Nigerian Banks with the Highest Loan and Advances to Customers as CBN Pushes for More to Boost Economy

• In the first three months of 2021, the total loans and advances made by 12 banks to their customers amounted to N17.75 trillion
• The loan books of Nigerian banks have risen in recent years as a result of the Central Bank of Nigeria's demand for additional lending
• Loans and advances to customers make up the majority of a bank's overall assets and continue to increase

The combined loan portfolio of 12 commercial banks in Nigeria rose by N690bn in the first three months of this year, data collated from their unaudited financial statements show.

Data obtained from the audited account shows that the banks which include Access, Zenith, UBA, First Bank, Fidelity, Stanbic, Union, Sterling, Wema, and Unity Bank pushed the total loan for customers in the economy to N17.75tn as of March 31, 2021, from N17.06tn at the end of December last year.

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Breakdown

The breakdown shows Access Bank Plc expanded its loan book to N3.26tn at the end of March 2021 from N3.22tn in December 2020 while that of Zenith Bank Plc grew to N2.84tn from N2.78tn.

The United Bank for Africa Plc increased its loans and advances to customers to N2.73tn as of March 31 from N2.55tn in December 2020.

FBN Holdings Plc, the holding company of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, grew its loan book to N2.30tn at the end of March from N2.22tn in December while that of Guaranty Trust Bank shrank to N1.64tn from N1.66tn.

Fidelity Bank Plc expanded its loan book to N1.43tn at the end of the first quarter of this year from N1.33tn in December while that of FCMB Group Plc grew to N886.09bn from N822.77bn.

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The loan portfolio of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc rose to N730.14bn as of March 31 from N625.14bn in December while that of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc increased to N712.58bn from N692.80bn.

Sterling Bank Plc increased its loans and advances to customers to N632.48bn in March from N596.83bn in December.

Wema Bank of Nigeria grew its loan book to N367.69bn in March from N360.08bn in December while that of Unity Bank Plc expanded to N223.22bn from N202.08bn.

Nigeria largest banks by customer deposits

Total customer deposits in nine Nigerian banks climbed to N30.81 trillion at the end of the first quarter of this year, up from N29.73 trillion in December 2020.

United Bank for Africa Plc was the top bank in terms of customer deposits as of March 31, 2021, with deposits growing to N5.79 trillion from N5.68 trillion in December.

Others were revealed in the report which used public information from the banks audited accounts published on the Nigerian exchange website.

Source: Legit.ng