Ecobank, Zenith Bank, GTB, 7 Other Banks Record N1.19trn in Salaries, Operating Expenses in 6 Months
- About 10 banks in Nigerian have recorded an increase in operating costs
- The banks are led by Ecobank, Zenith Bank, First Bank, and Guaranty Trust Bank
- They also splurged huge sums on staff salaries, AMCON, and NDIC charges
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Inflation and regulatory charges, among others, drove the operating expenses of about 1o banks up by 26% to N1.19 trillion in the first half of 2023.
The figure was an increase from N943.23 billion recorded in the first half of 2022.
Source: Getty Images
Top banks with the highest expenses
The banks with the highest expenses for the period reviewed include Ecobank, First Bank, Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Stanbic IBTC, FCMB, and Unity Bank.
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Others are Wema Bank, Sterling Bank, and Fidelity Bank.
ThisDay reports that salary reviews of core and non-core staff, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) charges contributed immensely to the banks’ operating expenses during the review period.
Unity Bank recorded an N38.71 billion loss before tax in the first six months of 2023 from N1.85 billion pre-tax profit in the same period in 2023.
The other banks, on the other hand, generated N1.2 trillion in pre-tax profit in the first half of 2023, a 138% rise from N505.57 trillion reported in 2022.
Ecobank reported the highest value in operating expenses in the first six months of 2023, followed by First Bank and Zenith Bank.
Fidelity Bank recorded the highest operating expenses with a 36.3% of N84.55 billion in the first in H1 2023 from N62.03 billion in H1 2023, driven by AMCON, NDIC charges, staff expenses, as well as communication and technology costs.
In the first half of this year, Econbank declared N274.88 billion in operating expenses, a 29.5% rise from the N212.32 billion reported in 2022.
On its part, First Bank announced N231.56 billion in operational costs in the first half of 2023, a 24.5% rise from N185.95 billion reported in H1 2022.
Zenith Bank reported N219.27 billion in operating expenses in the period under review, which represents a spike of 22.77% from N178.6 billion in the first half of 2022.
An Analysis reveals that GTBank recorded N125.58 billion in operating expenses in the first half of 2023, a spike of 26.26% from N99.5 billion in HI of 2022.
Stanbic IBTC announced N82.34 billion in operating expenses in the first half of 2023, a spike of 21.3% from the N67.87 billion recorded in the same period in 2022.
World Bank reports more economic trouble for Africa
According to a World Bank report, global headwinds are slowing Africa’s economic growth as countries continue to battle rising inflation, which hinders the progress on poverty reduction on the continent.
The report said the development comes at a time when high interest rates and debts are forcing African countries to make tough choices to protect people’s jobs and preserve purchasing power and developmental gains.
Recently, four Nigerian banks reported a loss of about N478 billion in bad loans.
The report analysed by Legit stated that Guarantee Trust Bank Holding, FBN Holding, and two others reported about N478.93 billion in non-performing loans in the half-year ending June 2023.
In another report, a financial statement released by United Bank for Africa (UBA) showed that it earned about N853.2 billion, an increase from N660.2 billion recorded the year before.
Reports say that the bank revealed that the result is for the year ending December 31, 2022.
Access takes top Spot, Wema Ranks 11th on list of Nigeria’s biggest banks by assets
Legit earlier reported that the total asset value increased to N74.06 trillion by 2022, representing a 15.3% growth from N60.76 trillion in 2021.
The list is according to the financial results submitted by the banks to the Nigerian exchange.
The banks surveyed include Access Bank, Ecobank, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa(UBA), Guaranty Trust Holding Company(GTCO), Stanbic IBTC, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Union Bank, Sterling Bank, and Wema Bank.
Source: Legit.ng
