Six Tier-1 banks generate N169.1trn total assets

With the growth in loans and deposits from customers, Ecobank, and five other Tier-1 banks generated N169.1 trillion in total assets as of June 30, 2024, about 40.57per cent increase from N120.3trillion reported in 2023 financial year.

The remaining Tier-1 banks are:  Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), FBN Holdings Plc, Zenith bank Plc and Access Holdings Plc.

In the period under review, Ecobank led other Tier-1 banks in total assets, followed by Access Holding and UBA.

These Tier-1 financial institutions have shown resilience and soundness in growing balance sheets amid challenges in Africa countries where they operate.

Ecobank’s total assets hits N38.6 trillion as of June 30, 2024, about 49 per cent increase from N25.92 trillion reported in 2023 financial year.

Access Holdings reported N36.6 trillion total assets as of June 2024, a growth 37 per cent from N26.7 trillion in 2023, while UBA declared N28.34 trillion in total assets as of June 2024, representing an increase of 37.2 per cent from N20.65 trillion declared in 2023 financial year.

In terms of deposits and loans to customers, Ecobank also dominated the charts, attributable to the financial institution expansion across the continent.

Ecobank as of June 2024 generated N28.26 trillion deposits from customers, about 48.6 per cent increase from N19.01 trillion reported in 2023 financial year, while loans to customers stood at N14.35 trillion as of June 30, 2024, a growth of 43 per cent from N10.03 trillion reported in 2023.

Ecobank was followed by Access Holdings with a customer deposits that  increased by 31.3per cent, from N15.3 trillion in 2023 to N20.1 trillion by half year 2024, a gross loans and advances also saw an increase of 37.6per cent, growing from N8.9 trillion in 2023 to N12.3 trillion by half year 2024, from organic loan growth and the impact of foreign currency-denominated loans.

The pan-African financial institution said it has demonstrated strong performance across all key balance sheet indicators and continues to maintain a well-structured, healthy, and diversified financial position.

“This is evident in the resilient half year results from the banking franchise operating in twenty-two markets across four continents and the non-banking subsidiaries including Access Pensions, Hydrogen Payments, and Access Insurance Brokers,” the management of Access Holdings said in a statement.

Coming close to Access Holdings is UBA with about N20.09 trillion deposits from customers as of June 2024, a growth of 35per cent from N14.89trillion posted in 2023.

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, UBA, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, in a statement said, “UBA Group has continued to deliver strong double-digit growth in high quality and sustainable banking revenue streams, driven by a focused growth in balance sheet, transaction and digital banking businesses across geographies in line with our strategic goals.”

On the plans for the rest of the year, Alawuba said, “As the Group intensifies its customer acquisition drive, we are making significant investments in technology, data analytics, product research and innovation to enhance our value proposition and customer experience.”

On his part, the Executive Director Finance & Risk, UBA, Mr. Ugo Nwaghodoh, expressed delight at the milestone achieved by the bank in driving operational efficiency, as reflected in cost-to-income ratio normalizing around the 50per cent range.

“Our cost optimization provides scope for further moderation, as we explore options towards a drastic reduction of our foreign currency denominated cost components, robotizing and automation of processes and application of artificial intelligence to our operations,” he stated.

He disclosed that the Group would focus on effectively managing the heightened credit, operational, cyber and information security risks, as it continues to conduct its business within the tenets of our moderate risk appetite in alignment with our sustainability goals.

“The Group has made significant progress and is on course to shore up its share capital to support its medium to long term aspirations, whilst aligning with the recent regulatory requirement in Nigeria and other jurisdictions. that we operate in,” Nwaghodoh further explained.

UBA’s loans to customers, however, lower than that of FBN Holdings, and Zenith Bank.

Among other Tier-1 banks, Zenith Bank came close to Access Holdings in loans to customers in the period under review.

As Zenith Bank closed June 30, 2024 with N9.29trillion loans to customers, about 42 per cent increase from N6.56trillion in 2023, UBA reported N6.79trillion loans to customers as of June 30, 2024, about 30 per cent increase from N5.2 trillion reported in 2023 financial year.