Business
Nigeria’s top four banks record N4.3trn profit in 2024
...as UBA, Zenith, FBN splash shareholders with bumper dividends
Four of Nigeria’s FUGAZ banks that have so far released their full-year results for 2024, First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Guaranteed Trust Bank (GTBank) and Zenith Bank Plc, had a great financial year, notching their most profitable year ever.
According to Business Hallmark’s analysis of the banks financial statements submitted to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the four banks raked in a combined N4.257 trillion revenue in 2024.
This figure represents about 89.9 per cent increase, compared with the total of N2.519 trillion combined profit before tax generated by the banks in the twelve months of 2023.
Standalone analysis of the banks financial reports showed that Zenith Bank recorded the highest profit before tax of N1.32 trillion in 2024, compared with the N795.96 billion it earned in 2023. Net profit also crossed the trillion naira mark from N676.9 billion to N1.03 trillion after tax deductions.
Following closely on Zenith Bank’s heels is GTBank, which recorded profit before tax of N1.27 trillion in 2024, compared with N609.3 billion it realized in 2023. Net profit almost doubled to N1.02 trillion from N539.66 billion realized in 2023.
In third position is First Bank of Nigeria. According to its approved financial report, the bank more than doubled its profit before tax from N356.15 billion in 2023 to N862.39 billion in 2024. Meanwhile, profit after tax jumped from N308.4 billion to N736.7 billion in 2024.
In the same vein, UBA recorded a pre-tax profit of N803.72 billion in 2024, against the N757.68 billion revenue it earned in 2023. The bank’s net profit, meanwhile, climbed from N607.7 billion to N766.6 billion in 2024 after taxes were deducted.
Asset Performance
Apart from recording massive surge in profitability, the four banks under review also showed impressive growths in assets.
The four banks combined total assets at the end of 2024, BH findings showed, climbed from N67.6 trillion in 2023 to N101.06 trillion in 2024.
For instance, the bank with the largest asset base as at December 2023, UBA, grew its assets from N20.6 trillion in twelve months to N30 trillion at the end of 2024.
Zenith Bank also expanded it total assets from N20.4 trillion in 2023 to N29.96 trillion in 2024
In the same vein, FBN’s grew its assets from N16.9 trillion in 2023 to N26.5 trillion in 2024, while GTBank’s total assets ballooned from N9.7 trillion in 2023 to N14.8 trillion in 2024.
Owing to the banks impressive financial showings, their boards of directors have recommended higher dividend payouts for shareholders who will be smiling home with good returns on their investments.
Shareholders’ Smile
Leading the pack is GTBank with a proposed final dividend of N7.03 per share which will be paid electronically on Thursday, April 24, 2025. This brings the total dividend for the 2024 financial year to N8.03 per share, after the initial dividend of N1, representing 151 per cent increase compared to the N3.20 per share paid out to shareholders in 2023.
Shareholders of Zenith Bank will also be smiling to their banks as the bank’s directors have proposed a final dividend of N4 per share in. This brings the total payout for 2024 to N5 per share, after adding the interim dividend of N1 per share earlier paid out to shareholders.
In the same vein, UBA investors will be getting a bumper dividend of N3 on every share they owned in the bank. Added to the interim dividend of N2 per share earlier paid-up, total dividend per share to be paid out for the 2024 financial year comes to N5.
The fourth bank, FBN Holding Plc, is yet to announce its final dividends payout for the year ended 2024, neither did it pay interim dividend in 2024
However, checks revealed that FBN Holdings paid a dividend of 40 kobo per 50 kobo ordinary share, totaling N14,358,117,116.40 to registered shareholders in FY 2023.
The fifth financial institution in the league of FUGAZ banks, Access Bank of Nigeria (ABN), which is yet to release its full-year financials, is also expected to declare an impressive result.
While speaking on the banks performance in its filing to the NGX, GTCO stated that its strong financial performance underscores the resilience of its business model and ability to create sustainable value for shareholders.
Also expressing excitement with his bank’s 2024 financial performance, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of UBA, Oliver Alawuba, said the feat demonstrates the bank’s continued focus on driving earnings growth, preserving asset quality, expanding business operations and deepening market share.
“Our continued investment in our highly diversified global network allows UBA to deliver high quality, consistent earnings.
“Our businesses have been able to grow product and service income and expand our deposit base, allowing the group to increase earnings while maintaining strong spreads and margins.
“With total deposit increasing by 42.03 per cent from N17.4 trillion in 2023 to N24.7 trillion and total assets hitting N30.4 trillion from N20.7 trillion, the just released results reflect broad-based growth across all core businesses and were achieved despite prevailing macroeconomic challenges, geopolitical uncertainties, and exchange rate volatility,” Alawuba noted.
In the same vein, Zenith Bank’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Adaora Umeoji, said the performance of the bank underscores its commitment to innovation, financial inclusion, and customer-centric solutions.
“We remain dedicated to enhancing service delivery and creating sustainable value for our stakeholders”, she assured.
High Interest/Forex
Meanwhile, BH findings showed that apart from the huge boost received from expansions across business segments, the banks impressive showing was aided by growth in lending and customers’ deposits largely driven by interest rate hikes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as well as foreign exchange revaluation gains, which ballooned their bottom lines in the period under review.
Banks, it would be recalled, had leveraged on the interest rate hikes by the CBN to drive revenue from loans and advances to customers, as well as interest from government securities, such as bonds and treasury bills.
Some financial experts, who spoke with BH on the development, lamented that the major driver of the impressive performance of the banking sector has been the services sector, where banks concentrate, instead of the real sector like agriculture and manufacturing industries that will drive real growth and development.
In his reaction, seasoned investment banker, Tosin Oluyoko, said banks have been making profits on the back of a bleeding economy.
“The profits declared by Nigerian banks are a clear indication that the financial sector is thriving, but at what cost?
“As Nigeria’s economy struggles to stay afloat with millions of citizens drowning in a sea of poverty and inflation, the financial sector seems to be swimming in a tide of prosperity with its 2024 full-year financial statements, a jarring contrast to the harsh realities on the ground…
“The massive figure is not limited to the Tier 1 banks; other banks have also released a mind-blowing figure that leaves Nigerians questioning how and where this bank’s income is coming from.
“A closer review of these financials shows that a significant amount of the declared profit is from investment in government and Central Bank monetary instruments, with little coming from the core banking activities. Only UBA reported a substantial contribution from its African subsidiaries.
“The high lending rates imposed by Nigerian banks have made it difficult for individuals and businesses to access credit, thereby stifling economic growth. The various charges and commissions levied by these banks have also added to Nigerians’ financial burden.
“Ironically, Nigerian banks are making huge profits from the suffering of Nigerians. It is time for the government to intervene and ensure that the banks’ huge earnings are not made at the expense of the Nigerian government and the people”, Oluyoko noted.
