Gideon Muriuki is a Kenyan businessman and banker who is the Chief Executive Officer and Managind Director of Co-operative Bank.
He has been at the helm of the bank since 2001, and has been credited with turning around the fortunes of the bank. He transformed the lender from a loss making entity to the third largest bank in the country by asset management.
His tenure at the bank has seen Co-operative grow into a leading lender in the country and a preference of many Kenyans. As of July 23, 2021, the bank’s shares go Ksh13.30 per share, meaning Muriuki’s stake at the lender is worth in excess of Ksh1.5 billion.
Salary and Bonuses
Muriuki is among the highest if not the highest salaried CEO in Kenya. He has taken home amounts in salaries and bonuses an ordinary Kenyan can only dream about.
Whownskenya.com looks at some of the monies he has been paid since 2015.
In March 2018, Co-op Bank released its annual report indicating that the CEO was paid Ksh370 million for the year ended December 2017. This translated to Ksh99.8 million in salary and allowances and Ksh270.7 million in bonuses.
Muriuki’s earnings for the year 2017 equated to more than Ksh1 million per day.
According to the report, Muriuki earned Kh92.6 million in salary and allowances in 2016. That means he got a Ksh7 million pay increase in 2017.
The report, however, did not disclose if the CEO earned any bonuses in that fiscal year.
The report further explained that the remuneration to Muriuki reflected on his long service at the helm of the bank, in which he effectively turned around the fortunes of the bank.
“Under the performance driven culture, it is noteworthy that the bank has progressively improved profitability from a huge loss of Sh2.3 billion in 2000 and an asset base of Sh22.3 billion to the current profit before tax of over Sh16.4 billion and an asset base of almost Sh400 billion,” the report read in part.
Muriuki’s annual pay increased to ksh376.4 million in year ended December 2018. His bonus remained unchanged at Ksh271 million from the year 2017, but his salary rose by Ksh5.6 million or 5.6 per cent to Ksh105.4 million, accounting for the total pay rise.
“The group has invested in a performance-driven reward structure, and the board has rewarded tremendous growth and transformation of the bank from a huge loss position of Sh2.3 billion in year 2001 and an asset base of only Sh25 billion to now one of the largest banks in the region with an asset base of over Sh425 billion,” Co-op Bank stated, justifying the remuneration.
The Co-op Bank CEO earned a total bonus of Ksh271 million for the year ended December 2019.
On July 23, 2021, Business Daily reported that Muriuki earned Ksh260.3 million in bonus for the year ended December 2020. This is the largest bonus earned by a CEO in the banking industry.
In a year that saw many business take a hit due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Muriuki still took home a lucrative bonus.
Stake in Co-op Bank
Muriuki also owns a 1.79 per cent stake in the bank which makes him the single largest individual investor in the bank that is largely owned by the co-operative movement under the Co-op Holdings Co-operative Society Ltd, which owns 64.56 per cent.
Co-op Bank maintained its dividend payout of Ksh1 per share in both 2019 and 2020, distributing a total of Ksh11.7 billion in the two years.
This means Muriuki was paid a total of Ksh213 million for the two years from his stake at the bank.
In 2018, Muriuki earned Ksh105 million for his stake in the bank.
