Access Holdings Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, and several other major Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria collectively recorded a strong financial performance in the first quarter of 2026, generating a combined N4.6 trillion in interest income.
The figure, according to an analysis of their unaudited results, represents an 8.2 per cent increase compared to N4.3 trillion recorded in the same period of 2025, highlighting continued resilience in the banking sector despite ongoing macroeconomic challenges.
The banks earned most of this income from loans and advances to customers, investments in government securities, and other interest-yielding assets, even as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) eased its Monetary Policy Rate from 27 per cent to 26.50 per cent within the period under review.
The financial institutions covered include Access Holdings, Zenith Bank, UBA, GTCO, Ecobank, First Holdco, Wema Bank, Sterling Financial Holdings, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings.
Among them, Access Holdings, Zenith Bank, and First Holdco led in interest income generation for the quarter.
Access Holdings reported N824.75 billion, though slightly lower than the corresponding period of the previous year.
Zenith Bank posted N869.1 billion, reflecting a 3.8 per cent year-on-year increase from N837.64 billion.
First Holdco recorded N704.45 billion, representing a 12.7 per cent growth compared to N625.28 billion in the same period of 2025.
UBA also posted strong results with N641.1 billion in interest income, a 6.8 per cent increase year-on-year, while Ecobank reported N561.08 billion, up 23.4 per cent from the previous year.
GTCO maintained steady growth momentum with N466.5 billion in interest income, representing an increase of nearly 18 per cent.
The strong performance came against the backdrop of persistently high lending rates in the Nigerian economy. Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria showed that the average maximum lending rate stood at 35.17 per cent in March 2026, one of the highest levels recorded in recent years.
The average prime lending rate also remained high at 19.29 per cent, reflecting continued pressure on borrowing costs for individuals and businesses.
CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, explained that the Monetary Policy Committee chose to maintain key policy parameters to allow previous tightening measures take full effect, noting that inflationary pressures were largely driven by temporary external shocks.
Despite this, analysts say the elevated interest rate environment has continued to support banks’ earnings, particularly through re-pricing of loans and investments in high-yield government securities.
However, experts have also warned that sustained high interest rates could increase debt servicing costs for the government and place long-term pressure on economic stability.
