Nigerian banks have continued to pull their weight in the global banking industry, financing big investment deals all over the world. Across Africa, Nigerian banks are regarded as one of the strongest and most reliable financial institutions with the likes of Ecobank, UBA, and First Bank leading the way. 

In this article, we will have a close look at the top 10 most wealthy and richest banks in Nigeria, and we will make this assertion considering the Q3 2020 Financial reports of these banks.

To give a preview of this article, we will get to see that the bank with the largest assets value is not Zenith Bank as we would normally have expected. However, Zenith bank remains one of the most profitable banks for the year ended September 2020 beating its closest rival with over ₦279.79 billion Equity value. Also, the bank with the highest asset value took home the title of the bank with the highest Total Liabilities, with the figure standing at over ₦8.6 trillion.

Anyways enough of the preview, it's about time we get into the meat of this article, as we highlight the top 10 richest banks in Nigeria.

Before going into details, please have a look at the table of contents.

Top 10 Richest Banks in Nigeria

1. Ecobank Group - ₦9.3 Trillion

So Ecobank Group surprisingly takes the title of the most wealthy and richest bank in Nigeria in terms of Asset values based on the 2020 Q3 financial result of the bank which was approved by the bank's Board of Directors on the 25th of November, 2020. 

The full financial report shows that the bank holds Assets with a combined value of about $24.4 Billion which is equivalent to over ₦9.3 Trillion. A close look at the reports also shows that the bank operates in as many as 33 different African countries including South Sudan and Congo Brazzaville, with the total values of the bank's properties and equipment across these countries standing at over ₦316 Million, thus accounting for about 0.003% of the bank's total asset value.

Ecobank - Pan African Bank

The financial report for the year ended September 30th, 2020 indicates that the bank's total equity after deducting the liabilities for the year stands at about ₦699,341,420,250 showing that the bank managed a total liability value of about ₦860,738,800,000 (over ₦860 billion) for the year ended.

Last year, Ecobank walked away with two prestigious awards, one from the African Banker Magazines which awarded the bank the 2020 prize for Innovation in Financial Services in Africa. The second award for Africa’s Best Bank for Corporate Responsibility 2020 came from the Euromoney Awards for Excellence which recognized the bank's work in driving "change at community levels across our pan African footprint".

All of the above makes Ecobank deserves to be the biggest bank in Nigeria by assets.

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2. Zenith Bank - ₦7.973 Trillion

Zenith bank comes in second place as the bank with the second-largest asset value for the 2020 Financial year. The Banks Asset value stands at ₦7,973,265,000,000 (over 7.9 trillion). Remember Zenith Bank is regarded as one of the most profitable banks in the country, and the 2020 financial result of the bank stays true to that title as the bank came in 1st just ahead of GT Bank and First Bank with an Equity value for the year ended standing at over ₦1.034 Trillion (₦1,034,341,000,000).

For the year ended, Zenith Bank managed a total liability value of ₦6,938,924,000,000 just behind those posted by Access Bank and Ecobank respectively, and about ₦500 billion more than that posted by the United Bank of Africa UBA.

The Bank was founded by Jim Ovia, A billionaire businessman, who set the bank up with just 20 million. Jim Ovia would in 2010 step down as the CEO of the bank but remained the majority shareholder in the Bank.

Jim Ovia Founded Zenith Bank in 1990

3. Access Bank - ₦7.925 Trillion 

Access comes third on our list which is not surprising considering that the bank reportedly boasts of about 29 million customers after its merger with Diamond bank in 2019, which is also one of the most famous bank mergers in Nigeria. Remember, Access Bank agreed to purchase Diamond Bank for a reported figure of about $235 million which is equivalent to about ₦89 Billion at the current Naira exchange rate.

The bank's total asset value for the 2020 Financial Year stands at ₦7,924,720,855,000 (i.e Seven Trillion, Nine Hundred and Twenty Four Billion, Seven Hundred and Twenty Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty-Five Thousand). This asset Value was closely matched by Liabilities which stood at just over ₦7.245 trillion, which means that the bank's total equity for the Financial Year ended 30th September 2020, was about ₦679.463 Billion.

The bank's total asset value from December 2019 to September 2020 increased by about 11% which is closely linked to the increase in customer deposits which was a 24% increase within the same period under review.

Access Bank - Passion For Excellence

4. First Bank - ₦7.243 Trillion

First Bank holds the title of the first bank in Nigeria with its existence possibly traced back as far as 1894. The Bank currently has its footprint in 10 different countries across the globe, with 7 of these being in Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Senegal, DRC, Gambia, Sierra Leone) while the remaining three are spread across Asia (China) and Europe (the UK and France). 

First Bank's Total Asset as of 30th September 2020 places the bank among the top 5 banks in Nigeria, just ahead of United Bank of Africa UBA and GT Bank. The bank's asset value stood at ₦7.243 trillion while its total equity for the same period stood at about ₦712 billion, making it the third most profitable bank in the country within the period under review i.e (September 2019 to September 2020).

First Bank - Banking for Good

The bank also enjoyed a very strong performance Year-on-Year, with its Gross Earnings increasing by 5.1% from ₦417.9 billion to ₦439.3 billion, which was helped by the bank's non-interest earnings which went up by as much as 50%.

5. United Bank of Africa (UBA) - ₦7.06 Trillion 

UBA claims its place in the top 5 of the wealthiest and Richest Banks in Nigeria going by the bank's Total Asset and Net Equity for the 2020 Financial Year ended 30 September 2020.

