Nine banks raked in about ₦14.72 trillion in the first three quarters of 2025, driven by a high-interest environment.
An analysis of the interim financial statements for the period ended 30 September 2025 indicated that the interest income of these financial institutions rose by 27.68 per cent from ₦11.53 trillion.
Reviewed in this piece were the unaudited third-quarter results of Access Holdings Plc, First HoldCo, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Sterling Financial Holding Company, Wema Bank, and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated.
According to the Corporate Finance Institute, interest income is money earned by a company for lending its funds, either by putting them into a deposit account in a bank or by purchasing certificates of deposit.
The financial results of Access Holdings revealed that its interest income rose by 21.11 per cent to ₦2.90 trillion. Following was Zenith Bank, which brought in about ₦2.74 trillion, approximately 40.77 per cent higher than ₦1.95 trillion in the previous year.
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated reported a 20 per cent rise in its interest income to ₦2.33 trillion. Also earning above ₦2 trillion in interest income was First HoldCo.
Both Zenith Bank (40.77 per cent) and First HoldCo (40.38 per cent) showed the strongest growth momentum among the largest banks.
GTCO reported a 25.56 per cent increase in its interest income to ₦1.23 trillion, while UBA recorded the lowest projected percentage growth (10.08 per cent) to ₦1.98 trillion from ₦1.79 trillion. Wema Bank showed the most significant growth, with its interest income as of Q3 2025 standing at ₦396.95 billion, which is 72.65 per cent higher than the ₦229.91 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings achieved a strong year-on-year growth rate of 37.24 per cent in interest income. Stanbic IBTC added approximately ₦158.53 billion to its interest income during the first nine months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024.
Sterling recorded an impressive year-on-year growth rate of 38.73 per cent in interest income to ₦262.42 billion from ₦189.16 billion.
The PUNCH