After five years of operations in Nigeria’s rapidly evolving non-interest banking (NIB) space, TAJBank Limited has emerged as the biggest player in the subsector, based on its total assets and gross earnings.
Disclosing this during his presentation on the key performance indicators of non-interest banks over the past few years at a seminar organized by Leaders Corporate Services in Abuja, themed “Roles of Non-Interest Banks in SMEs’ Financing,” investment expert Mr. Olabode Akeredolu-Ale said that, based on the approved financial statements of non-interest banks for the half year ended 2025, TAJBank currently leads the industry in total assets.
The expert, who is also a chartered stockbroker, confirmed that his recent research on the performance of non-interest banks showed that TAJBank’s total assets rose to ₦1.017 trillion in the first half of 2025, up from ₦953.098 billion as of December 2024 — about ₦53 billion higher than its closest rival.
According to him, TAJBank’s gross earnings for H1 2025 also surged to ₦53.752 billion, compared to ₦32.86 billion as of December 2024, representing a 64% growth, and higher than the gross earnings of the next non-interest bank during the same period.
He further disclosed that in terms of earnings per share (EPS), TAJBank recorded ₦0.61 in the first half of 2025, about 92% higher than the EPS of its nearest competitor.
Akeredolu-Ale, who is also a chartered accountant, clarified:
“The figures I am presenting here on the non-interest banks are sourced from banking and capital market regulatory platforms, which are publicly accessible for verification. I am part of this event because of my research interest in non-interest banking and how players in the subsector can leverage their strengths in innovation and ethical banking to support our MSMEs.
“Today, MSMEs find it difficult to access loans from deposit money banks (DMBs) due to high lending rates and other unfavorable macroeconomic conditions. This is where I believe non-interest banks have become crucial to Nigeria’s economic growth.”
He added that his findings showed non-interest banks are actively providing cost-friendly, interest-free financing to support entrepreneurs, particularly MSME owners. He urged participants at the seminar to take advantage of these opportunities by opening accounts with NIBs to grow their businesses.
Another speaker at the event, Mr. Benjamin Chukwudi, also commended non-interest banks for their “catalytic role in helping SMEs access interest-free loans and offering vital financial management advisory services,” which he said have been instrumental in helping small businesses stay afloat despite the rising cost of doing business in Nigeria.
