Compensation and salaries for the top management including Directors and Board members at the largest Nigerian Banks rose in the Frist Quarter (Q1) of 2020 even as earnings largely remained flat.
Salaries for Directors and Board members at Zenith, Access, Guaranty Trust Bank and First Bank increased by 15 percent to N1.52 billion in Q1, 2020, data compiled by MoneyCentral shows.
The banks Q1, earnings however were largely flat except for First Bank (FBNH).
Zenith Bank grew its Profit before tax (PBT) by 2.6 percent year on year in Q1, 2020, Access Bank’s PBT rose by 2.6 percent, GTB’s profits rose 1.17 percent and UBAs profit increased by 8.5 percent.
FBNH increased its profits by 61.5 percent largely as a result of gains in its fixed income trading book.FBNH came in at top of the list for spending on Directors with N634 million in Q1 up from N601 million in 2019 first quarter.
This was followed by Access Bank at N427.2 million, Guaranty Trust Bank at N261.4 million and Zenith Bank at N205 million.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) banking index has returned -15.93 percent year to date, worse than the NSE all share index which is down -6.18 percent, a reflection of the expected slowdown in bank earnings in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus.