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GTBank Sustains Growth Momentum
With profit after tax of N142 billion, total assets of N4.6 trillion and shareholders’ funds of N755.5 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc has recorded an impressive performance, writes Goddy Egene
Shareholders of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc heaved a big sigh of relief last week after the bank announced its nine months results ended September 31, 2020. The bank reported a performance that was commendable considering the operating environment that prevailed in the review period.
The economy has suffered from the COVID-19 induced lockdown and companies operating are expected to feel the negative impact. Hence, there were apprehension over what the financial results of listed companies, including banks, would look like at the end of third quarter (Q3).
However, GTBank reported a resilient results, showing growth in most performance metrics. The bank recorded a net income of N188 billion, up from N173 billion in the corresponding period of 2019. Net fee income stood at N33 billion, compared with N47 billion in 2019. Loan impairment charges soared by 267 per cent from N2.762 billion to N10.145 billion in 2020.
GTBank ended the nine months with a profit before tax (PBT) of N167.352 billion as against N170.652 billion in 2019, and profit after tax of N142.283 billion compared with N146.989 billion in 2019.
GTBank’s balance sheet remained well structured, diversified and resilient with total assets and shareholders’funds printing at N4.574 trillion and N755.5 billion respectively. Full impact capital adequacy ratio (CAR) remained very strong, closing at 23.9 per cent. Similarly, asset quality was sustained as non-performing loan(NPL) ratio and cost of risk (COR)closed at 6.5 per cent and 0.6 per cent in September 2020 from 6.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent in December 2019 respectively.
In all, GTBank Plc continues boast of the best performing indicators in terms of all financial ratios including: post-tax return on equity (ROAE) of 26.3 per cent, post-tax return on assets (ROAA) of 4.6 per cent, and cost to income ratio of 40.2 per cent.
Commenting on the performance, the Managing Director/CEO of GTBank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said: “Our third quarter (Q3) result is a reflection of how we have appropriately positioned our balance sheet to cope with current economic realities and the challenging business environment. It is also testament to the enduring loyalty of our customers, the hard work and dedication of our staff and the unwavering support we continue to enjoy from all our stakeholders in our drive to deliver best-in-class financial services and superior and sustainable returns.”
According to him, as an organisation, “we will continue to build on our commitment to enriching lives by leveraging our digital-first customer-centric strategy to improve customer experience and maintain a high standard in service delivery, and going beyond banking to create and drive innovative financial solutions that add value to our customers in all aspects of their lives.”
Assessing the results, analysts at FBNQuest Research said GTBank’s 9M PBT of N167bn implies that the bank will have to deliver Q4 PBT of N68 billion to meet its full year guidance of N235 billion.
“While this is not impossible, we believe that it would be a stretch given the prevailing macroeconomic and low yield environment. Management was unwilling to revise its guidance on its Q2 2020 conference call. As such, it appears the bank’s current run-rate is more in line with our N229 billion full year PBT forecast. Further down the profit and loss (P&L), PAT missed by 12 per cent, largely because of a negative result of -N4.4 billion in other comprehensive income (OCI). Despite this, the bank’s PAT still implies a healthy annualised ROAE of 28.9 per cent, ahead of its full year ROAE guidance of over 25 per cent. We expect a neutral reaction from the market following the limited surprises on the results,” they said.
Speaking only on the third quarter(Q3) result, FBNQuest said Q3 PBT grew five per cent to N57.6 billion on the back of six per cent increase in pre-provision profit and two per cent reduction in operations expenses(opex). Pre-provision profit growth was driven by 10 per cent increase in funding income, thanks to a sharp reduction in interest expense.
In bid to sustain its impressive performance and deliver returns to shareholders, the bank is proposing to diversify into payment service banking (PSB), asset management business and pension administration among others. This the bank hopes to achieve through the adoption of a holding company (HoldCo) structure.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has given the bank an approval-in-principle to commence the transform into HoldCo structure. According to the bank, reorganisation is expected to be implemented by means of a scheme of arrangement with its shareholders pursuant to the Companies and Allied Matters Act.
Agbaje explained that the competitive landscape as it were for the non-core banking businesses didn’t warrant the bank retaining the subsidiaries and pushing it into adopting the HoldCo model.
He said: “We got our universal banking license in 2001. But you will remember that when the financial crisis happened, universal banking license was cancelled and the CBN decided that you either stay as a bank, or you went into a holding company structure.
“At the time, because the competitive landscape was very different from what it is today, we decided that we were going to focus on our banking business, and it was the right decision for us then. Because we went from number seven in profit to number one, some years, we have been number two, but basically, we have been number one most of the years.”
