Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the Lomé-headquartered pan-African banking group, posted a 29 percent rise in profit after tax to NGN 950 billion for the year ended 31 December 2025, supported by strong income growth across its core lending and non-interest revenue lines, according to condensed consolidated unaudited financial statements filed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
Profit before tax climbed 30 percent to NGN 1.28 trillion, up from NGN 986.7 billion in 2024, while gross earnings rose 14 percent to NGN 4.82 trillion and total revenue increased 18 percent to NGN 3.67 trillion.
Net interest income grew 22 percent year on year to NGN 2.14 trillion, supported by a 15 percent increase in interest income to NGN 3.18 trillion. Interest expense rose modestly by four percent to NGN 1.04 trillion, indicating that the bank kept funding costs relatively contained even as its balance sheet expanded.
Beyond lending, fee and commission income also provided a strong lift. Fees and commission income jumped 17 percent to NGN 1.02 trillion, reinforcing the dual-engine revenue model that has become central to Ecobank’s earnings strategy across its extensive African network.
The balance sheet expanded materially. Total assets grew 14 percent to NGN 49.44 trillion, while deposits from customers rose 15 percent to NGN 36.45 trillion, reinforcing the bank’s funding base. Loans and advances to customers increased 11 percent to NGN 17.09 trillion. Total equity strengthened significantly, rising 50 percent to NGN 4.17 trillion, driven largely by retained earnings growth, with equity attributable to ordinary shareholders rising to NGN 2.91 trillion from NGN 1.75 trillion.
The results were not without pressure points. Impairment charges on financial assets surged 28 percent to NGN 613.2 billion, reflecting heightened credit risk costs across the portfolio, while operating expenses rose eight percent to NGN 1.77 trillion, driven primarily by higher staff costs and other inflationary pressures across the bank’s footprint. Despite these headwinds, operating profit after impairment charges grew 30 percent, demonstrating that revenue expansion substantially outpaced cost growth.
The full-year strength was tempered slightly by a softer fourth quarter, with Q4 2025 pre-tax profit declining to NGN 264.5 billion from NGN 274.3 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2024, signalling some market headwinds as the year closed.
Ecobank operates in 34 African countries and serves more than 32 million customers across consumer, commercial, corporate, and investment banking segments. The group’s full audited results for 2025, which will provide a more complete picture of performance, are expected to be filed by 30 April 2026 following a regulatory extension granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For investors on the Ghana Stock Exchange, where ETI holds a primary listing, the results affirm the group’s position as one of the continent’s most profitable banking institutions, even as questions around credit quality and currency dynamics across its diverse market footprint remain key variables heading into 2026.
