The foreign subsidiaries of four Nigerian banking groups, Zenith Bank, GTCO Holdings, Access Holdings, and Zenith Bank posted a pre-tax profit of N628 billion for FY 2023.
This marks a 617% growth from the N87.5 billion pre-tax profit posted by these foreign subsidiaries in FY 2022.
In 2023, Access Bank recorded the most profit from its foreign subsidiaries with N199.2 billion, followed by UBA Plc with N166.5 billion.
Zenith Bank’s four foreign subsidiaries posted a pre-tax profit of N131.5 billion, while GTCO’s eight international subsidiaries posted a pre-tax profit of N130.8 billion during the year.
This report is based on the audited financial statements of these banks for FY 2023.
Currently, seven banks in Nigeria operate on an international banking license, which depicts the presence of foreign subsidiaries. However, there is presently no available data on the earnings of First Bank’s foreign subsidiaries, FCMB (UK), and Fidelity Bank (UK) for 2023.
- Access Bank Plc – N199.2 billion
During the year, Access Bank’s foreign subsidiaries posted a pre-tax profit of N199.2 billion, representing a 945% growth from the N19.1 billion pre-tax profit they recorded in 2022. The Access Bank UK posted a pre-tax profit of N98.4 billion, while Access Bank Ghana also posted a N77.7 billion pre-tax profit.
For Access Bank Ghana, the profit posted in 2023 represents a 449% growth from the N22.3 billion pre-tax loss recorded in 2022. In 2022, the restructuring of government bonds in Ghana led to significant financial losses for banks operating in the country due to a haircut, including a net impairment loss of N64 billion for Access Bank Ghana.
- UBA Plc – N166.5 billion
UBA Plc, the Nigerian bank with the highest number of foreign subsidiaries recorded a pre-tax profit of N166.5 billion from its foreign subsidiaries. This marks a 70% growth from the N97.8 billion pre-tax profit posted by these subsidiaries in FY 2022.
The highest contributor was UBA Cameroun, which generated a pre-tax profit of N28.9 billion. UBA Cameroun has consistently been the best-performing foreign subsidiary of the bank, as it posted a pre-tax profit of N16.4 billion in FY 2022.
However, there was a 257% decline in the performance of UBA Ghana, as its 2022 pre-tax profit of N3.8 billion, declined to a loss of N6.0 billion as of FYE 2023.
UBA presently has 20 foreign subsidiaries, including in 19 African countries and the UK.
- Zenith Bank Plc – N131.5 billion
Zenith Bank has subsidiaries in Ghana, the UK, Sierra Leone, and Ghana. During the fiscal year, the four banks posted a pre-tax profit of N131.5 billion, marking a 315% growth from the N61.2 billion pre-tax loss posted in 2022.
Zenith Bank Ghana posted a pre-tax profit of N75.2 billion, marking a significant uptick from the N58.7 billion pre-tax loss posted in 2022. Zenith Bank UK posted a pre-tax profit of N49.1 billion, Zenith Bank Sierra Leone posted N4.7 billion, and Zenith Bank Gambia posted a pre-tax profit of N2.5 billion as of FYE 2023.
- GTCO Holdings – N130.8 billion
GTCO’s international subsidiaries include GTBank Cote D’Ivoire, GTBank Gambia, GTBank Ghana, GTBank Kenya, GTBank Liberia, GTBank Rwanda, GTBank Tanzania, GTBank Uganda, GTBank Sierra Leone, and GTBank UK.
In FY 2023, these subsidiaries generated a pre-tax of N130.8 billion, representing a 310% growth from the N31.9 billion posted in FY 2022.
The group’s West African subsidiaries (Cote D’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) posted a pre-tax profit of N105.6 billion, while its East African subsidiaries (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda) posted a pre-tax profit of N13.7 billion.
What you should know
The year 2023 marked a record performance for these banks, with the four banks collectively reporting gross earnings of N7.99 trillion. They also posted a cumulative net income of N2.44 trillion during the year.
Although the foreign subsidiaries of these banks posted impressive returns throughout the year, their performances were overshadowed by their Nigerian operations.
Rising interest rates and a currency devaluation contributed to stellar earnings for the Nigerian banking sector.