The MD/CEO said while it was the right decision to take at that time, he added that the competitive landscape today has necessitated diversifying the banking earnings, hence, the decision to go the HoldCo way.
“When you look at what is happening to banking, or you look at what I’ve been describing to you, and the people who are basically looking to take banking income, it is time to diversify our earnings. The only way you can legally diversify your earnings in Nigeria today is going into a holding company structure, because as a pure bank, you cannot do more than banking,” he said.
According to Agbaje, the bank proposes to diversify into payment service banking (PSB), asset management business and pension fund administration (PFA). He explained that this diversification would not distract its core banking business.
It envisages to go greenfield with the PSB while seeking to acquire an asset management company and a PFA. Nevertheless, if acquiring these companies are expensive, the bank has the option of going Greenfield with them. And for now, is not looking the way of insurance business, even though it is not foreclosing the idea of operating the business in the future.
Agbaje stressed that poised to take advantage of opportunities inherent in the HoldCo arrangement, GTBank has therefore looked at some sectors that “create great synergies for it to create great opportunities.”
“We looked at some sectors, which we think today create great synergies for us and create great opportunities. The first one is payments. We love the payment landscape, you can see what is happening with FinTechs, we think we should compete with the FinTechs, we think we should grow the business, and that it is definitely a business for the future. And so it’s a place we would like to play to diversify the earnings base of the bank. We like asset management. The reason we like asset management is that it complements our business, we’ve grown a very good retail business today. Sometimes when people want a higher yield, then we lose that money to other institutions. But, we will create our own asset management company so that when the retail money looking for yield leaves us, it goes to someone that is in our ecosystem, and we consolidated profit and loss. A system where you can do payments, you can do asset management, once you come into your bank ecosystem is what we are beginning to build,” he said.
Talking on the PFA, Agbaje said the PFA business is continuing to grow. Hence the need to focus on it and benefit from it.
“And essentially what we are trying to do is do as much as we can for the customer base that we have. And we think that this is a good place to start and that this will diversify our earnings base and create value. The go to market plan for this is very simple. I have started to tell you about the first one, which is the diversifying to what we think of complementary businesses and services, payments, asset management, and PFA for today, there might be other businesses, the people like the one I always hear about is insurance. But I think that if we are going to be dominant in the businesses that we have picked, it is better we focus and we stop with those. And then maybe one day down the road if we’re very successful with everything else, we can look at insurance. We are also going to face our core banking business we are never going to let that drop because GTBank Nigeria continues to be the mother ship for us, and apart from our corporate business which is very strong, which will continue to hold, we will make sure that we continue to deepen our retail and SME business,” he said.
Zenith Bank Plc has released its unaudited financial results for the nine months ended 30 September 2025, with a remarkable 16% year-on-year growth in gross earnings from N2.9 trillion recorded in Q3 2024 to N3.4 trillion in Q3 2025. The Group’s performance continues to demonstrate resilience, strong momentum, disciplined execution and an ability to deliver long-term shareholder value in spite of challenging macroeconomic environment.According to the financial results presented to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the growth in gross earnings was driven by a sustained growth in interest income which grew by 41% year-on-year to N2.7 trillion. The growth in interest income was supported by a high-yield rate environment and an expansion in the Bank’s investment portfolio. Despite the increase in interest expense by 22% to N814 billion on the back of a tightening monetary cycle and a growth in the Bank’s funding base, the Bank was able to achieve a healthy Net Interest Margin (NIM) of 12% as against 10% in September 2024. Non-interest income declined by 38% to N535 billion, underpinned by a 60% decline in trading gains.Profitability remained strong, with profit before tax at N917 billion as against N1.00 trillion reported in September 2024. Profit after tax also declined by 8% to N764 billion and Earnings Per Share (EPS) came in at N18.60 as against N26.34 in September 2024, as the Bank took bold measures to improve the quality of its loan portfolio.The Bank’s total assets grew by 4% from N30 trillion in December 2024 to N31 trillion as at September 2025. This was largely supported by customer deposits, which rose by 8% to N23.7 trillion within the same period. Gross loans declined by 9% to N10 trillion as at September 2025, while Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio improved to 3% due to the write-off of non-performing loans.Return on Average Equity (ROAE) and Return on Average Assets (ROAA) stood at 23.3% and 3.3% respectively. Cost of funds increased to 4.5%, underscored by the broader elevated interest rate environment. The Group’s cost of risk stood at 10% while cost-to-income ratio rose to 45%.Coverage ratio and liquidity ratio remain solid and well within regulatory limits at 211.1% and 53% respectively. This highlights the Bank’s strong capital position and liquidity profile as well as its ability to fund strategic growth opportunities. It also reflects its unwavering commitment to a prudent risk management, compliance and corporate governance culture. Commenting on the results, the Group Managing Director/CEO, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON, said: “the Bank’s robust performance is an attestation to the resilience of the Zenith brand, result-driven strategy, and the adaptability of our people in an evolving operating environment. We have fortified our capital base, reset our asset quality, and are well positioned for sustainable and profitable growth”.Looking to Q4 2025, Dame Dr. Umeoji reinforced her optimistic outlook: “This result confirms the resilience of both our business model and our people. We’re on a solid growth path that we expect to maintain through the remainder of the year. Our focus on innovation, digital transformation, and developing solutions that address our clients’ changing needs positions us to capitalise on emerging .
