Lending, Govt Securities Gain Lifts Nine Banks Interest Income to N12.9tn

Lending, Govt Securities Gain Lifts Nine Banks Interest Income to N12.9tn Kayode Tokede On the back of encouraging interest on lending to customers and yield on government securities, Access Holdings Plc and eight other deposit money banks generated N12.9 trillion interest income in nine months of 2026. This represents about 0.9 per cent increase over N12.75 trillion reported in the same period in 2025. The other banks are: Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Zenith Bank Plc, First Holdco Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), Wema Bank Plc, Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc, and Abbey Bank Plc, During the period under review, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), reduced interest rate to 23 per cent from 26.5 per cent. While the average global lending rate sits below 10 per cent, many African economies have interest rates far above 20 per cent where the likes of Access Holdings, GTCO, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and First Holdco have branches. This creates a tough environment for businesses and customers who need access to credit. In countries where inflation is high or the local currency keeps losing value, central banks often respond by raising interest rates. This makes borrowing more expensive but is seen as a way to protect the economy. However, this approach also comes with downsides: it slows down growth and limits job creation. However, the CBN at its last MPC meeting reduced MPR to 23 per cent amid ease in inflation rate and stability of Naira at the foreign exchange market. Despite the cut in MPR, the Nigerian banking sector’s average maximum lending rate increased to 32.62 per cent in September 2026 from 29.84 per cent reported in September 2025, while the average prime lending rate moved from 11.90 per cent in in September 2025 to 19.04 per cent as of September 2026. Meanwhile, analysis of the nine banks’ unaudited result and accounts showed that Access Holdings recoded N3.1 trillion interest income, about 6.9 per cent increase from N2.9 trillion reported in unaudited nine months of 2025. The firms’s N1.54 trillion loans and advances to customers in nine months of 2026 from N1.38 trillion in nine months of 2025 was the major drivers of interest income in the period under review. Also, Zenith Bank declared N2.62 trillion interest income in nine months of 2026, about 4.5 per cent drop from N2.74 trillion in 2025 while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated declared N2.28 trillion interest income, about 2.2 per cent drop from N22.33 trillion in 2025. First HoldCo announced N2.09 trillion interest income, an 8.7 per cent drop from N2.29 trillion reported in 2025. Similarly, GTCO announced N1.29 trillion interest income, up by 4.96 per cent from N1.23 trillion reported in 2025 while Stanbic IBTC Holdings reported N545.35 billion interest income, about 5.35 per cent drop over N576.18billion reported in 2025. On its part, Wema Bank posted N543.56 billion interest income, representing an increase of 37.2 per cent from N396.14 billion in 2025. In addition, Sterling Financial Holdings Company posted N353.78 billion interest income, about 34.8 per cent from N262.42 billion in 2025. Abbey Bank reported N28.8 billion interest income which is 120.3 prr cent growth from N13.09 billion in 2025. Further analysis showed that the nine financial institutions recorded N4.97 trillion interest expenses, representing an increase of nearly 5.31 per cent from N4.72 trillion declared 2025. These financial institutions interest expenses is made up of Deposits from banks, expenses from debt securities issued, Interest bearing borrowings and other borrowed funds, among others. Analysts have attributed the increase in interest income and expenses to the high in interest rate in most African countries over the years.