The bank's total assets as disclosed in the Bank's Unaudited Interim Financial Statements for the period ended 30 September 2020 stands at ₦7,059,797000,000 (about ₦7.059 trillion). For the same period, the bank's total liabilities stood at about ₦6.404 trillion and when this is subtracted from the total asset value leaves about ₦655.327 billion as the bank's total shareholder's equity for the financial year ended 30 September 2020.

The bank which reportedly began doing business as far back as 1949 has offices in about 20 countries across Africa as well as footprints in the USA, UK, and France. UBA is owned by Mr Tony Elumelu, who is by far one of the most generous billionaires in the country. The entrepreneur and philanthropists run a $100 million Entrepreneurship and Business Support Grant for young entrepreneurs in Nigeria and across Africa.

UBA Says You Can

And when it comes to cars. the Banks Founder Mr Tony Elumelu likes them expensive and hot. He reported owns a Range Rover SUV, a Mercedes Benz S-Class Sedan, and an expensive BMW sedan.

Mr Elumelu and his multimillion naira Range Rover

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6. Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) - ₦4.574 Trillion 

As you have expected, GT Bank also made it our top 10 richest banks in Nigeria with a total asset value of ₦4,573,677,041,000 i.e about ₦4.574 Trillion. Within the period under review i.e between September 2019 and September 2020, the bank managed a total liability of about ₦3.818 trillion, which left a balance of about ₦755.549 billion as the Total Shareholder's Equity. This result is found in the bank's unaudited financial results as submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange.

GT Bank - Wouldn't You Rather Bank With Us

GT Banks though didn't really enjoy such an impressive year, as the Bank's Gross Earning experienced a 1.9% dip when compared to the 2019 Financial Year, thus closing at ₦3.3 billion less. However, the bank's performance showed good promise of better days, especially in the third quarter.

The Bank currently has operations in as many as 10 African countries and the United Kingdom UK, with over 12,000 strong staff strength across.

7. Fidelity Bank - ₦2.886 Trillion 

Fidelity Bank is our 7th richest bank in Nigeria with a total assets value of ₦2,886,296,000,000 and is one of those banks that seems to operate only within Nigeria. The bank metamorphoses from a Merchant Bank to a Commercial Bank in 1991 and would later merge with two other banks (Manny Bank Plc and FSB International Bank Plc ) in 2005.

For the Financial Year ended 30 September 2020, the bank said it managed a total liability of about ₦2.407 Trillion, which left it with a shareholder's equity of ₦338.793 billion for the period under review. 

The bank only recently appointed a new Managing Director and CEO Mrs Nneka-Onyeali Ikpe to run the affairs of the bank starting from the 1st of January 2021.

Fidelity Bank - We Are Fidelity, We Keep Our Word

8. Stanbic IBTC - ₦2.579 Trillion 

Stanbic IBTC is one of the most trusted banks in the country, which began offering banking services to Nigerians as far back as 1989 when it held a Merchant Banking License and was then known as IBTC They receive the Universal Banking License from the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2002 and would go public some three years later. The bank would subsequently merge with Regent Bank PLC and Chartered Bank PLC, and also with Stanbic Bank Nigeria Limited in 2007 to become the Stanbic IBTC as we now know it today.

The bank's total asset value for the Financial Year ended 30 September 2020 stood at ₦2,578,513,000,000 i.e over ₦2.579 Trillion. For the period under review, the bank's unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statement showed that the bank managed a total liability of over ₦2.212 Trillion and realized a Total Equity of about ₦365.793 Billion.

Stanbic Ibtc Bank in Nigeria

The bank enjoyed a positive gross earner for the period under review, raking in ₦7,129,000,000 (about 7.129 billion) more than the previous year with non-interest earnings accounting for most of the profit.

9. Union Bank - ₦2.2 Trillion

Union Bank remains one of the oldest banks in the country. The bank began operation sometime in 1917 and was then known as the Colonial Bank and Later Barclay DCO. The name Union Bank came into existence in the early 1990s when the former colonial bank became a wholly Nigerian-owned bank.

Anyway, the bank has grown in leaps and bounds through its over 100 years of existence and currently ranks as the 9th richest Bank in Nigeria going by the banks Unaudited Financial Statements for the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020.

Union Bank of Nigeria

The bank's total asset stood at about ₦2.2 trillion while the total shareholder's equity for the same period stood at about ₦365.760 Billion. The bank said that it enjoyed a 6% increase in gross earnings from the previous year, closing at a good ₦6.9 billion more compared to 2019. The said its profit before tax also increased by about 2%, closing at a good ₦400 million more than the previous year.

10. First City Monumental Bank (FCMB) - ₦2.04 Trillion

The final spot on our top 10 richest banks in Nigeria is comfortably taken by FCMB which comes in with a total asset value of ₦2,037,569,716,000 as revealed in the bank's Interim Financial Statements for the financial year ended 30 September 2020. 

The bank's gross earnings increased by as much as ₦10.6 billion more than the previous year while its Profit before minimum tax and income tax increased by over ₦3 billion compared to 2019. The bank managed a total liability of about ₦1.822 trillion, which thus balanced the sheets with ₦214.832 billion as the total shareholder's equity of deducting the liabilities.

Only recently, the former MD of the Bank Adam Nuru was embroiled in a sex scandal that led to him stepping aside from his role as the bank's MD to allow for an unhindered investigation into the allegations by the bank's Board of Directors.

FCMB - My Bank and I

Conclusion

So those are our top 10 richest banks in Nigeria and we are sure you got the numbers straight. Ecobank remains the richest bank in Nigeria with an asset value of ₦9.3 trillion and is closely followed by Zenith Bank which posted a total assets value of over ₦7.97 Trillion. From the bottom, we had FCMB with a total assets value of ₦2.04 trillion and closely followed by Union bank with a total asset value of about ₦2.2 Trillion.

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