Zenith Bank is Nigeria’s biggest bank by profit, PREMIUM TIMES Banking Report shows

Zenith Bank Plc has emerged as the bank with the highest Profit After Tax in the 2024 financial year.

The ranking is based on a review of the 2025 edition of the PREMIUM TIMES Annual Banking Report, released in October.

The magazine, an annual special print publication of PREMIUM TIMES, Nigeria’s leading investigative newspaper, primarily draws on the audited reports of Nigeria’s top commercial banks and intelligence gathered from the sector.

The latest review of the 2025 edition of the magazine shows that Zenith led others in profit after tax (PAT) in 2024, recording a 52.6 per cent increase to N1.03 trillion from N676.9 billion in 2023.

Next came Guaranty Trust Holding Company, whose PAT touched N1.02 trillion, having surged by 88.6 per cent.

United Bank for Africa’s PAT, at N766.6 billion, expanded by a little more than 25 per cent.

As many lenders cashed in on sky-high benchmark interest rates in 2024 to generate interest income at a level never before witnessed in the industry, the bottom line got a lift, a mega one at that.

Added to that, revaluation gains, an uptick in non-interest income like fees and commissions, and a moderation in the cost-to-income ratio for some banks numbered among the factors that considerably boosted net profit.

Beyond everyday commercial lending, PREMIUM TIMES Annual Banking Report reveals that banks’ vast investment in debt instruments like bonds and treasury bills also delivered handsome returns, boosting profit.

With the nine lenders covered netting as much as N4.9 trillion, implying a 53.8 per cent jump in post-tax profit over the 2023 level, it is evident that banking was perhaps the industry most inoculated from crushing headwinds like hyperinflation, exchange rate volatility and steep cost of borrowing that raged all over the macroeconomic space all year long.

Telecoms and consumer goods were among the hardest hit sectors. Many companies here plunged into a loss and, in some cases, saw their balance sheets turn red.

The PREMIUM TIMES Annual Banking Report brings to light powerful but often overlooked trends shaping the industry’s outlook and explains their implications for investors, regulators, and the broader economy.

The report also presents a panoramic view of the financial positions and operations of individual banks, helping readers decode the complex data and visuals contained in the institutions’ financial statements.

Since debuting in 2021, the magazine has become an authoritative intelligence resource for financial-sector players, investors, policymakers, regulators, scholars, and researchers seeking reliable data, insights, and forecasts on the banking industry.

About Zenith Bank

Established in May 1990 by the businessman Jim Ovia, Zenith operates in five other countries apart from Nigeria, comprising Ghana, UK, Sierra Leone, the Gambia and China, where it runs a representative office.

It also operates a branch in the UAE.

The lender has more than 500 branches in Nigeria, with a customer base in excess of 33 million as of 2023.