FirstBank tops in African banking sector ranking

First Bank of Nigeria tops Nigerian banks in this year’s edition of the famous African Business Magazine’s top 100 banks in Africa. The bank, which has gained some points, came ahead of Access Bank and Zenith Bank, which were rated second and third respectively.

Eight Nigerian banks made the list that was released recently. With a capital base of $1.9 billion, First Bank was also 15th position in the list continent. United Bank of Africa (UBA), Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), Ecobank, Union Bank and FCMB were also on the list.

FirstBank has seen tremendous growth in both top and bottom lines in recent years, with the last audited results showing exceptional improvement. Its group company, FBN Holdings Plc, last year, reported a profit after tax (PAT) of N310.4 billion, a significant increase from the N136.3 billion reported for the same period in 2022.

It was the highest profit ever declared by the financial giant in over 130 years. Its net interest income rose by 51 per cent to N548.9 billion, from N363.2 billion in the previous year while fees and commissions increased by 64 per cent to N193.1 billion, demonstrating its efforts to migrate to a blend of an institutional/corporate and transactional bank.

The group’s operating profit grew by 127 per cent, hitting N358 billion from N157.7 billion while earnings per share rose by over 120 per cent to N8.59 from N3.75.

While some banks were holding back on credit creation, its loans and advances doubled from N4 trillion to N8.3 trillion.Its deposits also grew by 53 per cent, reaching N12.4 trillion compared to N8.1 trillion in the previous year, with total assets moving from N10.5 trillion to N16.9 trillion.

FirstBank also made the list of the recent The Banker’s top 100 banks alongside other eight Nigerian banks – Access Bank, GTBank UBA and Zenith, Stanbic IBTC, FCMB, Fidelity Bank and Standard Chartered Bank of Nigeria.

According to The Banker, besides Afreximbank, which comes fourth, the top five are South African banks – Standard Bank Group, FirstRand, ABSA Group and NedBank Group.

Nigeria trailed behind Egypt, which has 10 banks on the index, which measured asset size, profitability, capital base and other quantitative indicators. The South African banks on the list were seven while Morocco had eight in total as against Ethiopia’s five.

“The picture painted by The Banker’s Top 100 African Banks for 2024 is similar to last year. While the immediate impact of the war in Ukraine on Africa’s key markets has faded, currency weakness and broader economic challenges have curtailed the performance of lenders in markets such as South Africa and Nigeria, with banks in Morocco and, to a lesser extent, Egypt, providing a counterweight,” The Banker states in its analysis.