Total assets of 4 banks hit N19.86trn in 2018
…Zenith Bank tops list with N5.96tr in total assets in 2018
Motolani Oseni
Not less than four commercial banks operating in the country have recorded whopping total assets of N19.86 trillion at the close of business activities in 2018, checks by The Daily Times revealed.
Total assets refer to the total amount of assets owned by a person or entity. Assets are items of economic value, which are expanded over time to yield a benefit for the owner.
And the assets are usually recorded in the accounting record and appear in the balance sheet of the business.
The commercial banks considered in this report include Zenith Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, Access Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.
It is, however, important to note that these financial institutions are four out of six Domestic- Systematic Important Banks (D-SIBs) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
In the considered lenders, we note that Zenith Bank Plc recorded the highest total assets, followed by FBN Holdings Plc, then Access Bank and GTBank.
For Zenith Bank, the bank reported N5.96 trillion in total assets in 2018 against from N5.59 trillion declared in 2017, while FBN Holdings reported a 6.3 per cent increase in total assets to N5.6 trillion from N5.2 trillion in 2017, which was driven by 33.3per cent increase in investment securities to N1.7 trillion as against N1.2 trillion reported in 2017.
Access Bank and GTBank Plc for the 2018 financial year reported N8.3 trillion, as Access Bank total assets rose by 21 per cent to N4.95 trillion over N4.1 trillion in 2017 and GTBank, on the other hand, recorded N3.35 trillion.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in its fourth quarter economic report of 2018 noted that total assets and liabilities of commercial banks stood at N37.2 trillion as at November 31, 2018, representing 0.4 per cent decrease below the level at end-September 2018.
According to CBN report, funds were sourced, largely, from foreign liabilities, draw down on reserves and acquisition of credit from Central Bank. The funds were used, mainly, for payment of matured demand deposits, and settlement of claims on Central Bank and Federal Government.
“Total specified liquid assets of the banks was N12.16 trillion as at the end of November 31, 2018, representing 56.8 per cent of the total current liabilities,” the report explained.
Commenting on its audited financial statement for 2018, the Group Managing Director, FBN Holdings, UK Eke, said: “Over the course of the 2017 – 2019 strategic cycle, the priority for management has been to strengthen the various businesses across the Group and position for sustainable growth over the long term.
Our three-pronged approach has primarily been to drive long-term revenue generation capabilities, overhaul risk management processes and drive efficiency across our businesses.”
He stated that Holdings have “seen significant results in our revenue diversification aspiration, with improving digital banking offerings which have enhanced our non-interest income from the commercial banking group”.
Similarly, there has been steady growth in contribution to the revenue pool of the Group from the insurance business and the merchant banking business, helping to further reinforce the revenue generation capacity of the Group.
He added that “the revamp of our risk management architecture, which is one of the key enablers to our shareholder value creation aspiration, will ensure our revenue-generating capacity translates to stronger growth in profitability now that we have materially progressed in resolving the legacy issues as evidenced by the full provision for the largest NPL in our loan book.
“Finally, we have also focused on driving operational efficiencies across the Group by leveraging technology, improving processes and increasing synergies across various entities.
“In 2019, we expect growth in interest income to complement our growing non-interest revenue as we undertake the guided expansion of the loan book which contracted in the last two financial years”, he said.
