Six banks post N3.11tn profits, assets hit N195tn

Detailed summary

Six of Nigeria’s biggest banks, including Access and Zenith, saw combined profits rise to N3.11tn and total assets grow to N195.08tn as of September 2026. Read More:…

The combined total assets of six of Nigeria’s biggest listed banks rose 6.73 per cent to N195.08tn on 30 September, 2026, from N182.79tn at the same point in 2025. Profit after tax grew 7.50 per cent to N3.11tn from N2.90tn, according to their unaudited financial statements.

The six lenders are Access Holdings Plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Zenith Bank Plc, First HoldCo Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company and Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc. Their combined balance sheets grew by N12.29tn over the period.

In separate phone interviews with The PUNCH, banking analysts said the expansion was positive but concentrated.

An Associate, Investment Research and Consulting at Afrinvest, Olamide Ologunagbe, said, “The 6.73 per cent growth in the combined asset base of the six banks to N195.08tn is a positive indicator of balance-sheet expansion. However, there is a difference between growth in asset size and improvement in asset quality or earnings capacity.”

Five of the six banks expanded their balance sheets. First HoldCo and Zenith together contributed N9.01tn of the N12.29tn gain, about 73 per cent. Growth came mainly from larger holdings of investment securities and a rise in lending.

“However, growth appears to have been driven partly by increased holdings of investment securities, reflecting banks’ preference for government securities amid elevated interest rates,” Ologunagbe said.

“First HoldCo and Zenith accounted for 73 per cent of the aggregate increase, indicating that expansion was concentrated among a few players,” she added.

A Senior Associate, Financial Services Research at CardinalStone, Ngozi Odum, said, “For the banks, the balance sheet is growing, but slowly. You can also see that FirstHoldco and ZenithBank contributed most of this growth, which reflects their size and market share.”

Access Holdings remained the largest bank by assets at N52.60tn, up 0.78 per cent from N52.20tn.

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