Nigeria’s five largest banks: First HoldCo, Access Holdings, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Zenith Bank, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), collectively known as the FUGAZ group, closed 2025 with a combined earnings performance estimated at over N17.3 trillion, marking one of the strongest revenue cycles in the country’s banking history. The performance was driven by aggressive asset repricing in a high interest-rate environment, sustained double-digit growth in interest income, and a structural expansion in non-interest revenue streams, particularly from digital banking fees, transaction services, and foreign exchange-linked gains.
Across the board, the industry sustained strong top-line expansion despite macroeconomic tightening, with four of the five lenders recording revenue growth between 6 per cent and 13.3 per cent year-on-year, while one major player (UBA), posted a marginal contraction in gross earnings amid heavy provisioning and balance sheet restructuring.
However, beneath the headline expansion in earnings, the 2025 performance of Nigeria’s leading banks reveals an increasingly differentiated profit structure. Interest income has further consolidated its position as the dominant earnings engine across the FUGAZ universe, reflecting the impact of elevated interest rates and aggressive asset repricing. At the same time, non-interest income has become both more volatile and more strategically significant, driven by digital transaction growth, fee-based services, and episodic FX-related gains. Against this backdrop, profit after tax (PAT) outcomes have diverged sharply across institutions, shaped less by top-line expansion and more by varying levels of foreign exchange exposure, impairment charges, and the pace of regulatory-driven balance sheet clean-up cycles.
Collectively, the FUGAZ banks are now operating with significantly expanded balance sheets, stronger capital buffers, and rising efficiency metrics, but also with higher impairment charges and elevated funding costs reflecting Nigeria’s high-interest-rate environment.
A comparative review of audited 2025 results shows:
- Access Holdings: N5.529 trillion gross earnings (+13.34% y/y)
- Zenith Bank: N4.19 trillion gross earnings (+6% y/y)
- First HoldCo: N3.4 trillion revenue (+6.9% y/y)
- UBA: N3.09 trillion gross earnings (-3.1% y/y from ₦3.19tr in 2024)
- GTCO: N2.26 trillion gross earnings (+3.12%) income growth
On a combined basis, the tier-one banking group continues to command the lion’s share of Nigeria’s financial system liquidity, with total assets across the five institutions estimated above N150 trillion, supported by aggressive deposit mobilisation.
However, while scale expanded, profitability patterns diverged:
- Zenith Bank PAT: N1.04 trillion (+1% y/y)
- GTCO PAT: N865.75 billion (-15.7% y/y)
- Access Holdings PAT: N743.0 billion (+15.7% y/y)
- UBA PAT: not fully disclosed in comparable format but impacted by heavy provisioning and derivatives losses
- First HoldCo PAT: restructuring year, with profitability under pressure at full-year level despite strong Q1 2026 rebound
Across the FUGAZ universe, interest income remains the dominant revenue anchor, accounting for between 55 percent and 80 per cent of total earnings depending on the institution.
First HoldCo: Interest income rose 24.9 per cent to N3.0 trillion, while net interest income was up 36.8 per cent to N1.9 trillion, supported by asset repricing and yield expansion.
Access Holdings: Interest income increased 14.1 per cent to N3.546 trillion, driven by loan growth and securities reallocation, with net interest income rising to N1.357 trillion (+7.01%).
Zenith Bank: Delivered one of the strongest interest income performances, rising 35 per cent to N3.7 trillion, with net interest income up 53 per cent to N2.64 trillion, reflecting strong asset yields and disciplined funding structure.
GTCO: Interest income rose 23.2 per cent year-on-year, reflecting strong loan growth and pricing discipline, though margins were partially offset by taxation adjustments and macro headwinds.
UBA: While gross earnings declined marginally, UBA maintained resilient core fundamentals, supported by diversified loan books and Pan-African interest income streams, though heavy provisioning reduced net contribution.
Non-interest income: Structural digital growth meets currency-driven earnings volatility
Non-interest income continues to be the most dynamic and uneven component of FUGAZ earnings.
First HoldCo: Non-interest income rose significantly, with fees and commissions rising 20.2 per cent to N294.5 billion, while Q1 2026 showed a 93.8 per cent jump in non-interest income to N188.2 billion, reflecting digital transaction expansion.
Access Holdings : Access recorded one of the strongest industry performances, with non-interest income rising 152.5 per cent to N1.05 trillion, driven by FX gains and fair value adjustments, alongside N585 billion in fee income (+40.9%).
