Banking
GTBank Fortifies Balance Sheet to Withstand Shocks
By Dipo Olowookere
The fall of the Nigerian economy into a recession did not come to many as a surprise because it was expected but it gave some smart thinking organisations the time to plan ahead.
Last Saturday, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced what many observers were expecting and due to another contraction in the gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter by 3.63 per cent after a 6.10 per cent decline in the preceding quarter, the largest economy in Africa officially entered a recession, the second under President Muhammadu Buhari as a civilian leader.
A year after he was sworn-in as President in 2015, the country entered a recession and though he made efforts to avoid the second, his hands were tied as the COVID-19 pandemic and decline in crude oil prices led the country to the worst economic crisis in over three decades.
It is no doubt that during this period, while the nation tries to find its way out of the crisis, the pressure will be on financial institutions and for Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc, it has prepared well for this.
Last week, the lender released its unaudited financial results for the period ended September 30, 2020, to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges.
An analysis of the Q3 results showed improved performance across key financial metrics, reaffirming the bank’s capability to navigate the current economic challenges occasioned by the impact of COVID 19 on world economies.
The performance also reflected its position as one of the leading and best managed financial institutions in Africa, reporting a profit before tax of N167.4 billion, representing a decrease of 1.9 per cent over N170.7 billion recorded in the corresponding period of September 2019 and an improvement on the 5.2 per cent dip posted in H1-2020 relative to H1-2019.
Loan and deposit book, however, grew by 4.5 per cent and 25.1 per cent from N1.502 trillion and N2.640 trillion recorded as of December 2019 to N1.569 trillion and N3.303 trillion in September 2020 respectively.
Business Post keenly observed that the company’s balance sheet remained well structured, diversified and resilient with total assets and shareholders’ funds closing at N4.574 trillion and N755.5 billion respectively, with deposits from customers growing to N3.2 trillion from N2.5 trillion in December 2019.
Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very strong, closing at 23.9 per cent, while asset quality was sustained as NPL ratio and Cost of Risk (COR) closed at 6.5 per cent and 0.6 per cent in September 2020 from 6.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent in December 2019 respectively.
In the views of the MD/CEO of GTBank, Mr Segun Agbaje, “Our third quarter result is a reflection of how we have appropriately positioned our balance sheet to cope with current economic realities and the challenging business environment.”
“It is also a testament to the enduring loyalty of our customers, the hard work and dedication of our staff and the unwavering support we continue to enjoy from all our stakeholders in our drive to deliver best-in-class financial services and superior and sustainable returns,” he added.
He assured that; “As an organisation, we will continue to build on our commitment to enriching lives by leveraging our digital-first customer-centric strategy to improve customer experience and maintain a high standard in service delivery and going beyond banking to create and drive innovative financial solutions that add value to our customers in all aspects of their lives.”
Overall, GTBank continues to be the best in the Nigerian banking industry in terms of all financial ratios i.e. Post-Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) of 26.3 per cent, Post-Tax Return on Assets (ROAA) of 4.6 per cent and Cost to Income ratio of 40.2 per cent.
Renowned for its forward-thinking approach to financial services and customer engagement, GTBank was recently ranked Africa’s Most Admired Finance Brand in the 10th-anniversary rankings of Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands, the pre-eminent survey and ranking of the Top 100 admired brands in Africa.
It was also awarded the Best Bank in Nigeria by Euromoney Magazine for a record-extending 10th time and the Euromoney Excellence in Leadership Africa Award for its swift reaction in responding to the COVID-19 crisis and for addressing the impact of the pandemic on its customers and communities.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Sewa Capital Investment, an investment banking and financial advisory firm focused on supporting high-growth businesses across Africa, has made a strategic investment in Mathesis Analytics, a Nigerian financial technology company providing Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered credit decisioning infrastructure.
The investment is expected to support Mathesis Analytics’ expansion drive for its AI-powered credit infrastructure in Nigeria.
Currently, Nigerian lenders face a critical structural gap: the fragmentation of verifiable consumer data makes it difficult to accurately price risk at scale. Mathesis directly addresses this bottleneck by aggregating disparate transactional and behavioural data into a real-time measure of creditworthiness.
The investment will support product development, institutional integrations, expansion of Mathesis’ lender network, and the strengthening of its data and technology infrastructure, a statement from the fintech firm stated.
