* Zenith, Access, UBA, GTCO, First Bank, Ecobank maintain industry dominance
Obinna Chima
Fourteen banks listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) raked in a total of N46.863 trillion from their respective customers as deposit at December 2021, which was 18 per cent higher than the N39.491 trillion recorded as of December 2020.
The figures compiled by THISDAY, following recent release of its full year financial statement by one of the tier-one banks, First Bank, also showed that the 14 banks disbursed a total of N24.999 trillion as loans and advances to their customers in the period under review, which was 20 per cent higher than the N20.852 trillion recorded the previous year, just as the combined profit after tax they posted increased by 17 per cent to N1.102 trillion in 2021, higher than the N939 billion recorded within same period in 2020.
Similarly, their total assets also jumped by 17 per cent to N70.521 trillion in 2021, higher than the N60.084 trillion it was in the comparable period of 2020.
The banks are Access Bank, Fidelity Bank, FCMB Group, FBN Holdings, GTCO, Union Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Zenith Bank, Ecobank Group, Stanbic IBTC, Sterling Bank, Unity Bank, Wema Bank and Jaiz Bank.
However, the financial results showed that the six largest banks – Access, Zenith, First Bank, GTCO, UBA, Ecobank – with respect to deposits, assets, loans and profitability, maintained their industry dominance.
For instance, in terms of profitability, the six bank made 85 per cent of the total profits recorded by the 14 banks; in terms of loans, the gave out 76 per cent of the loans to customers; attracted 81 per cent of the customers’ deposits and presently hold 79 per cent of the total assets.
While Zenith Bank had posted N244.558 billion profit as at December 2021; Access Bank recorded N106.215 billion, FBN Holdings realised N151.079 billion; GTCO – N174 billion; UBA – N119 billion and Ecobank – N146 billion.
In the same vein, just as Zenith Bank’s loans and advances to customers stood at N3.502 trillion; Access Bank gave out N4.161 trillion; FBN Holdings – N2.882 trillion; GTCO – N1.802 trillion; UBA – N2.681, Ecobank’s loans to customers was N4.061 trillion in the year under review.
Similarly, in terms of customers’ deposits, Zenith Bank posted N6.472 trillion; Access Bank –N6.955 trillion; FBN Holdings – N5.849 trillion; GTCO – N4.130 trillion; UBA – N6.309 trillion and Ecobank – N8.360 trillion.
Also, whereas Access Bank’s total assets in the review period was N11.732 trillion; Ecobank – N11.689 trillion; Zenith Bank – N9.448 trillion; FBN Holdings – N8.932 trillion; UBA – N8.541 trillion and GTCO – N5.436 trillion.
The growth in customers’ deposits was attributed to the banks’ aggressive marketing and deposit mobilisation strategies as well as their introduction of technology solutions, due to the threat posed by the financial technology companies (fintechs). Fintechs have continued to encroach on commercial banks’ businesses, thereby threatening the operations and deposit mobilisation by the banks.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee recently stated that the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) and the Liquidity Ratio (LR) of the banking industry has remained above their prudential limits at 14.6 and 43.7 per cent, respectively. Also, the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of the industry stood at 5.3 per cent in April 2022, compared with its prudential limit of five per cent, reflecting sustained stability in the banking system, though there remains a need to bring this down to the prudential limit.
