GTCO, UBA, five other banks report N1.27trn profit after tax in Q1 2026
A total of seven Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) commenced this year on a positive momentum, generating an estimated N1.27 trillion profit after tax in the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2026 amid domestic and global uncertainties.
From the Q1 2026 unaudited financial statements of the remaining seven DMBs: Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Access Holdings Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Wema Bank Plc, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc—show that the profit after tax grew by 1,8 per cent when compared to N1.25 trillion reported in Q1 2025. nine DMBs leveraged on interest income earned from investing in high yield government securities, interest income from loans & advances to customers , foreign currency trading, among others to drive profit.
In Q1 2026, these DMBs were faced with a range of challenges stemming from both internal economic factors and global financial trends.
Notable challenges include: double-digit inflation, digital transformation and cybersecurity threats, and competition from Fintech and Mobile Money Operators (MMO).
In the period under review, Zenith Bank, followed by GTCO maintained their position as the most profitable DMBs operating within Nigeria, Sub Saharan African countries and across the globe. Wema Bank saw its PBT grow significantly in the period under review.
Zenith Bank recorded N360.92 billion in Q1 2026, about 2.88per cent increase over N350.82 billion in Q1 2025, while GTCO posted N302.89 billion profit before tax in Q1 2026, up by 0.9 per cent from N300.3billion in Q1 2025.
Zenith Bank, however, reported a growth of per cent in profit after tax to N314.02 billion in Q1 2026, reflecting stable earnings despite rising loan impairments and cost pressures.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of GTCO, Mr. Segun Agbaje, in a statement said: “Our Q1 2026 results mark a defining shift in the quality and composition of our earnings, with strong underlying performance across our core banking operations and increasing contribution from our ecosystem businesses.
“Building on the momentum from prior periods, we delivered solid growth across our core income lines, supported by disciplined execution and a well-diversified, strong, and healthy balance sheet.
He further added: “Our focus remains on driving sustainable earnings by deepening customer relationships, rapidly scaling our ecosystem businesses, and deploying technology to deliver simpler, faster, and more intuitive financial solutions.
“We see significant headroom across payments, wealth management, and banking, both in Nigeria and across our West and East African markets, and we are deliberately positioning the Group to capture these opportunities while sustaining strong, long-term value creation.”
As Access Holdings reported N272.21 billion profit before tax in Q1 2026, an increase of 22.2 per cent from N222.78 billion in Q1 2025, ETI posted N270.24 billion profit before tax in Q1 2026, representing an increase of 1.1 per cent from N267.3 billion in Q1 2025.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings announced N165.4 billion profit before tax in Q1 2026, up by 42per cent from N116.42 billion in Q1 2025, as UBA declared N160.7 billion profit before tax in Q1 2026 from N204.3billion reported in Q1 2025.
In addition, Wema Bank posted N72.6 billion profit before tax in 2026, about 41.2 per cent increase over N41.2 billion reported in Q1 2025.
