Five banks’ assets hit N20.47tn on earnings surge

Five mid-sized Nigerian banks grew their total assets to N20.47tn and made N338.4bn in profit after tax in the first half of 2026, based on financial figures compiled by The PUNCH for this analysis.

Assets are things a bank owns or is owed that have financial value and can provide future economic benefits, such as loans, cash, investments and property.

These Tier 2 lenders—Wema Bank, FCMB Group, Sterling Financial Holdings, Jaiz Bank and Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank—also generated a combined N1.43tn in gross earnings or turnover during the six months ended June 30.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s biggest banks, known as Tier 1 lenders, have yet to publish their audited results for the first half of 2026.

The 44-year-old FCMB Group had the largest balance sheet, with total assets of about N8.36tn as of June 30. Wema Bank, an older lender, followed with N5.76tn, while Sterling Financial Holdings had N4.67tn.

Jaiz Bank, Nigeria’s first and largest fully licensed non-interest (Islamic) bank, operating on Sharia-compliant, ethical finance principles, reported assets of approximately N1.64tn, while Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank was substantially smaller at about N53.25bn.

FCMB and Wema accounted for the overwhelming majority of the profit. Together, they raked in about N271.25bn, or roughly 80 per cent of the combined N338.4bn.

FCMB alone contributed about 41 per cent of the aggregate profit, while Wema accounted for approximately 39 per cent. Sterling contributed nearly 15 per cent, Jaiz about 4.5 per cent, and Infinity Trust less than 1 per cent.

The analysis of Wema’s numbers indicates that its profit was almost as large as FCMB’s despite having a substantially smaller balance sheet.

The lender reported N131.37bn in profit after tax on N415.09bn in gross earnings, while assets reached N5.76tn.

Wema’s profit after tax increased 50.1 per cent from the corresponding period of 2025, the 81-year-old lender stated in its unaudited results. Profit before tax rose 53.7 per cent to N154.56bn, while gross earnings increased 36.9 per cent to N415.09bn. Its interest income rose 42.7 per cent to N342.64bn.

The bank’s balance sheet also expanded. Total assets increased 13.5 per cent from N5.07tn at the end of 2025, while loans and advances to customers rose 21.7 per cent to N2.12tn. Customer deposits increased to about N3.45tn.

FCMB’s H1 2026 results showed gross earnings of about N676.2bn, up 27.8 per cent from the previous year, while profit after tax reached approximately N139.9bn, an increase of about 90.5 per cent. Profit before tax rose 98.8 per cent to N157.3bn. Total assets stood at approximately N8.36tn, up 9.53 per cent.

Sterling Financial Holdings reported N50.30bn in profit after tax and N279.6bn in gross earnings for the first six months. Profit increased 20.4 per cent from N41.78bn a year earlier, while profit before tax rose 21.9 per cent to N55.53bn. Gross earnings increased 31.5 per cent.

The lender’s credit…