You should have a keen eye to observe the health and performance of the banks in Nigeria that keep your money, or offer financial services. It is your right. You might want to know the top 10 banks in Nigeria for the current year – in terms of efficiency, security and commendable customer support. We acknowledge that our avid readers and followers could be any of these – investors, entrepreneurs and/or consumers within and outside Nigeria.
It has been quite a tough journey to post-COVID 19 social and economic recovery for everyone. Even as other favourable and unfavourable events across the globe continue to unfold. Banks and their host countries definitely were, and continue to be impacted by these events. Nevertheless, we have exceptional banks who are determined to surmount these obstacles. We appreciate their zeal in providing customer-centric service, security of funds, and cutting-edge technology to citizens and organizations alike. They are not perfect, but they are determined. Let’s investigate the top 10 banks in Nigeria, according to statistics available as of December 2023.
Banks in Nigeria: December 2023 Statistics
According to world-acclaimed global financial reporting and banking analysis website The Banker, the years following COVID-19 saw the slow recovery of African economies. But in spite of that, some stability and improvement in assets, net profits and performance were recorded from 2021 onward. For instance, Zenith Bank International ranked number 10 out of 100 in the list of top-performing African banks between 2021 and 2023. We have proceeded to extract the list of the top 10 banks in Nigeria for the financial year 2024 from the same list. From thence, we can better assess their performance during the stated period.
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Top 10 Banks in Nigeria 2024
Here are the top 10 best and most performing banks in Nigeria currently year (2024):
- Zenith: 10th
- Access: 13th
- Guaranty Trust (GTCO): 16th
- United Bank for Africa: 19th
- First Bank of Nigeria: 23rd
- Stanbic IBTC Holdings: 29th
- Fidelity: 45th
- First City Monument Bank: 58th
- Union Bank of Nigeria: 72nd
- Sterling Bank: 73rd
So how exactly did each of these banks perform between 2021 and 2023?
Zenith Bank
Zenith Bank Plc was established in 1990 by Jim Ovia. The bank fervently embraced information technology to promote Its services right from inception. It now has subsidiaries in Sierra Leone, Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, the UK and United Arab Emirates. Its unaudited results were presented to the Nigerian Exchange for Quarter 3 of the financial year ending September 2023. The bank recorded a triple-digit growth of 114% (from N620.6 billion to to N1.33 trillion, between Q3 of 2022 and Q3 of 2023. Additionally, the same period recorded:
- Year on Year (YoY) increase of 149% in profit before tax (from N202.5 billion to N505 billion)
- Profit after tax increase of 149% (from N174.3 billion to N434.2 billion)
Access bank
Access Bank Plc, established in 1989 as a corporate bank, embraced personal and business banking in 2012. A merger took place between Access bank and Diamond bank in 2019. It now operates in several countries across Africa, Europe and Asia. They include Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Ghana, Gambia, Kenya, Congo, Mozambique, the UK, Lebanon, China, United Arab Emirates, and India. In its undaunted financial statement presented for Quarter 3 of 2023, the bank recorded recorded:
- profit before tax of N 308,753 million
- profit after tax of N265,355 million
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Guaranty Trust Bank (GTCO)
Guaranty Trust Bank, renamed Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc in 2022 was established in the year 1990. At present it offers corporate, retail and commercial banking services, asset management, investment banking and pensions management to the public. Its geographical coverage includes Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and the UK. The security and customer-centric services of this A-list bank has earned it a place as one of the top 10 banks in Nigeria. At the end of the Quarter 3 of the financial year ending September 2023, the bank recorded:
- profit before tax of N169.7 billion
- total assets of N5.81 trillion
United Bank for Africa (UBA)
UBA was established in 1948 to offer commercial, corporate, retail and SME banking, as well as investment services to the general public. It operates in 20 African countries, the USA, France and the United Kingdom. As at the end of Quarter 3 of the financial year ending September 2022, the bank recorded:
- Profit before tax of N502,091 million
- Profit after tax of N449,291 million
First Bank of Nigeria
The first-ever bank established in West Africa, First bank began operations in 1894. It is currently operating as FBN Holdings in Nigeria, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Congo, Sierra Leone, Senegal, UK, France and China. The bank offers retail, corporate, commercial and public sector banking, as well as pension and assets management. In its unaudited financial reports for Quarter 3 ending September 2023, the bank recorded:
- profit before tax of N61.1 billion
- profit after tax of N91.29 billion
Stanbic IBTC Holdings
Stanbic IBTC was originally founded in 1989 as an investment bank – IBTC Chartered Bank Plc. A merger took place between Stanbic Bank Nigeria Limited, IBTC Chartered Bank Plc, and Regent Bank Plc in 2005. Thereafter the banking entity, undoubtedly one of the top 10 banks in Nigeria, transformed into a holding company in 2012. The bank offers commercial and investment banking, asset management, pension management, estate management, stockbroking, insurance amongst other services. As at the end of Quarter 3 of the financial year ending September 2023, the bank presented its financial statement. It recorded:
- profit before tax of N129.46 billion
- profit after tax of N109.25 billion
Fidelity Bank
Fidelity Bank Plc was set up as a merchant bank, and afterwards got the licence for commercial banking in 1988. It later acquired Manny Bank and FSB International bank in 2005. The bank also renders corporate and SME banking today. It operates predominantly in Nigeria with a large network of branches across the nation. As at the end of the Quarter 3 of the financial year ending September 2022, Fidelity Bank presented its undaunted financial statement where it recorded:
- profit before tax of N110.99 billion
- profit after tax of N91.75 billion
First City Monument Bank (FCMB)
FCMB was established in Nigeria in the year 1982 as an offshoot of City Securities Limited (which had been in existence since 1977). It offers retail, commercial and investment banking, and well as asset management, pension management, microfinance amongst other services. It is one of the nine arms of the FCMB Group Plc; and it has branches in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom. FCMB released its results for the financial year ending September 2022 in which it was stated that the bank recorded:
- profit before tax of N55.14 billion
- profit after tax of N49.15 billion
Union Bank of Nigeria
Union Bank was founded and named as Colonial Bank in 1917 by a group of British investors, as a commercial bank. From three branches (Port Harcourt, Lagos, Jos) it expanded to other cities in Nigeria, then to other places in West Africa. Barclays Bank purchased the Colonial Bank, changed its name and continued to expand. Thereafter, the Nigerian government bought the majority shares in 1972 and it was finally named Union Bank of Nigeria. The bank later acquired Universal Trust Bank and Broad Bank, then totally absorbed its subsidiary, Union Merchant bank. Today the Titan Trust Bank owns 89.4 % majority shares in Union Bank Plc. Union bank’s audited financial reports of Quarter 3 in the financial year ending September 2022 showed:
- profit before tax of N102.3 billion
Sterling Bank
Sterling Bank Plc (formerly NAL Bank Plc) was the first indigenous bank established in Nigeria, in November 1960. It started out as a private limited liability company. During the 2006 Nigerian banks consolidation exercise, NAL Bank entered into a merger with 4 other banks. Namely Magnum Trust Bank, Indo-Nigeria Merchant Bank, NBM Bank, and Trust Bank of Africa. The merger led to the creation of Sterling Bank Plc, now a public limited liability company beginning from April 1992.
In the Quarter 3 of 2023 financial year, the bank declared:
- profit before tax of N17.8 billion
- profit after tax of N16.49 billion
