Six Tier-1 banks otherwise referred to as Domestic-Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) have provided about ₦77.86 trillion loans to customers and businesses between 2021 and 2023.
According to the Financial Stability Board, D-SIBs are financial institutions (mostly banks) that can cause a significant disruption to a country’s economic system when in distress.
In Nigeria, D-SIBs are also referred to as Tier-1 banks and include: Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), United Bank for Africa (UBA), Access Holdings Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, and Guaranty Trust Holdings Company Plc (GTCO).
The loans granted by the six D-SIBs in 2023 increased by 67.3% to ₦36.8 trillion, from ₦21.99 trillion recorded in 2022. This also represented a ₦21.4 trillion growth from ₦18.11 trillion recorded in 2021.
A breakdown of the loans offered by the six D-SiBS across Africa showed that the total loans granted by ETI increased to ₦19.17 trillion.
Customers of Access Holdings received ₦17.3 trillion loans and advances between 2023 and 2021.
Zenith Bank granted a total of ₦13.9 trillion in loans to its customers; FBN Holdings customers received ₦13.03 trillion in loans and advances; UBA customers got ₦7.29 trillion in loans while GTCO customers received ₦6.17 trillion loans and advances.
A breakdown of the banks’ financial report for the period under review showed that ETI granted the highest loans to major economic sectors.
This was followed by Access Holdings, and Zenith Bank.
The sectors that benefited more from the loans are Oil & Gas, Manufacturing, Power, Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Real Estate, Information and Communication, among others.
The banks’ increased loan offers have also boosted their earning power as these financial institutions have continued to make profits from interests on loans, an upshot of the recent interest rate hikes in Nigeria and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa.