Ultimately, as Nigeria eyes a $1 trillion economy, the banking sector’s strategic relevance has continued to grow, delivering exceptional performance with listed banks, like Wema Bank, Fidelity Bank and FirstBank recording landmark improvements in profitability, asset growth, and returns on equity.
An analysis of 10 major publicly listed commercial banks revealed that total customer loans surged by 38 per cent year-on-year to N51.4 trillion, while interest income more than doubled, climbing by 122 per cent to N15.1 trillion.
The banks collectively posted a post-tax profit of N4.8 trillion, marking a 53.5 per cent increase from N3.1 trillion in 2023.
Based on a weighted analysis of profitability, loan growth, asset growth, capital adequacy, cost-to-income ratio, and NPL management, Wema Bank led the pack in 2024 with outstanding metrics across several performance areas.
According to its full year result, the asset jumped over 60 per cent to N 3.59 trillion, post tax profit also jumped by over 140 per cent to N86.28 billion.
Fidelity Bank emerged as the second-best performer, recording the highest profit growth among peers.
The Bank’s post tax profit surged by 179.6 per cent, ROAE improved to 41.7 percent from 26 percent, while customer deposits rose by 47.9 per cent to N5.9 trillion. Non-Performing Loan declined to 3.1 per cent.
FBN Holdings performed strongly, especially in deposit and asset growth. Deposits: +61 per cent to N17.2 trillion; Post-tax profit: +115 per cent to N663.5 billion, while total assets increased by 57 per cent to N26.5 trillion.