6 Nigerian Banks Rank Among Africa's 20 Largest Lenders by Total Assets

• Six Nigerian banks appeared on a continental ranking of Africa's 20 biggest lenders by total assets
• Access Bank led the Nigerian lenders with about $36 billion in total assets, placing it 12th on the list
• The strong showing came as Nigerian banks completed a two-year recapitalisation exercise

Six Nigerian banks have made Africa's list of the 20 largest lenders by total assets, reflecting the expanding scale of the country's financial sector after a sweeping recapitalisation programme.

The ranking, compiled using data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, company reports, African Business, The Banker and African Research, placed Access Bank as the continent's largest Nigerian lender, with roughly $36 billion in assets and an overall 12th-place position.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) came next among Nigerian lenders with $33.27 billion in total assets, followed by Zenith Bank at $32.01 billion.

Stanbic IBTC Bank, with assets of about $24 billion, and First Bank of Nigeria, with $17.2 billion, also secured spots on the list.

South African and Egyptian Banks Lead the Continent

South African and Egyptian institutions held firm at the top of the continental table.

Standard Bank Group ranked first across Africa with $218 billion in total assets, while Egypt's National Bank of Egypt came second with $186 billion.

South Africa's FirstRand followed in third place with $162 billion, Leadership reports.

Absa Group ranked fourth with $135 billion, and Nedbank Group fifth with $99 billion. Egypt's Banque Misr came sixth with $94 billion in assets.

Morocco's Attijariwafa Bank placed seventh with $87 billion, followed by South Africa's Investec Group at $81 billion.

Morocco's Banque Centrale Populaire, with $60 billion, rounded out the top 10.

Nigerian Banks Eye FTSE Russell Reinstatement

Nigerian lenders completed a two-year capital-raising drive aimed at meeting the Central Bank of Nigeria's revised minimum capital requirements.

Several banks raised fresh funds through rights issues, public offers and other instruments to bolster their balance sheets and widen their capacity to finance the broader economy.

Analysts said the more immediate driver for Nigerian banking stocks could be Nigeria's scheduled return to the FTSE Russell Frontier Market Index on September 21.

Nigeria was dropped from the index in 2024 after foreign investors ran into difficulties moving funds out of the country.

The anticipated reinstatement is expected to prompt portfolio adjustments by index-tracking funds, potentially lifting demand for large-cap Nigerian equities.

Highly capitalised banks, given their market size and liquidity, are considered among the Nigerian stocks most likely to draw institutional investor interest when the change takes effect.

South African bank to Rival Access, UBA, Zenith in Nigeria

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that South African lender Absa Group is considering upgrading its Nigerian representative office to a full merchant banking operation, a step that would give the bank direct access to Africa's largest economy.

Absa Group Chief Executive Officer Kenny Fihla disclosed the plans during an interview with Bloomberg TV, saying the bank was actively "exploring the possibilities of converting into a merchant banking licence" for its Nigerian office.

The push into Nigeria is driven by Absa's need to spread its earnings more evenly.