Banking
Fitch Affirms GTBank at ‘B+’ With Negative Outlook
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Guaranty Trust Bank Plc’s (GTB) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) has been affirmed at ‘B+’ with Negative Outlook by Fitch Ratings.
In a statement issued on Wednesday in London, Fitch Ratings noted that all other ratings of GTB have also been affirmed.
It noted that the bank’s IDRs are driven by the bank’s intrinsic creditworthiness as defined by its Viability Rating (VR). GTB’s VR is constrained by the Nigerian sovereign rating (B+/Negative) and the Negative Outlook on the Long-Term IDR mirrors that on the sovereign rating.
GTB’s VR also considers solid financial metrics that compare well with other large Nigerian banks. Earnings metrics are especially strong and we consider GTB to be the most profitable bank in the sector, consistently achieving an operating return on average assets of at least 5% annually. Strong profitability reflects strong margins and a structurally lower cost base than peers. Non-interest expense as percentage of average assets is consistently below 4%, with most peers touching 5% or higher.
Strong earnings support capitalisation. GTB’s Fitch Core Capital (FCC) ratio of 26.7% is extremely high, although this considers capitalisation of interim earnings without the payment of a year end-dividend. Nevertheless, we expect GTB’s FCC ratio to remain well above 20% following the distribution of dividends. Regulatory capital is also sound with a bank-solo Tier 1 ratio of 22.9%. We consider both foreign and local currency liquidity to be sound.
Asset quality metrics are in line with peers, with a ratio of non-performing loans (NPLs) to gross loans of 3.9% at end-September 2017. NPLs have gradually ticked up as borrowers have faced escalating challenges in Nigeria. However, NPLs have remained well contained. Restructuring of the loan book is common, but not as widespread as we have seen in many other banks, at around 10% of gross loans, while past due but not impaired loans are minimal.
GTB’s National Ratings are a reflection of its relative creditworthiness to the best credits in Nigeria. GTB’s National Ratings consider stronger financial metrics than almost all peers.
The long- and short-term ratings on GTB Finance B.V.’s senior unsecured programme have been affirmed at ‘B+’. The long-term rating of senior debt issued by GTB has also been affirmed at ‘B+’ with a Recovery Rating of ‘RR4’ indicating average recovery prospects.
SUPPORT RATING AND SUPPORT RATING FLOOR
Fitch believes that sovereign support to Nigerian banks cannot be relied on given Nigeria’s weak ability to provide support, particularly in foreign currency. In addition, there are no clear messages from the authorities regarding their willingness to support the banking system. Therefore, the Support Rating Floor of all Nigerian banks is ‘No Floor’ and all Support Ratings are ‘5’. This reflects our view that senior creditors cannot rely on receiving full and timely extraordinary support from the Nigerian sovereign if any of the banks become non-viable.
GTB’s IDRs are sensitive to a rating action on its VR. GTB’s VR is sensitive to a material deterioration in asset quality, which may result from restructured loans in the oil sector not performing under the restructured terms. An upgrade of the bank’s IDRs would require a sovereign upgrade as GTB’s ratings are capped at ‘B+’. However, this is unlikely given the Negative Outlook on the Long-term IDRs of GTB and the Nigerian sovereign.
GTB’s National Ratings are sensitive to a change in its creditworthiness relative to other Nigerian banks.
The long- and short-term ratings on GTB Finance B.V.’s senior unsecured programme and the long-term rating on senior unsecured debt issued by GTB are sensitive to any change in GTB’s IDRs.
SUPPORT RATING AND SUPPORT RATING FLOOR
The SR is potentially sensitive to any change in assumptions around the propensity or ability of the sovereign to provide timely support to the bank.
The rating actions are as follows:
Guaranty Trust Bank Plc
Long-Term IDR affirmed at ‘B+’; Outlook Negative
Short-Term IDR affirmed at ‘B’
Viability Rating affirmed at ‘b+’
Support Rating affirmed at ‘5’
Support Rating Floor affirmed at ‘No Floor’
National Long-Term Rating affirmed at ‘AA-(nga)’
National Short-Term Rating affirmed at ‘F1+(nga)’
Senior unsecured long-term rating affirmed at ‘B+’/’RR4’
Senior unsecured programme long- and short-term ratings of GTB Finance B.V. affirmed at ‘B+/B’/’RR4’
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.
The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.
The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.
They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.
They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.
The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.
In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.
The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.
After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.
“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.
“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.
“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.
“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.
“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.
This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.
“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”
Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.
He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.
“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.
“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.
A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.
It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.
The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.
Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.
He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.
Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.
He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.
He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.
At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.
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