6 Nigerian Banks With Highest Profit in First 9 Months of 2024, Zenith Leads

• About six commercial banks in Nigeria have recorded a combined pre-tax profit of N4.15 trillion in the first nine months of 2024
• Zenith Bank, Access Bank, GTBank, Econbank Transnational Incorporate and UBA led the banks
• The massive profits came amid solid economic and inflationary headwinds in Nigeria in the period under review

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, Access Holdings, UBA, FBN Holdings, and Econbank have generated an estimated N4.15 trillion pre-tax profit in the first nine months of 2024.

The amount is about a 110.4% increase relative to their combined N1.97 trillion pre-tax profit generated in the same period in 2023.

Nigerian banks face substantial challenges in 2024

The data is from the banks’ nine months of unaudited financials released on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

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After a cumulative income tax of N789.88 billion in the first nine months, the banks generated about N3.91 trillion in profit after tax in the nine months of this year, representing 104% compared to the N1.92 trillion reported in the same period in 2023.

However, commercial banks face various challenges from domestic, economic and global financial headwinds.

ThisDay reports that the challenges include currency volatility and FX shortages, high inflation, rising interest rates, and the strict monetary policy imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Others include digital transformation, cybersecurity threats and competition from fintech and mobile money operators.

Top banks with pre-tax profit

The banks leveraged the CBN's interest rate hike to drive interest income from loans and advances to customers and interest from government securities.

The financial institutions faced power and infrastructure challenges, talent acquisition/retention, and other factors.

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A previous report by Legit.ng showed that GTBank and Zenith Bank emerged as the only financial institutions with over N1 trillion pre-tax profit in nine months.

According to the report, GTBank declared a pre-tax profit of 185.5%, an increase of over N433.2 billion generated in nine months of this year, while Zenith Bank's pre-tax profit hit N1 trillion in nine months of this year, representing a 99% increase from N505.04 billion reported in nine months of last year.

Ecobank recorded a pre-tax profit of N798.54 billion before tax in the period under review, representing a growth of 170% from N262.17 billion in the nine months under review from N267.88 billion recorded in 2024.

UBA recorded a pre-tax profit of N603.48 billion in the first nine months of 2024, from the N502.09 billion recorded in 2023, representing a 20.2% increase.

Access Bank recorded a pre-tax profit of N558.18 billion in 2024, almost 90% growth from the N294.42 billion recorded in the same period in 2023.

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First Bank records massive N2.25 trillion gross earnings

Legit.ng previously reported that FBN Holdings Plc's gross earnings increased 134% to N2.2 trillion at the end of September 2024 relative to N962.40bn recorded for the same period in 2023.

The earnings were disclosed in the bank’s unaudited result in the first nine months of 2024, filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Wednesday, October 30, 2024.

The holding company’s revenue improved due to the 164.6% growth in interest income, which was N1,63 trillion from N617.1 billion as of September 2023.

Source: Legit.ng