By NIYI JACOBS
Nigeria’s Tier 1 banks have demonstrated impressive performance, with their foreign subsidiaries generating a combined profit of N627.027 billion in 2023. This represents a 319% year-over-year growth, driven by significant growth in gross earnings from these foreign subsidiaries.
Access Holding led the way with the most subsidiaries, followed by GTCO, Access, and Zenith. United Bank for Africa (UBA) also reported impressive growth, despite a decline in contributions from foreign subsidiaries. The growth is driven by policy shifts, including increased interest rates to combat inflation and Naira devaluation, leading to foreign exchange gains and substantial growth in interest income.
The Tier 1 banks’ foreign subsidiaries have become a significant contributor to their bottom lines, with Access Holding’s foreign operations generating N199.180 billion in net pre-tax profit, followed by UBA’s N165.697 billion, Zenith Bank’s N131.486 billion, and GTCO’s N130.664 billion.
The impressive performance of the Tier 1 banks’ foreign subsidiaries is a testament to their successful expansion strategies, and highlights the potential for further growth in international markets.
