Wema Bank Plc has unveiled plans to explore investment opportunities in the power sector, the blue economy and mining as part of a broader strategy to diversify its asset base and strengthen long-term shareholder value.
The disclosure was made during the bank’s FY 2025 analyst and investor conference call led by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Moruf Oseni, alongside other senior executives.
Responding to questions on how the bank intends to deploy fresh capital after meeting regulatory thresholds, Chief Risk Officer Sylvanus Eneche said the institution is taking a disciplined approach to expansion.
“With significant capital that has come in now, we need to deploy; however, we are selective in the kind of assets we invest in, being risk aware,” Eneche said.
He disclosed that Wema Bank has identified opportunities in the power sector and the blue economy—including marine-related businesses and mining—and has begun positioning to participate in those areas.
According to him, the bank is also evaluating potential relationships with larger, top-tier counterparties it has not previously engaged, noting that any exposure to such players would be carefully structured to preserve asset quality.
“We are looking at larger A-tier players we have not engaged before, and we are set to deploy capital to them in a risk-aware manner, leveraging the opportunities,” he added.
On the bank’s aspiration to attain tier-one status, Oseni expressed confidence that current growth momentum provides a solid foundation.
“To pole vault ourselves into tier one, we will grow organically and efficiently, and we are also looking for opportunities to scale up operations within the bank,” he said.
He indicated that achieving tier-one status within the next two to three years is feasible if ongoing initiatives deliver as projected, adding that the bank’s long-term vision extends beyond merely joining the top tier.
The CEO highlighted the bank’s strong deposit mobilization record, with customer deposits rising from N804 billion in 2020 to N3.2 trillion in 2025—a nearly fourfold increase over five years.
For the 2025 financial year, Wema Bank posted a profit before tax of N221.8 billion in its audited results, broadly in line with the unaudited N222 billion figure earlier released. The performance represents a 116.44 per cent surge from N102.5 billion recorded in 2024.
The growth was largely driven by interest income, which climbed to N576 billion from N354.6 billion. Loans and advances accounted for 60.4 per cent of interest income, while investment securities contributed 35.5 per cent, with the balance coming from cash and other assets.
Non-interest income also supported earnings, with net gains on fair value investment securities amounting to N993.2 million and fee and commission income rising to N75.5 billion from N55.5 billion. Trading income contributed N8.3 billion.