opportunities whilst maintaining our disciplined approach to growth.” She assured shareholders that the robust performance, combined with improved asset quality and the Bank’s strong capital base, positions Zenith Bank to deliver exceptional returns with expectations of sustained value creation. “We’re well placed to sustain this momentum whilst maintaining responsible leadership in the Nigerian banking industry and delivering exceptional value to all our stakeholders.”The Bank’s track record of excellent performance has continued to earn the brand numerous awards, including being recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for the sixteenth consecutive year in the 2025 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking, published by The Banker and “Nigeria’s Best Bank” at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025. The Bank was also awarded Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards for 2020, 2022 and 2024; Best Bank in Nigeria from 2020 to 2022, 2024 and 2025, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best Bank for Digital Solutions in Nigeria in the Euromoney Awards 2023; and was listed in the World Finance Top 100 Global Companies in 2023.Further recognitions include Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria for five consecutive years from 2021 to 2025 in the World Finance Banking Awards and Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria in the International Banker 2023 and 2024 Banking Awards. Additionally, Zenith Bank has been acknowledged as the Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria, in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards for four consecutive years from 2022 to 2025 and ‘Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023 by the Ethical Boardroom.The Bank’s commitment to excellence led to Zenith being also being named the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in The Banker’s Top 500 Banking Brands for 2020 and 2021, Bank of the Year 2023 to 2025 at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, and Retail Bank of the Year for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022 and 2024 to 2025. The Bank also received the accolades of Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation in Retail Banking, Nigeria, in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards, Bank of the Year 2024 by ThisDay Newspaper; Bank of the Year 2024 by New Telegraph Newspaper; and Best in MSME Trade Finance, 2023 by Nairametrics. The Bank’s Hybrid Offer was also adjudged ‘Rights Issue/ Public Offer of the Year at the Nairametrics Capital Market Choice Awards 2025.Zenith Bank has also bagged several non-financial awards including, Most Responsible Organisation in Africa, Best Company in Transparency and Reporting and Best Company in Gender Equality and Women Empowerment at the SERAS CSR Awards Africa 2024.
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Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (“GTCO” or “the Group”) has released its Unaudited Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements as of September 30, 2025, to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and London Stock Exchange (LSE)
The Group posted profit before tax of ₦900.8billion on the back of strong performance on the core earnings lines of interest income and fee income which grew y-o-y by 25.6% and 16.8% respectively. The strong core-earning performance continued to narrow the y-o-y dip in PBT to 26%, thereby cushioning the impact of the ₦523.2bn fair value gains recognised in Q3-2024, which did not recur in Q3-2025.
The Group recorded growths across all its Asset lines and continues to maintain a well-structured, healthy liquid and diversified balance sheet in all the jurisdictions wherein it operates a Banking franchise, as well as across its Payments, Pension and Funds Management business verticals.
Group’s total assets and shareholders’ funds closed at ₦16.7trillion and ₦3.3trillion, respectively. Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very robust and strong, closing at 36.5%, likewise asset quality improved as evidenced by IFRS 9 Stage 3 Loans which closed at 3.3% and 4.4% % at Bank and Group level in Q3-2025 (Bank 3.5%, Group 5.2% in December 2024). Cost of Risk (COR) also improved to 2.2% from 4.9% in December 2024. In specific terms, the Group’s loan book (net) grew by 16.5% from ₦2.79trillion as of December 2024 to ₦3.24trillion in September 2025. Similarly, deposit liabilities grew by 16.0% from ₦10.40trillion to ₦12.06trillion during the same period.
Commenting on the results, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said: “Our third quarter performance underscores the consistency and resilience of our business model, as well as the continued strength of our diversified financial services ecosystem. We are seeing steady, sustainable growth across our banking and non-banking businesses, supported by disciplined execution and a strong focus on operational efficiency. The improvements we have made to our digital and payments infrastructure are enhancing customer experience, deepening engagement, and driving greater integration across our ecosystem.”
