Three of Nigeria's largest banks — Access Holdings Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), and United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) — lost a combined ₦2.13 billion ($1.56 million) to fraud and forgery in 2025, according to their audited financial statements. While the total number of fraud incidents across the banks dropped by 15.03%, the average amount stolen per successful attack rose to ₦44,454 ($32.65), up from ₦40,488 ($29.74) the previous year. Electronic fraud dominated, with UBA recording 26,400 incidents, 99.91% of which were electronic, and fraudulent transfers accounting for 35.99% of actual losses by value. Access Bank faced the highest financial impact, losing ₦1.24 billion, or 39.1% of the ₦3.17 billion targeted, while UBA lost ₦621.57 million from ₦4.56 billion targeted, a recovery rate of 86.4%. GTCO lost ₦269.44 million from ₦2.58 billion targeted, with a 10.4% loss rate. The total amount linked to fraud across the three banks was ₦10.29 billion ($7.56 million), but only 20.66% crystallized into actual losses, indicating partial recovery or blocking of funds. At Access Bank, electronic fraud cases fell 47.74% to 5,931, though cash theft from just 26 incidents contributed 14.31% of its total losses. GTCO saw a 30.05% increase in fraud-linked amounts and a 69.34% rise in actual losses despite a 0.48% drop in total fraud cases. The banks collectively spent ₦280.90 billion ($206.33 million) on technology investments in 2025, including cybersecurity systems and fraud-monitoring tools. Instant payments reached ₦284.99 trillion ($209.34 billion) in Q1 2025, and four major banks processed ₦286.19 trillion ($210.22 billion) via mobile apps in the year. The Central Bank of Nigeria directed NIBSS to start debiting institutions that receive funds from fraudulent transactions, a move aimed at shifting liability and improving accountability.
The banks lost less money per incident than they spent defending against them, with cybersecurity budgets exceeding actual fraud losses by a factor of 131. Access Bank lost over a billion naira despite a 47.74% drop in electronic fraud cases, showing that fewer attacks no longer mean safer systems. The rising value per successful breach suggests fraudsters are targeting higher-yield vulnerabilities, not casting wider nets. GTCO's 69.34% jump in losses despite fewer cases reveals that incident counts alone are misleading indicators of security performance.
Editorial note: AI-assisted opinion, not established fact. Full disclaimer →
