Nigeria’s top commercial banks achieved strong top-line growth in 2025, driven by elevated interest rates, but after-tax profits came under pressure as banks increased provisions for bad loans and forex trading gains normalised.
Audited results from ten major listed banks including Zenith Bank, Access Holdings, GTCO, UBA, First HoldCo, FCMB Group, Stanbic IBTC, Wema Bank, Sterling HoldCo, and Ecobank Transnational showed combined gross earnings rising 11.9% to N26.3 trillion in 2025, up from N23.5 trillion in 2024.
Interest income surged significantly to N18.6 trillion from N14.3 trillion, accounting for 70.7% of total revenue and highlighting the sector’s heavy reliance on lending and fixed-income securities in a high-rate environment. However, non-interest income dropped to N7.74 trillion from N8.19 trillion, largely due to a sharp decline in foreign exchange trading gains.
Profitability Under Pressure
Despite robust revenue growth, the banks’ collective after-tax profit fell by 7.36%. The main drags were:
– A sharp rise in loan loss provisions following the expiry of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s COVID-era forbearance in June 2025.
– Operating expenses climbing 29.03% to N5.53 trillion, fuelled by high inflation and rising operational costs.
Performance of Key Banks
-Access Holdings led the pack with gross earnings of N5.52 trillion, up 13.3% year-on-year.
Zenith Bank recorded N4.07 trillion, a 6.5% increase.
– First HoldCo and UBA posted modest growth of 5.0% and 4.4% respectively, while GTCO grew by a marginal 1.9%.
Zenith Bank and GTCO posted impressive growth in interest income (138.6% and 148.6% respectively), benefiting from loan repricing and higher yields on securities after the CBN’s monetary policy rate adjustments.
However, forex income for major banks (Access, FirstHoldco, GTCO, UBA, and Zenith) collapsed by 53% to N1.52 trillion, compared to N3.22 trillion in 2024. The one-off gains from the 2024 naira devaluation were not repeated. UBA even reported a net forex loss of N140.6 billion.
Broader Context
The CBN reduced the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) twice in 2025 by 50 basis points in September to 27%, and later to 26.5% creating a more supportive environment for lending. Despite this, banks had to contend with rising non-performing loans and tighter risk management.
Inflation remained elevated at 15.38% in March 2026, adding to cost pressures across the sector. CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso has cautioned that geopolitical tensions in the Middle East could further influence future interest rate decisions.
While 2025 showed resilience in core banking activities, analysts expect continued pressure on profitability in 2026 as banks prioritise balance sheet cleaning and capital preservation. The results reflect a sector transitioning from windfall gains of previous years to more sustainable, interest-driven earnings.
