Nigerian Bank Reportedly Raises Salaries of Over 3,000 Staff
- Guaranty Trust Bank has reportedly raised the wages of its employees by 40% amid a platform upgrade
- The bank quietly raised the salaries as Nigerian workers battle unprecedentedly high living costs
- An employee of the bank reportedly said that he now earns about N720,000 after the raise
CHECK OUT: Education is Your Right! Don’t Let Social Norms Hold You Back. Learn Online with LEGIT. Enroll Now!
Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
Guaranty Trust Bank, one of Nigeria’s top deposit money banks, quietly increased staff salaries by 40% in September 2024 amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Four bank employees reportedly disclosed that no prior communication before the raise. However, there were expectations among the bank's staff.
Source: UGC
GTBank maintains lowest staff costs
TechCabal said that one of the employees, an assistant banking officer who now earns N720,000, disclosed that the position is just one level above the entry-level in the bank’s employee structure.
According to reports, GTBank has one of the lowest cost-to-ratio among Nigeria’s tier-1 banks and has spent N0.25 to earn N1 in 2023, maintaining its stance as Nigeria’s most profitable Tier-1 bank.
The report said the salary raise will not affect the bank’s standing among the top-tier banks, as it now spends N0.26 to make N1.
It also said that last year, GTBank spent N45.1 billion on salaries, three times lower than other tier-1 banks.
Despite increasing salaries by almost half, GTBank's total personnel cost is N63.1 billion, the cheapest among tier-1 banks.
The bank reportedly doubled the salaries of its tech workers in 2022 when several employees left for other banks and countries.
Over 3,000 employees affected
The team still earns more than other employees in other divisions, with the assistant banking officer earning about N1 million monthly.
The recent rise affected about 3,300 of the bank’s employees, a departure from prior practice by other banks.
GTBank completes migration to another platform
Legit.ng reported that the development comes as the bank announced that its digital banking channels are back online following a system upgrade.
In a statement released on X, the bank reassured customers that all branches across Nigeria are also now operational and ready to serve.
GTBank transitioned to a new and robust Finacle Core Banking Application Systems suite.
The transition affected customer electronic banking services and continued even after its completion.
However, it has assured that the system upgrade is complete and all digital services are back online.
Banks notify customers
Meanwhile, a previous report by Legit.ng said commercial banks’ tech upgrades in the past few weeks had caused serious customer concerns, panicking bank customers in rural areas.
The situation was set to worsen if not for prompt action by the financial institutions as more banks announced that they would be upgrading their technology infrastructure in the coming weeks.
Zenith Bank apologises to customers
According to reports, Sterling Bank customers tasted the bitter pill of frustration after the bank began migrating its systems from T24 to SEABaaS, a new locally-developed core banking application, causing disruptions that lasted for days.
Zenith Bank stated on October 1, 2024, that it was undertaking routine maintenance on its IT infrastructure to improve service quality.
Media sources disclosed that the tier-1 bank migrated its core banking platform from Phoenix to Oracle’s Flexcube, thereby shutting out many customers as the operations lasted several days.
Access Bank announced on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, that it will upgrade its systems from Saturday, October 12, to Sunday, October 13, 2024.
It stated that its mobile application, Internet Banking Platform, and ATMs will experience temporary service disruptions.
It directed its customers to use alternative platforms like SMS-based for transactions.
The bank later apologised for the inconvenience it caused its customers.
BusinessDay reports that the Zenith Bank downtime affected Nigerians' salary payments as it extended for days.
List of Nigeria's most profitable banks in 2024
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigerian financial institutions recorded impressive numbers despite the challenging economy in the first half of 2024.
Analysis by Legit.ng showed that the total profit after tax (PAT) of the 11 banks listed on the Nigerian Exchange increased by 68.21% year-on-year, from N1.67 trillion in H1 2023 to N2.82 trillion in H1 2024.
Fitch Ratings explained that Nigerian banks' strong performance is due to the sharp devaluation of the official exchange rate, which has led to significant FX revaluation gains.
Proofreading by James Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!
Source: Legit.ng