By embedding this infrastructure, financial institutions can expand underwriting capacity, support more accurate risk-based lending decisions, and reach new market segments without compromising established risk thresholds.
For Mathesis Analytics, this investment represents an important milestone in its strategy to build Africa’s next-generation credit infrastructure to drive true financial inclusion.
Mathesis has already supported more than 8 million loans for over 2 million unique borrowers in Nigeria, providing a substantial operating base from which to deepen institutional adoption and expand into additional markets.
The company will leverage Sewa Capital’s backing to accelerate the expansion of its institutional footprint.
“At Sewa Capital, we are interested in businesses building the infrastructure that enables African economies to allocate capital more efficiently and inclusively.
“Mathesis Analytics is addressing a fundamental constraint in credit markets: the information gap that limits lenders’ ability to assess risk confidently.
“Its technology has the potential to expand responsible access to credit in Nigeria and, over time, across Africa. We are pleased to support the team through its next phase of growth,” the Managing Director of Sewa Capital, Ms Angela Jide-Jones, commented.
The chief executive of Mathesis Analytics, Mr Winston Osuchukwu, in his reaction, said, “Credit inclusion begins with information visibility.
“Partnering with Sewa Capital accelerates the rollout of our infrastructure; equipping a wider network of lenders with the capabilities required to accurately evaluate risk and ultimately deliver credit services to previously excluded populations across the continent.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Eligible innovators, financial institutions, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), financial technology (fintech) companies, and technology firms have been invited to apply for the second cohort of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Regulatory Sandbox Programme.
A statement signed by the acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department of the apex bank, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed that entries opened on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, and will close on Monday, August 31, 2026.
Cohort 2 of the initiative introduces two dedicated testing tracks to support emerging technologies with the potential to strengthen Nigeria’s financial system while upholding high standards of consumer protection, financial stability, and market integrity.
According to the central bank, the two tracks are VASP and Data-Enabled Financial Services (Non-VASP).
VASP track is to support innovative virtual asset, stablecoin, payment, settlement, custody, wallet, and related financial infrastructure solutions that require supervised live testing, while the non-VASP track supports innovations that leverage secure digital infrastructure and permission-based data sharing to improve financial inclusion, payments, credit, risk management, operational efficiency, and consumer outcomes.
The CBN Regulatory Sandbox provides a controlled environment in which eligible participants may test innovative financial products, services, business models, and enabling technologies under the supervision of the CBN.
The programme enables the CBN and innovators to engage constructively throughout the testing process, supporting regulatory learning while encouraging responsible innovation that benefits consumers and the wider financial system.
Eligible organisations whose proposed innovations fall within the programme’s scope are encouraged to apply.
Applications will be assessed based on the level of innovation, readiness for controlled live testing, potential consumer or market benefit, governance arrangements, risk management capability, and the suitability of the proposed testing plan.
Successful participants will undertake supervised testing within clearly defined parameters agreed with the CBN, including appropriate safeguards for consumer protection, operational resilience, cybersecurity, and regulatory reporting.
The central bank emphasised that participation in the scheme does not constitute a licence, authorisation, or approval to operate outside the approved testing parameters.
It noted that the Sandbox is intended to facilitate responsible experimentation, strengthen regulatory engagement, and support evidence-based policy development in line with the CBN’s statutory mandate.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The international spending limit on the GTBank Naira card has been increased by the financial institution to $40,000.
This information was revealed by the lender in an email to customers on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
The banking subsidiary of GTCO Plc disclosed that the new offshore spending limit is for a quarter.
This development comes as the Nigerian foreign exchange (FX) market is witnessing stability against the United States Dollar.
The forex volatility experienced a few years ago has eased, allowing companies and others to plan within a reasonable exchange rate band.
“The Dollar limit on your GTBank Naira Card is now $40,000 quarterly,” the tier-1 commercial bank said in the message sighted by Business Post.
Improvement in forex liquidity in the domestic FX ecosystem has allowed Nigerians to use their local cards to complete financial transactions on foreign platforms, which was not possible a few years ago because of Dollar scarcity and arbitrage.
At the official market on Tuesday, the exchange rate closed at N1,364/$1. It was exchanged at N1,367/$1 at the GTBank FX desk and N1,395/$1 at the parallel market.
