Ecobank Group reported its first-ever annual profit exceeding N1 trillion in 2025, with profit after tax reaching N904.7 billion, a 23 per cent increase from the previous year. Gross earnings rose 16 per cent to N4.88 trillion, driven by treasury operations, fee income, and balance sheet expansion across its African operations. Income from treasury bills and investment securities surged to over N1.4 trillion, accounting for 29 per cent of gross earnings, while customer lending contributed about 33 per cent. Treasury bill holdings grew 28 per cent to N3.3 trillion, and investment securities increased 19 per cent to N12.7 trillion, as customer deposits rose 15 per cent to N36.4 trillion, outpacing loan growth at 10 per cent. The Corporate and Investment Banking division generated N2.518 trillion in interest income and N1.1 trillion in profit before tax. Despite strong group performance, Ecobank Nigeria recorded a pre-tax loss due to worsening asset quality after the end of Central Bank of Nigeria forbearance measures. This led to a reclassification of legacy loans and a 306 per cent rise in Nigeria's impairment charges to N125 billion, contributing to a group-wide 40 per cent increase in impairments to N707.53 billion. Regional results varied, with solid growth in Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa and Anglophone West Africa, but Nigeria's performance lagged. A Lagos-based banking analyst said, "Ecobank is benefiting from a favorable interest rate environment and strong liquidity, but the increasing dependence on treasury income signals a shift in risk profile." Another expert noted that rising impairments and uneven regional outcomes make asset quality a key concern.
Ecobank celebrates record profits while its Nigerian operations sink into pre-tax loss, exposing a growing disconnect between pan-African success and domestic struggle. The N125 billion in impairment charges in Nigeria—up 306 per cent—shows that local borrowers are under severe stress, even as the bank profits from government securities. Nigerians relying on credit from Ecobank face tighter conditions, while the bank's earnings depend less on lending and more on rate-driven instruments they cannot access. This shift risks turning a household financial brand into a distant player in Nigeria's real economy.
💡 NaijaBuzz is an AI-assisted news aggregator. This content is curated from third-party sources — NaijaBuzz is not the original publisher and is not responsible for the accuracy of source reporting. The NaijaBuzz Take is AI-assisted editorial opinion only, not established fact. All persons mentioned are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction. NaijaBuzz does not endorse the views expressed in source articles.
