Mid-Cap: FTSE Russell lists Wema Bank, nine others in frontier index series
Following the recent reclassification of Nigeria from “Unclassified” to “Frontier Market” status, FTSE Russell has listed Wema Bank Plc, nine others to its mid-capitalised Nigerian companies into its FTSE Frontier Index Series.
Other companies in the mid-capitalised categories are: Access Holdings Plc , Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, FCMB Group Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Oando Plc, Okomu Oil Palm Plc, Unilever Nigeria Plc, and United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA).
Nigeria is preparing to return to Frontier Market status on September 21, 2026 after a three-year absence from the global index provider’s classification.
The 10 listed mid-capitalised companies have seen a massive rally on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), driven by impressive corporate earrings, among others.
Wema Bank, joined two others listed companies so far in eight months of 2026 with an average return above 40 per cent. The stock price of Unilever Nigeria led the chart with 58.3 per cent average return in eight months of 2026, followed by Access Holdings with an average return of 52.9 per cent as of eight months of 2026.
In addition, Wema Bank gained 42.1 per cent when its stock price opened for trading this year at N20.40 per share and closed August 2026 at N29.00 per share.
Impressive corporate earnings, N200 billion recapitalisation changing the growth story, digital banking & low-cost deposits, Improving asset quality were key contributions to Wema Bank’s soar in stock price.
Wema Bank’ for unaudited half year (H1) ended June 30, 2026 declared profit before tax of N154.5 billion ,about 53.65 per cent increase from N100.6billion in half year ended Jun 30, 2025, while profit after tax closed at N131.3 billion in H1 2026, up by157 per cent from N87.5 billion in H1 2025. The H1 2026 performance, however, reinforced the view that the one of Nigeria’s oldest financial institutions has moved into a new phase of earnings expansion.