Zenith Bank: While less exposed to volatile FX gains, Zenith maintained steady fee income contributions and strong trading gains, though core earnings remained interest-driven.
GTCO: GTCO posted 25.9 per cent growth in fee income, supported by ecosystem expansion across banking, payments, pension and funds management, although 2024’s one-off fair value gains were not repeated.
UBA: UBA’s non-interest income declined due to N282.5 billion in derivative reversals and FX-related adjustments, though management stressed these were non-recurring and positioned future upside.
Profit After Tax: Winners and reset stories
Despite strong revenue expansion, PAT outcomes reveal a split sector:
Zenith Bank : PAT: N1.04 trillion (+1%). Driven by a strong net interest margin of 13.7 per cent.
GTCO: PAT: N865.75 billion (-15.7%). Impacted by tax changes and base effects from 2024 fair value gains.
Access Holdings: PAT: N743.0 billion (+15.7%). Supported by diversified income and FX gains.
First HoldCo: PAT: Pressure from impairment charges and FX normalisation, though executives highlighted “normalised pre-provision profit rising 36.6 per cent to N1.07 trillion
UBA: PAT impacted by N331 billion loan loss provisioning and N227 billion derivative adjustments, though capital strength remained intact at N4.25 trillion shareholders’ funds
Across the sector, CEOs consistently described 2025 as a year of balance sheet repair, capital strengthening, and strategic repositioning.
Wale Oyedeji, group managing director of First HoldCo, stated: “2025 was a defining year for FirstHoldCo, characterised by disciplined execution, resilient core earnings and a comprehensive reset of our balance sheet for sustainable performance and high-quality growth…”
He added that capital restoration remains central. “We also strengthened our capital position through focused capital-raising initiatives ,” he noted.
At Access Holdings, CEO Innocent Ike described the transition as one from scale to optimisation. “Our 2025 performance reflects both the resilience of the Access franchise and the strength of the institution we have built over time,” he said.
UBA’s Oliver Alawuba emphasised Africa-wide diversification, noting: “The Group continues to demonstrate the true strength of its Pan-African diversified model”
Zenith Bank’s Adaora Umeoji underscored disciplined execution. “We successfully strengthened our asset quality, optimized our balance sheet, and invested in the capabilities that will propel our next phase of growth,” she said.
GTCO’s Segun Agbaje highlighted ecosystem strength. “The strength of our underlying earnings… reflects the quality of our franchise and the discipline with which we execute our strategy,” he remarked.
A defining feature of 2025 earnings was rising cost pressure across all five banks.
- Operating expenses rose over 30 per cent at First HoldCo
- Impairment charges more than doubled at Access (+113%)
- UBA absorbed massive provisioning of N331 billion
- Cost-to-income ratios widened across most lenders, with Zenith at 45.2 per cent, First HoldCo at 53.8 per cent, and Access improving to 51.7 per cent.
Inflation, FX volatility, and regulatory compliance costs remain dominant drivers.
The FUGAZ banks maintained their dominance in deposit mobilisation, with Access Holdings reporting N34.56 trillion in deposits (+53%), United Bank for Africa (UBA) N27.2 trillion (+11.8%), Zenith Bank N24.33 trillion (+11%), and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) N12.87 trillion (+23.8%).
Liquidity ratios remained strong across the sector, with capital adequacy ratios ranging between 23 per cent and 43.8 per cent, reflecting a well-capitalised banking system.
While aggregate PAT across disclosed figures exceeds N3.5 trillion, growth distribution is uneven:
- Zenith and GTCO anchor profit stability
- Access delivers growth acceleration
- UBA and First HoldCo reflect restructuring and FX adjustment cycles
Outlook: shift from fx-driven volatility to core banking growth
Analysts note that the 2025 cycle marks a structural transition from FX-driven earnings volatility to interest-rate-driven profitability, alongside a shift toward digital fee-based revenue expansion and increasingly capital-intensive balance sheet optimisation; however, risks remain elevated, including high cost of funds, regulatory tightening, credit risk build-up, and persistent currency volatility.
The 2025 financial year shows that Nigeria’s FUGAZ banks are no longer just deposit-taking lenders but are evolving into capital-intensive, digitally driven financial conglomerates with expanding Pan-African footprints. However, profitability is now increasingly determined less by revenue scale and more by FX positioning, impairment discipline, cost efficiency, and capital strength.
