Nairobi, March 24 -- Co-operative Bank of Kenya has maintained a dividend of Ksh1.5 ($0.001) per share for the year ended December after it recorded a 5.2 percent net profit growth to Ksh23.1 billion ($173.68 million).

The lender's net profit in the previous year stood at Ksh22 billion ($172.93 million).

The dividend, amounting to Ksh8.8 billion ($66.17 million), will be paid on June 10 to shareholders on record as of April 28.

The growth of the bank's earnings was driven by a lower cost base and a slight jump in non-interest income.

"The strong performance has led to a sustained increase in shareholder value as reflected in the competitive return on equity of 21 percent," said Gideon Muriuki, the managing director. "The Co-operative ...