The Co-operative Bank delivers for customers while investing for the future

The Co-operative Bank has released its Annual Report and Disclosure Statement for the year ended 31 March 2026, marking a year of significant customer improvements alongside continued investment to support long-term growth.

The customer-owned bank reported a profit before rebates and tax of $11.1 million, reflecting customer fee removals and a planned period of reinvestment in a highly competitive market. The Bank also maintained a total capital ratio of 18.5%, the highest among New Zealand-registered banks, providing a strong buffer to support customers, help protect depositors and enable continued investment through economic cycles.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Wilkshire said FY26 was focused on addressing what customers said mattered most, while strengthening the Bank for the future. “This year we focused on removing customer pain points by reducing fees, simplifying products, improving digital capability through the launch of digital wallets, and lifting service consistency,” Mr Wilkshire said.

Customers have responded positively to these changes, Mr Wilkshire said, with strong growth across transaction and savings accounts. “We’re seeing that in increased transactional balances and savings funds, which shows customers are choosing to do more of their banking with us.”

Highlights for FY26 included:

• Market leading customer satisfaction, ranking number one in the Consumer NZ Banking Survey for the last five years
• Revenue of $101 million, up 1% on the prior year in a competitive market
• 8.5% growth in savings funds
• 3.4% growth in total customer deposits
• 3% growth in home loan lending, with nearly half of new home loan customers purchasing their first home
• Continued leadership in fair pricing, including the lowest widely available floating home loan rate for much of the year and fully passing on OCR reductions to floating home customers

The Co-operative Bank’s profits remain in New Zealand, with $1.2 million to be shared with customers as profit rebates and the remainder reinvested back into the Co-operative to support future growth, taking the total value of customer rebates paid since the rebate initiative began in 2013 to $25 million. This is alongside ongoing benefits from fee removals estimated to save customers $2.3 million per year.

The Bank also made important progress in strengthening its compliance foundations. “The Co-operative Bank has effectively concluded its two long standing regulatory compliance matters, with the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act credit fee matter resolved in April and the Anti-Money Laundering compliance matter expected to be finalised with the Reserve Bank in the near future,” Mr Wilkshire said. “We have made substantial investments to enable compliance processes to be robust and give customers confidence that appropriate checks are in place.”

The full Annual Report and Disclosure Statement are available at The Co-operative Bank's Financial Information page.

About The Co-operative Bank

The Co-operative Bank is a customer-owned co-operative that operates in retail banking and associated personal financial services across Aotearoa New Zealand. Our approach to banking is about leaving everyone better off – our customers, our people, the Co-operative, and our communities. We are here to grow together and share the gains.