Ecobank Group is marking its 40th anniversary with the strongest financial performance in a decade, posting $657 million in profit before tax and delivering an 18 percent revenue surge that signals the pan-African lender has successfully transformed itself from a regional experiment into Africa’s most extensive banking network.
The unaudited results for the first nine months of 2025 show profit before tax climbing 34 percent year-on-year to $657 million, while net revenue reached $1.8 billion, the fastest growth rate in ten years for a banking group that now operates across 35 markets spanning West, Central, East, and Southern Africa.
What makes this milestone particularly meaningful is the journey behind it. When Ecobank was founded in 1985 to address the financial needs of West African entrepreneurs, the initiative originated from the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce with an ambitious vision to establish a private regional banking institution. Key figures Gervais Koffi Djondo and Adeyemi Lawson played crucial roles in realizing this vision, which was first discussed in Mali back in 1972.
Four decades later, that regional experiment has evolved into Africa’s premier pan-African banking group, employing over 14,000 people and serving millions of customers through more than 1,500 branches. The timing of record financial results alongside the anniversary celebrations provides validation that the original vision has not just survived but thrived despite Africa’s often challenging business environment.
Strategic Transformation Driving Results
CEO Jeremy Awori highlighted how the Growth, Transformation, and Returns strategy has delivered tangible improvements across every key metric. Return on tangible equity reached 31.2 percent, tangible book value per share increased 83 percent, and the cost-to-income ratio improved from 54.5 percent last year to a record low of 48.0 percent.
That six-percentage-point improvement in cost efficiency represents substantial progress in operational discipline, a metric investors watch closely when assessing bank management quality. The group generated 14 percent positive operating leverage, with net revenue growth at 18 percent significantly outpacing operating expense growth of just 4 percent.
Awori credited focused client account planning, strong origination and execution discipline, and better cross-selling for Corporate and Investment Banking’s 18 percent revenue growth, while Consumer and Commercial Banking revenues increased 13 percent driven by significant growth in active customers, deposits, and targeted customer service initiatives.
The balance sheet expansion underscores growing market confidence. Gross loans increased $1.7 billion year-to-date to $12.2 billion, while customer deposits rose $3.7 billion to $24.1 billion. Asset quality improved markedly, with the non-performing loan ratio reducing to 5.3 percent from 7.0 percent in the first quarter of 2024, reflecting successful loan recovery and risk remediation initiatives.
Digital Investment and Customer Engagement
Ecobank invested heavily in digital infrastructure during the period, deploying approximately 400 new state-of-the-art ATMs across its network, improving digital channels and mobile banking platforms, and enhancing digital account opening, wealth management services, and lending capabilities. These investments reflect recognition that African banking increasingly happens through mobile devices rather than physical branches.
The group’s payments, fintech, and cross-border remittances business delivered 13 percent revenue growth to $221 million, accounting for 13 percent of group-wide revenues. This was primarily driven by 20 percent increase in disbursement services and 14 percent growth in cards, indicating strong momentum in transaction banking and digital payments.
Non-interest revenue accounted for 42.4 percent of total revenue, with payments contributing 29.7 percent of that non-interest income. That diversification matters because it reduces dependence on net interest margins, which can compress when central banks cut rates or competition intensifies.
Ecobank has also significantly enhanced its Ellevate program to support women entrepreneurs throughout Africa, renewed focus on the agricultural sector, and improved various customer-facing services. Awori emphasized these initiatives target specific segments where the group sees growth opportunities and competitive advantage.
Anniversary Celebrations With Social Impact
The 40th anniversary celebrations extend beyond financial results to include substantial social impact initiatives. On October 11, Ecobank held its 13th annual Ecobank Day focused on enabling inclusive learning for all, reflecting the bank’s conviction that every child, including those with disabilities, deserves fair and equitable access to education.
The anniversary edition of Ecobank Day marked the culmination of a three-year pan-African campaign themed “Transforming Africa Through Education,” with the group planning to deploy 40 IT labs and train 40,000 children in essential digital skills. Over the past two years, Ecobank provided mentorship to over 27,000 children and donated more than 30 IT labs across its 34 markets in Africa.
The social responsibility initiatives have evolved significantly since Ecobank Day launched in 2013, addressing various social challenges from malaria prevention and control in 2014 to safe water management in 2017 and support for orphanages in 2018. The current three-year education campaign included “Excel with Digital Skills” in 2023, “Ignite Learning with AI” in 2024, and “Enabling Inclusive Learning for All” in 2025.
In Nigeria, Ecobank launched a new Super Rewards campaign to mark the anniversary, with N61.2 million in cash prizes set aside for customers nationwide, running from September 2025 to January 2026. The five-month campaign will reward 914 customers across individual, business, and student segments, recognizing customer loyalty while celebrating four decades of pan-African service.
Challenges and Controversies
The anniversary celebrations come against a backdrop of legal challenges facing the group’s leadership. In December 2024, a $68 million claim was launched in Dubai against CEO Jeremy Awori and ETI subsidiaries, alleging attempts to coerce a trading company into making substantial undue payments following a loss suffered in 2015. The legal action describes the situation as an extortion attempt, with allegations that ETI leadership has been aware since August 2023 but took no action to stop it.
These legal troubles echo earlier governance controversies, including a 2014 dispute involving fraud allegations backed by a confidential Ernst & Young audit report. While Ecobank eventually settled that matter and absolved the then chairman of wrongdoing, such episodes raise questions about governance standards at Africa’s largest pan-regional banking group.
The challenges reflect broader issues facing pan-African banks operating across multiple jurisdictions with varying regulatory environments, legal systems, and governance standards. Managing compliance, risk, and ethical standards consistently across 35 markets represents an ongoing operational challenge that becomes more complex as the group grows.
Regional Impact and Future Trajectory
Ecobank’s shares trade on three West African stock exchanges: the Ghana Stock Exchange, Nigeria Stock Exchange, and BRVM exchange in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. This multi-listing strategy provides liquidity across key markets while signaling commitment to regional capital market development.
The bank’s diversified geographic footprint provides natural hedging against country-specific risks. Operations span Francophone West Africa through UEMOA, Anglophone West Africa, Nigeria as a standalone market, and Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. Representative offices in Beijing, Dubai, London, and the United Kingdom extend reach beyond Africa, facilitating trade finance and cross-border transactions connecting African businesses to global markets.
As macroeconomic conditions stabilize and interest rates normalize across African markets, Ecobank remains focused on disciplined capital allocation, digital innovation, and strengthening its leadership position. The group maintained a sound capital position, with an estimated Common Equity Tier 1 ratio of 12.9 percent and total capital adequacy ratio of 16.8 percent, both comfortably above regulatory minimums.
Those capital buffers provide cushion for growth and unexpected shocks, essential for a bank operating across multiple African jurisdictions with varying economic conditions. The question facing management is whether the current momentum represents a sustainable new trajectory or temporary alignment of favorable conditions.
For now, the combination of record financial performance, extensive digital investment, meaningful social impact initiatives, and four decades of operational experience positions Ecobank as Africa’s most ambitious pan-regional banking success story. Whether the next 40 years match the achievements of the first four decades depends on navigating intensifying competition from fintech players, managing governance challenges, sustaining operational efficiency gains, and continuing to deliver value across an increasingly interconnected African financial landscape.
As Awori concluded in his statement, the group remains grateful to all those who helped build the foundation upon which it continues delivering financial solutions to businesses, governments, and households, fostering economic and financial integration across Africa. The 40th anniversary represents not just a celebration of past achievements but a platform for positioning Ecobank to lead Africa’s digital banking transformation over the coming decades.
