Nigeria’s Banking Behemoth GT Posts Record Profits—Traditional Finance Still Prints Money (For Now)

GT Bank just flexed its dominance again—Q1 profits surged 28% year-over-year while fintech startups burn VC cash. The Lagos-based institution now controls 14.3% of Nigeria’s banking sector revenue.

How? Old-school branch networks and corporate lending still move the needle in Africa’s largest economy. Digital transformation? More like ’digitization theater’ while the real money flows through legacy channels.

But watch the horizon: Nigeria’s eNaira CBDC and crypto adoption could disrupt this cash machine. For now, GT proves that in finance, the house always wins—until the rules change.

According to the results submitted to the London Stock Exchange and the Nigerian Exchange Group, GTCO’s interest income increased by 41% year-over-year, while fee and commission income ROSE by 42%. The non-recurrence of a one-time fair value gain of N331.6 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2024 partially mitigated these earnings.

The Group’s net loan book increased by 15.6 percent, from N2.79 trillion as of December 2024 to N3.22 trillion by the end of March 2025.

Customer deposit liabilities also improved during the reviewed period, rising from N10.40tn to N11.20tn, a 7.7 percent increase. The closing value of the shareholders’ funds was N3 trillion, while the total assets reached N15.9 trillion.

GT’s Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio closed at 34.6 percent, well above the legal minimum, demonstrating a strong capital base.

The Group also noted improvements in asset quality, as IFRS 9 Stage 3 loans decreased to 4 percent at the Group level (from 5 percent in December 2024) and 3 percent at the Bank level (from 3 percent). “Our Q1 2025 performance demonstrates the resilience of all our business verticals and our ability to produce robust and long-term profits.”  Segun Agbaje said.

A diversified revenue base and a sound, well-structured balance sheet supported the Group’s strong growth across most income lines, even though the N331.6 billion in fair value gains reported in Q1 2024 did not occur this quarter. He also stated, “We are still hopeful about the coming year. Our customer base keeps expanding, our business’s foundation is solid, and our strategic priorities are disciplined.”