercial banks grew their gross profit to Sh73.5 billion — a jump of Sh15.1 billion compared to Sh58.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The regulator explained that the rise in profits was mainly due to a sharper drop in costs, which fell by Sh27.6 billion, compared to a Sh12.6 billion dip in income.

Co-op Bank’s own financials showed that net profit rose by 5.3 percent to Sh6.9 billion in the quarter. This was supported by stronger lending income that helped cushion the effect of higher operating expenses. The bank’s net interest income expanded by 21.7 percent to Sh14.2 billion. However, non-interest income saw a slight drop of 1.9 percent to Sh6.9 billion from Sh7.1 billion.

Operating costs for the bank jumped by 19.1 percent to Sh11.7 billion, pushing its cost-to-income ratio to 45.5 percent, up from 44.1 percent in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Kingdom Bank — where Co-op Bank holds a 90 percent ownership — posted a 57.9 percent drop in net earnings to Sh143.98 million in the same quarter. The decline was largely due to a 30.8 percent increase in operating expenses, which rose to Sh501.16 million, while net interest income fell by 16.6 percent to Sh523.8 million.

Co-op Bank took over Kingdom Bank in 2020 under a Sh1 billion bailout plan brokered by the Central Bank, rescuing the then struggling lender from persistent losses.