By Seun Ibiyemi
Zenith Bank Plc has announced its unaudited results for the first quarter ended 31st March 2026, with a 6 per cent growth in Gross Earnings, from N950 billion reported in Q1 2025 to N1.01 trillion in Q1 2026.
This is despite the challenging operating environment and tightening monetary policy stance.
From the unaudited statement of account submitted to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Thursday, 30th April 2026, this growth was driven by increase in interest income and non-interest income.
The increase in interest income was primarily due to the expansion of the Bank’s risk asset portfolio, supported by disciplined, risk adjusted pricing.
Interest expense moderated by 5 per cent YoY in Q1 2026 underscored by a continued optimisation of the Bank’s deposit mix and funding structure.
This resulted in a 7 per cent growth in net interest income from N591 billion in Q1 2025 to N634 billion in Q1 2026.
Non-interest income also improved 19 per cent year on year, rising from N89 billion to N106 billion, highlighting an improvement in fees and commissions and higher contributions from other operating income streams.
This performance reflects stronger customer activity and deeper transaction volumes across key business channels.
As a result, the Group recorded a 3 per cent year on year increase in profit before tax, which rose to N361 billion compared with N351 billion in Q1 2025. Profit after tax also increased by 1 per cent to N314 billion.
Profitability was further supported by a decline in cost of funds to 3.76 per cent in Q1 2026 from 3.90 per cent in Q1 2025; while cost of risk moderated to 2 per cent in Q1 2026, reflecting a prudent and proactive risk management stance in an elevated yield environment.
Gross loans increased by 9 per cent from N11.06 trillion as at full year 2025 to N12.04 trillion in Q1 2026, reflecting the continued commitment to carefully deploying credit into high growth sectors of the economy that enhance portfolio returns.
Asset quality strengthened as Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio eased to 3.79 per cent, from 3.82 per cent reported in December 2025, underpinned by disciplined credit risk management.
Customer deposits rose to N24.47 trillion in Q1 2026, while total assets increased by 2 per cent to N32.01 trillion over the same period.
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Return on Average Equity (ROAE) and Return on Average Assets (ROAA) stood at 24.9 per cent and 4 per cent respectively, supported by strong top line earnings and enhanced balance sheet efficiency.
Net interest margin (NIM) strengthened to 12.5 per cent, up from 10.3 per cent in Q1 2025, underscoring the Group’s ability to preserve its margins and deliver improved shareholder returns. Prudential ratios remained strong and comfortably above regulatory requirements.
The Group’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) and Liquidity Ratio stood at 23.5 per cent and 71 per cent respectively, while the coverage ratio remained strong at 169 per cent, reinforcing the Bank’s resilient capital and liquidity position.
The Group’s Q1 2026 performance underscores its continued focus on sustaining high quality earnings growth, further strengthening asset quality, and deepening customer engagement through continued digital innovation.
The Bank remains firmly committed to delivering sustainable growth anchored on sound corporate governance, prudent risk oversight, and disciplined capital allocation.
