•Digital innovation to boost non-interest income
The banking sector has recorded tremendous growth in the past seven years with the sector’s value of assets seeing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) expansion of 22.1 per cent from 2015 to 2024, the 2025 State of Enterprise (SOE 2025), the fourth series of the yearly report of ExterpriseNGR unveiled yesterday, has said.
The figure suggests the asset size rose by nearly a quarter consistently in the period. Perhaps, it places the banking sector on a sectoral growth index.
At N170 trillion, the total assets of the sector represent 63.1 per cent of the country’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP) as of last year, up from 52 per cent in 2023, highlighting the broader relevance of the sector to the economy and the need to support its growth.
“In 2024, the Banking sub-sector maintained its role as a key driver of the non-oil economy. The collective financial institutions 13 accounted for 5.8 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP, growing by a robust 30.9 per cent year-on-year, from N3.5 trillion in 2023 to N4.58 trillion.
“Despite expectations of slower overall economic growth, the sector demonstrated strong resilience. This performance shows that financial institutions contributed approximately N6 of every N100 generated nationally, up from N5 in the previous year. The total assets of deposit money banks (or other depository corporations) rose by 39.6 per cent to N170.02 trillion as of December 2024,” the report released in Lagos yesterday stated.
Digital innovation, the report noted, would continue to play a critical role in expanding the non-interest income of Nigerian banks, which is among the highest in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The entire financial service sector has underscored the resilience of the domestic economy, rising from -5.6 per cent in 2016 to 30.9 per cent last year. In contrast, real GDP rose from -1.5 per cent in the base year to close last year at 3.4 per cent.
The financial services sector, apart from the speed of growth, has also shown more stability, posting 13.3 per cent growth in the Covid-19 year when the average real output growth dipped to -1.9 per cent,
SOE also noted the consistent growth in the sector’s contribution to the economy – from 2.7 per cent to 5.8 per cent last year. The contribution has more than doubled in less than 10 years, while some mainstay sectors like agriculture recorded a decline.
The report also took note of the remarkable growth of insurance, capital market, pensions and capital market. It noted that the insurance’s gross premium written (GPW) could hit N1.47 trillion at the close of last year.
In the content of the report, Chief Executive Office of EnterpriseNGR, Obi Ibekwe, said: “The financial and professional service (FPS) sector remains central to Nigeria’s economic growth and sustainable future, mobilising capital, driving inclusion, attracting global investment and fueling development through critical levers like taxation, insurance, pensions and financial literacy.
“As Nigeria charts its path toward becoming Africa’s premier financial centre, sustaining this effort is imperative. At EnterpriseNGR, our vision is bold – to position Nigeria as the financial capital of Africa and a respected player on the global financial stage.”
