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Zenith Bank, Access Holdings, FBHN, GTCO, and UBA collectively incurred N1.01 trillion in total operating expenses as at March 2024, which represents a 90.59 percent increase from 2023’s N531.02 billion.
Top line: Access Holdings Plc, Guaranty Trust Holdings Plc, and FirstBank Holdings who recorded a surge in their first quarter (Q1) 2024 earnings reported smaller increase in expenses than rivals like Zenith Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, which faced surging wages, fuel, and maintenance costs.
Key Facts:
- Unlike many rivals, GTCO kept a lid on fuel and maintenance expenses, which stood at N7.84 billion as the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) ballooned most lenders’ costs.
- These three firms, Access Holdings, GTCO, and FBHN bucked the trend as their operating expenses were lower than rivals even amid inflationary pressures.
- As 16.10 percent, GTCO’s cost to income ratio is the lowest in the industry, which underscores the lender’s cost efficiency
- Access Corp reported in its financial statement that Q1 operating expenses rose by 86.15 percent to N129.15 billion.
- Zenith Bank and UBA saw their operating expenses surge by 103.72 percent and 104.05 percent to N102.64 billion and N111.52 billion respectively due to higher wages costs, fuel and maintenance expenses.
- Despite rising inflation and unpredictable macroeconomic environment, the five biggest lenders (Zenith, Access, GTCO, FBHN, and UBA) collectively grew profit by 308.25 percent to N1.22 trillion as at March 2024.
- In all, the average expenses growth of the top five banks of 90.05 percent is way higher than 33.95 percent May inflation figures.
Surprising fact:
Access Bank is spending less. Unlike most rivals that saw surging costs, it recorded the lowest total expense expansion. The lender has embarked on cost control measures that are paying off.
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