Access, Zenith, and First Bank lead as nine banks report N4.2 trillion from interest income

• After raising interest rates several times in 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has held rates twice in 2025
• At the sustained rate of 27.5%, nine Nigerian banks have reported a growth in their interest income for Q1 2025
• The growth is, however, clouded by an even higher growth in interest expense, narrowing the net margin for many of the banks

Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon, a Legit.ng journalist, has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

Nine commercial banks in Nigeria have reported a total of N4.18 trillion as interest income for the first quarter of 2025.

This refers to the total income the banks made for lending money to individuals or entities to use for business or other purposes.

On the flip side, the nine banks also recorded a combined interest expense of N1.9 trillion in the period. This marks a 43.2% increase from N1.33 trillion in Q1, 2024.

Interest expense refers to the money the banks pay to the depositors as interest on the funds, based on the interest rate. It stands as the interest expense, while the net interest income stands as the bank's profit for the transaction.

While these nine banks made a total of N4.18 trillion as interest income, N1.9 trillion was paid out to customers as interest on their deposits.

Access, Zenith, and First banks lead

Here is the breakdown for all nine banks according to the Punch news, showing how much depositors earned as interest.

• Access Bank is at the top with an interest income of N964.6 billion in interest income for Q1 2025, marking a 58% growth from N608.1 billion in Q1 2024. The bank also had its interest expense increase by 71% from NN443.88 billion in Q1 2024 to N760.47 billion in Q1 2025.
• Zenith Bank grew its interest income by 71.5% from N488.5 billion in Q1 2024 to N837.6 billion in Q1 2025, while interest expense grew by 35.3% from N182.1 billion to N246.45 billion for the same period.
• First HoldCo Plc grew interest income by 40% from N446.1 billion to N625.3 billion in 2024, while interest expense grew 18.6% from N219.30 billion to N260.09 billion.
• United Bank for Africa Plc’s interest income grew by 36% from N440.8 billion to N599.8 billion, while interest expense spiked by 77% from N140.09 billion to N247.96 billion.
• For Guaranty Trust Holding Company, interest income grew by 41% from N273.2 billion to N386 billion in Q1 2025, while interest expense grew by 45.4% from N54.35 billion to N79.03 billion.
• Fidelity Bank reported a 58% growth in interest income from N162 billion to N256.1 billion, while interest expense grew 28.6% from N70.5 billion to N90.65 billion.
• For Stanbic IBTC Holdings, interest income grew 55.8% from N115.8 billion to N180.5 billion, while interest income declined by 21.4% from N38.9 billion to N30.58 billion.
• FCMB Group reported a 71% growth in interest income from N125.4 billion to N214.4 billion, while interest expense grew by 81.2% from N70 billion to N126.87 billion in Q1 2025.
• Wema Bank reported a 59% growth in interest income from N69.4 billion in Q1 2024 to N110.3 billion in 2025, while interest expense increased by 24% from N43.32 billion to N53.7%.

Interest income determines a bank’s profitability

Overall, the data shows higher borrowing costs for many of the banks while others had better asset yields, evident in the decline in interest expense.

The Director and Chief Economist at Proshare Nigeria LLC, Teslim Shitta-Bey, explained in his remarks that the net interest income is a key indicator of a bank’s operational health.

He said:

“What matters most to banks is their net interest income, the actual spread between what they earn and what they pay out. Tax is not an operational issue; as long as a bank is profitable, it will pay tax accordingly.”

Ecobank leads with highest interest income in 2024

In related news, Ecobnak declared the highest interest income for Full Year 2024 based on the unaudited financial statements of the different banks.

Legit.ng earlier reported that the banks were cashing out from the increased interest rate.

While ten banks reported a combined N14.4 trillion as interest income, Ecobank was the highest with N2.76 trillion for the year.

Source: Legit.ng