Forex Gains Drive UBA, Zenith, Access, Others to Increase 9-month Profit by 156% to N2.29trn
- Ten Nigerian banks raked in N2.29 trillion profit for nine months period of the year 2023
- This was influenced by foreign exchange gain realised in the first three quarters of the year
- About 64% of the profit came from forex gain with tier-1 banks contributing the most
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Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market
A total of ten Nigerian banks realised N2.29 trillion in profit for the first nine months of the year 2023 - from January to September.
The amount is 156.4% higher than N897 billion in the corresponding period of 2022.
Source: UGC
The banks are FBN Holdings, Zenith Bank, GTBank Group, UBA, Access Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Wema Bank, Sterling Bank Holdings, Fidelity Bank, and Jaiz Bank.
The profit realized was triggered by gains from foreign exchange-related transactions. About 63.6% or N1.457 trillion of the profit came from forex.
Compared to the first nine months in 2022, only N225 billion was realised from forex, according to Financial Vanguard
Tier-1 banks win
The data collated showed that Tier-1 banks accounted for the largest profit at 87.5% while Tier-2 banks accounted for 12.5%.
Zenith Bank topped the list of tier-1 banks with N505 billion, followed by UBA, with N502 billion.
The third on the list was GTB with N433 billion while Access Bank followed with N294 billion and First Bank posted N270.333 billion.
Tier-2 Banks also significantly increased profit during the nine months of 2023. The highest in this category was Stanbic IBTC with N129.458 billion followed by Fidelity Bank with N110.992 billion.
Also, Wema Bank reported N22 billion and Sterling Bank reported N17.803 billion.
Jaiz Bank also made N6.679 billion for the period.
Explaining why major Nigerian banks were not affected by FX losses, Olumide Adesina, a financial analyst said:
“Banks' major FX were in assets not liabilities because they had a net long position and benefited hugely from the revaluation of the naira”
It could be recalled that the CBN in an earlier report directed banks to keep profit made from forex to hedge against future loss.
The statement highlighted that banks must act with utmost caution and set aside the profits from the FCY revaluation as a counter-cyclical buffer to absorb any future negative changes in the FX rate.
Zenith Leads, GTB Follows: 10 Banks Deposit Over N150bn in Taxes to Government Account
Legit.ng reported that ten commercial banks operating in the country have contributed over N155 billion in income tax payments to the coffers of the Federal Government of Nigeria for 2022.
The amount marks a significant increase of 33.50% from the N116.54 billion paid by the banks during the previous fiscal year, as reported by their financial statements submitted to the Nigerian exchange.
The 10 banks that made the list include Zenith Bank, GTCO, UBA, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, FCMB, Fidelity Bank, Sterling Bank, Wema Bank, Unity Bank, and Jaiz Bank.
Source: Legit.ng
