Cooperative Bank of Oromia (CBO), one of the mid-aged banks, registered the highest profit growth rate in the industry over the last fiscal year, recording a 79.6pc growth compared with the past fiscal year.

The Bank netted 1.2 billion Br in profit, making it one of the top three most profitable private banks in the country following Awash and Dashen banks, which made 2.6 billion Br and 1.5 billion Br in profits last year, respectively.

Parallel to its profit, Cooperative Bank's earnings per share (EPS), the profit divided by the total outstanding number of shares, also grew significantly to 47pc, a sharp jump from 36pc.

The profit and EPS growth of the Bank is awe-inspiring, according to Abdulmenan Mohammed, a financial statement analyst with close to two decades of experience.

"The Bank's performance is as high as the oldest private banks," he said. "The management should be applauded for such a remarkable performance."

CBO’s EPS snowballed, while its paid-up capital also surged significantly to three billion Birr, marking a 42.9pc growth. At most financial institutions, the two go in opposite directions.

Achieving a high level of EPS while increasing the paid-up capital significantly is impressive, according to Abdulmenan.

Last year was shaped by a series of the external and industry challenges that have affected the overall macroeconomy and the Bank's growth momentum, according to Fikru Deksisa (PhD), chairperson of the board of directors of the Bank.

"Despite the fact that these external factors severely affected the performance of the banking industry and our Bank, in particular, it was a defining year for the Bank during which an incredible performance unfolded," he remarked.

The Bank has been following expansionary growth over the past three years, according to Deribe Asfaw, CEO of the Bank, who explained that it has followed a "min-max" and turnaround strategy to steer the Bank over the challenges it had been facing.

"We've been investing over the past three years, and we're reaping the fruit," he told Fortune. "It's all about earning assets."

The growth in profit after tax was mainly driven by both financial and non-financial intermediation revenues expansion. The Bank’s interest income soared by 48pc to 4.2 billion Br, fees and commissions surged by 40pc to 762.8 million Br, while gains on foreign exchange climbed by 121pc 536.3 million Br.

Increased expenses accompanied a considerable expansion in income. Interest expenses soared by 47.6pc to 1.5 billion Br, salaries and benefits increased by 13.7pc to 1.1 billion Br. Other operating expenses exploded by 69.8pc to 1.4 billion Br.

The Bank's expense-to-income ratio stood at 75.3pc, a marginal decline from the 79pc registered last year.