Banking
Fitch Affirms Zenith Bank, UBA, GTBank, Access Bank Ratings
By Dipo Olowookere
Fitch Ratings has announced affirming the ratings on Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) and Access Bank [ZUGA Banks], all with stable outlook.
In a statement issued by the agency, it was stated that the Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) on Zenith Bank and UBA were left at ‘B+’, while the Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) on Access Bank was affirmed at ‘B’, the Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) on GTBank was affirmed at ‘B+’.
Fitch said the Viability Rating (VR) of Zenith Bank is among the highest it assigned to a Nigerian bank, reflecting the lender’s well-entrenched domestic franchise and market share.
“Zenith Bank is particularly strong in the prime corporate segment with a growing focus on retail banking. The bank’s franchise strength, management quality and clear strategy have allowed it to outperform peers through several cycles,” it said.
It further said the bank’s financial metrics are also strong compared with peers, pointing out that solid earnings generation and profitability (operating profit/risk-weighted assets of 7.1 percent in 1H19) reflect good margins, high levels of non-interest revenue and good cost control. Loan impairment charges have increased moderately and reflect some asset quality deterioration.
According to Fitch, Zenith Bank’s impaired loans/IFRS 9 Stage 3 ratio was 8.5 percent at end-1H19 (slightly up from 9.0 percent at end-2018) with loan loss allowance coverage at a comfortable 90 percent. Impaired loans rose in 2018 from consistently low levels due to a single large problem loan, highlighting the bank’s sensitivity to credit concentrations by obligor and industry.
It said the bank’s high capitalisation is a rating strength, with a regulatory total capital adequacy ratio of 23.4 percent at end-1H19, saying this is comfortably above the minimum 15 percent regulatory requirement (excluding its DSIB buffer).
For UBA, Fitch said its VR also reflects a strong franchise in Nigeria, as highlighted by market shares and a sizeable retail and current and savings accounts (CASA) deposit base, which translates into pricing power over smaller peers.
UBA’s overall franchise, Fitch said, is strengthened by a network of 19 subsidiaries across Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries outside of Nigeria, which positions the bank to serve corporate customers operating across the continent and capitalise on trade flows. Operations across the rest of Africa (28% of assets at end-1H19; 41% of net income in 2018) provide a valuable source of diversification, particularly given the small contribution of each country.
It said execution on strategy has been particularly strong, as highlighted by exceptional retail deposit growth, increasing earnings contributions from the rest of Africa business and generally strong financial performance during challenging economic conditions.
However, it noted that loan quality remains weak as its impaired (Stage 3 under IFRS 9) loans ratio (5.6 percent at end-1H19) remains low relative to the sector average, but a large stock of Stage 2 loans (24 percent of gross loans at end-1H19) that are concentrated by single-borrower and derive from troubled sectors such as power and oil and gas, present a risk to UBA’s financial profile.
On the part of GTBank, Fitch said the IDRs and National Ratings are driven by the bank’s intrinsic creditworthiness, as defined by its VR, the highest assigned to a Nigerian bank. It said the VR also considers the bank’s strong financial metrics and high performance ratios, comfortable capital buffers and highly concentrated loan book.
It said the lender’s strong earnings support capitalisation and capital adequacy is a rating strength.
“GTB’s Fitch Core Capital/risk weighted assets ratio reached a high 26.7% at end-June 2019 and the bank’s internal target is to maintain regulatory capital ratios in excess of 17%, comfortably above the 15% prudential minimum required.
“Asset quality ratios compare well with peers and efforts to recover impaired loans are proving successful. The impaired loans/total loans ratio is on a declining trend, improving to 6.8% at end-June 2019. Loan loss reserve coverage reached 80%, which appears adequate considering available collateral. GTB’s IFRS 9 Stage 2 loans were equivalent to approximately 11% of loans at end-June 2019, which is broadly in line with close peers,” it said.
Fitch further said GTBank’s balance sheet is liquid. Loan deleveraging continued in 1H19, while deposit inflows are still positive (up 6%). Excess liquidity continues to be invested into Nigerian government securities. Regulatory pressure to encourage banks to lend to the real economy may result in positive loan growth during 2H19. Liquidity management is sound in both foreign and local currency.
For Access Bank, the rating agency said the acquisition of Diamond Bank in the first quarter of 2019 increased the lender’s consolidated assets by around 30 percent, creating Nigeria’s largest bank, with a 23 percent share of deposits (previously 11 percent).
“Following the acquisition, Access Bank’s traditional corporate business model is more balanced across retail and SME segments. Management’s objectives are to pursue a retail-focused, digitally-driven, growth strategy and position the bank as a regional leader in Africa.
“If achieved, this will boost Access Bank’s profile, but factors such as franchise, business model and strategic objectives currently have only a moderate influence on the bank’s ratings,” it said.
It added that, Diamond Bank’s asset quality was weak but management is successfully executing on a plan to write off impaired loans and focus on recoveries. The impaired (Stage 3) loans/gross loans ratio, which had exceeded 10% immediately following Diamond’s acquisition, fell back to 6.8% at end-June 2019.
This is broadly in line with ratios displayed by the most highly rated Nigerian banks (around 7%) but Access Bank’s share of Stage 2 loans as a proportion of gross loans is still fairly high at around 20%. Total loan loss coverage of Stage 3 loans is high at 112% (49% immediately post-acquisition), but specific coverage of Stage 2 loans is still low.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.
The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.
The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.
They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.
They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.
The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.
In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.
The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.
After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.
“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.
“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.
“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.
“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.
“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.
This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.
“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”
Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.
He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.
“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.
“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.
A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.
It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.
The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.
Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.
He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.
Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.
He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.
He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.
At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.
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