He further stated: “Looking ahead, our focus remains on advancing our competitive edge through innovation, operational excellence, and a commitment to superior customer outcomes. With a clear growth trajectory and strong organizational alignment, we are well-positioned to sustain performance momentum and deliver another year of industry-leading results.”
Overall, the Group continues to post one of the best metrics in the Nigerian Financial Services Industry in terms of key financial ratios i.e., Pre-Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) of 39.5%, Pre-Tax Return on Assets (ROAA) of 7.6%, Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 36.5% and Cost to Income ratio of 28.8%.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc is a leading financial services group with operations across Africa and the United Kingdom. Renowned for its strong corporate governance, innovative financial solutions, and customer-centric approach, GTCO Plc provides a wide range of banking and non-banking services including payments, funds management, and pension fund administration. The Group is committed to delivering long-term value to stakeholders while driving growth and development across its markets
Access Holdings Plc (“the Group” or “the Company”) today announced its half-year audited financial results for the period ended June 30, 2025.The Group’s financial results for the half year ended June 30, 2025, reflect the resilience of our business model, the diversification of our revenue streams, and the steady progress to the execution of our five-year strategic plan. Gross earnings increased by 13.8% year-on-year to 2.5 trillion in H1 2025 from 2.2₦ ₦ trillion in H1 2024, driven by strong growth in interest income which increased by 38.9% year-on-year to 2.0 trillion from 1.5 billion in H1 2024. Net interest income also increased by 91.8% year-on-year to 984.6 billion in H1 2025 from 513.4 billion in H1 2024. Complementing this performance was a growth in net fees and commission income, which increased by 16.1% year-on-year to 237.7billion in H1 2025 from 204.7 billion in H1 2024. Profit before tax (PBT) and profit after tax (PAT) closed at 320.6 billion and 215.9 billion respectively underscoring the strength and resilience of our business model in the markets we operate in. Key balance sheet indicators remain strong with total assets, customer deposits, loans and advances, and shareholders’ equity closing at 42.4 trillion, 22.9 trillion, 13.2 trillion 3.8 trillion respectively. The Banking group demonstrated resilient performance in H1 2025. Interest income grew by 38.7% year-on-year to 2.0 trillion in H1 2025 from 1.5 trillion in H1 2024. Net interest income increased by 85%, from 536.7 billion in H1 2024 to 992.7 billion in H1 2025. Fee and commission income increased by 27% to 294.9 in H1 2025 from 232.5 billion in H1 2024 driven by increased transaction volumes. Profit before tax (PBT) and profit after tax (PAT) closed at 303.0 billion and 199.3 billion respectively. Banking group subsidiaries contributed 65% to the Banking group’s profit before tax (PBT) in H1 2025. This result highlights our journey towards sustainable performance and execution across our key African and international markets. The Group’s non-banking subsidiaries maintained a strong growth momentum. For Access – ARM Pensions, financial performance was robust, with revenue up 29.9% to 21.0 billion and profit before tax up 65.1% to 13.1 billion. The business delivered a₦ ₦
www.accessbankplc.com solid ROAE of 48.1%, a cost-to-income ratio of 35.1%, and a PBT margin of 62.5%, underscoring strong operational efficiency and profitability. Hydrogen Payments recorded a 40.5% growth in top-line revenue compared to H1 2024. Profit before tax (PBT) grew by 273% year-on-year. The total transaction value processed increased by 211%, reaching 41.1 trillion in H1 2025, up from 13.8 trillion in H1 2024. Access Insurance Brokers has sustained strong momentum, recording a 125% year-on-year increase in gross written premium, 146% growth in revenue, and a 161% improvement in profit before tax (PBT). Oxygen X, the Group’s digital lending arm, has sustained strong momentum since launch in Q3 2024, delivering 5.4 billion in revenue and 2.2 billion in profit before tax in H1 2025. Access Holdings’ businesses are well-positioned to deepen market penetration, expand product offerings, and leverage cross-sell opportunities across the Group to drive continued growth and profitability. The group’s focus remains on driving prudent growth and continued execution of its strategic priorities, scaling its digital and transaction-led income streams, increasing revenue diversification, embedding efficiency, innovation, and disciplined portfolio management across all areas of the business. It will also continue to uphold the highest standards of risk and governance discipline to ensure sustainable profitability.Access Holdings remains confident that it will continue to deliver sustainable value and returns to its shareholders. Its long-term objective is to build a stronger, more agile Group that consistently delivers superior returns, fosters innovation-driven growth, and optimises portfolio performance to create inclusive value across its markets while reaffirming investor confidence in the strength and future of Access Holdings. The Group appreciates the continued trust and support of its shareholders, customers, and employees. Together, the Group is building a stronger future.
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