Nine Nigerian banks disbursed a total of N61.69tn in loans to customers and earned N2.31tn in net interest income during the first quarter of 2025, The PUNCH reports.

An analysis of their financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2025, showed that loans represent a marginal increase compared to N61.26tn recorded in December 2024, while the N2.21tn net interest income shows significant growth from the N1.63tn recorded in the first quarter of 2024, representing a 41.72 per cent year-on-year rise.

By the end of 2024, the Monetary Policy Committee had raised the Monetary Policy Rate by 875 basis points, moving the benchmark interest rate from 18.75 per cent in 2023 to 27.50 per cent. The primary rationale behind the MPC’s aggressive tightening was to curb inflationary pressures.

According to the Corporate Finance Institute, interest income is money earned by an individual or company for lending their funds, either by putting them into a deposit account in a bank or by purchasing certificates of deposits, while a loan is a sum of money that an individual or company borrows from a lender.

In the period under review, Zenith Bank’s loans and advances to customers grew to N10.05tn in Q1 2025, slightly up from N9.97tn in December 2024. The group posted a net interest income of N591.19bn during the quarter, marking a 93 per cent increase from N306.45bn recorded in the same period last year.

Access Holdings’ loans to customers dropped to N10.96tn from N11.49tn in December 2024. However, its Q1 2025 net interest income stood at N198.44bn, lower than the N252.93bn recorded in Q1 2024, indicating a 21.5 per cent year-on-year decline.

UBA reported total loans of N6.83tn in Q1 2025, slightly lower than the N6.95tn it recorded at the end of 2024. The bank’s net interest income rose to N351.88bn in the first quarter of 2025, up by 17 per cent from N300.68bn in Q1 2024.

FBN Holdings grew its loans and advances to N9.20tn from N8.77tn as of December 2024. The group recorded a Q1 2025 net interest income of N4.86bn, significantly up from N1.01bn in the same quarter of 2024, representing a 381 per cent surge.

GTCO reported N3.22tn in loans to customers in the first quarter of 2025, higher than the N2.79tn in December 2024. Its net interest income rose to N318.36bn from N227.30bn in the first quarter of 2024, reflecting a 40 per cent increase.

Stanbic IBTC’s loans and advances rose to N2.47tn from N2.40tn in December 2024. The group’s Q1 2025 net interest income increased by 95 per cent to N149.89bn, from N76.90bn in the same period of 2024.

FCMB recorded N2.44tn in loans to customers as of March 2025, up from N2.34tn in December 2024. The group posted a net interest income of N87.50bn in Q1 2025, almost double the N55.38bn recorded in Q1 2024.

Wema Bank’s loans and advances rose marginally to N1.21tn in Q1 2025 from N1.20tn in December 2024. Net interest income stood at N56.64bn, more than double the N26.21bn recorded in the same quarter last year.

Ecobank reported loans of N15.31tn in Q1 2025, slightly lower than N15.35tn in December 2024. However, its net interest income rose to N451.33bn, up from N388.36bn in Q1 2024, indicating a 16.2 per cent increase.

The PUNCH reported that Nine Nigerian banks raked in a combined interest income of N14.26tn in 2024, an analysis of the audited financial results of the financial institutions shows.