BANK 2016 Nb

Zenith Bank 4,739.83

FBN Holdings 4,736.81

United Bank for Africa 3,504.47

Access Bank 3,483.86

Guaranty Trust Bank 3,116.39

Diamond Bank 2,049.79

Ecobank Nigeria 1,808.50

Fidelity Bank 1,298.14

Union Bank 1,252.29

Skye Bank [2015] 1,199.40

Zenith took over the leadership of the Nigerian
banking industry by the size of the balance sheet in
2016. It accelerated growth from 6.7% in 2015 to
18.3% in 2016 and closed the year with an asset base
of N4.739 trillion. The bank has maintained a faster
growth rate than FBN Holdings over the past three
years and with a decline in asset base of FBN Holdings
in 2015, the leadership gap narrowed significantly.

As expected last year, fiscal 2016 has registered a
landmark in Nigerian banking when FBN Holding’s
status as Nigeria’s largest bank was upset, eight years
after a similar step down in 2008. Zenith Bank’s asset
growth in 2016 was driven mainly by a 69% leap in due
from other banks compared to FBN’s 15% increase.

Zenith Bank carries the largest credit portfolio in the
Nigerian banking industry, which it grew by 15% to
N2.29 trillion in 2016.

FBN Holdings stepped down from its leadership
position of the Nigerian banking industry by the size of
the balance sheet in 2016 to take the second position
with an asset base of N4.736 trillion. This is despite
stepping up growth in assets from a decline of 4.1% in
total assets in 2015 to achieve a growth of 13.7% in
2016. The average growth rate has been
comparatively weak for the bank since 2014 when it
suffered a drop of 16.5% in loans and advances.
Except for a temporary step down in 2008, the bank
has held the position of the largest bank in Nigeria for
so long.

United Bank for Africa retained its third position on the
banking industry leadership table at the end of 2016
with total assets of N3.50 trillion. The bank made a
strong rebound from a slight decline in asset base in
the preceding year to a top industry record growth of
27.3%. With the high jump in 2016, the bank seems to
wake up to the close possibility of being overtaken in
the competitive race. Two years of apparent standstill
in the size of the balance sheet had permitted faster
growing banks to close in. They remained too close for
comfort at the end of 2016.

Access Bank maintained the 4th position on the top
10 banking industry ranking it won for the first time in
2015. It has been the fastest growing bank among the
top 10 members for the second year. It grew asset
base by 34.4% to N3.48 trillion in 2016, up on the
industry leading growth of 23.1% in the preceding
year. Its growth was driven by the doubling of
derivative financial assets, a 49% expansion in cash-
based assets and an increase of over 32% in loans
and advances. If the high growth momentum is
maintained in the current year, there will be a
competitive clash with UBA as to who takes the 3rd
position on Nigeria’s largest banks’ table in 2017.

Guaranty Trust Bank stayed on the 5th place on the
table in 2016 after stepping down for Access Bank in
2015. It closed 2016 with total assets of N3.12 trillion,
which was attained with an accelerated growth of
23.4%. This is one of the top industry growth records
in the year, recovering from the slowdown in 2015 that
made way for the faster growing Access Bank to surge
ahead. Its accelerated growth in 2016 was led by a
growth of 79% in cash-based assets, a leap of over
34% in investment securities and an expansion of
about 16% in loans and advances.

Diamond Bank moved up one step to regain the
6th position it lost in the preceding year with an asset
base of N2.05 trillion at the end of 2016. It had lost its
6th position in the preceding year after recording one
of the highest drops in total assets in the year at 9.3%.

The recovery equally follows a rebound of 18.9% in
asset base in 2016, which followed the rebuilding of its
credit portfolio after a drop of 24.2% in the preceding
year. The bank raised total loans and advances by
33% to N1.09 trillion in 2016.

Ecobank Nigeria steps back to the 6th position on the
banking industry’s top 10 ranking by asset base from
which it moved up to displace Diamond Bank in 2015.

A drop in asset base by Diamond Bank was its gain in
2015. Conversely, a strong recovery by Diamond Bank
in 2016 pushed it back to its former position. The bank
is the only top 10 member that failed to step up asset
growth in 2016. From a marginal improvement in the
prior year, total assets were flat for Ecobank Nigeria at
N1.81 trillion at the end of 2016.

Fidelity Bank defended its 8th position on the league
of top 10 largest banks in Nigeria after pushing Skye
Bank one step down the ladder in 2015. Growth
remained low for the bank at 5.4% in 2016 though
improving from 3.8% in the preceding year. It closed
2016 operations with total assets of N1.30 trillion.

Union Bank came from outside the table to register its
presence as the 9th largest bank in Nigeria by total
assets in 2016. This position was held by Skye Bank
last year and the final ranking will have to wait for
Skye Bank’s 2016 report, which was yet to be issued
at press time. Skye Bank had stepped down to the
9th position last year following a drop of 13.6% in total
assets in 2015.

Union Bank’s advance was made possible by a top
record growth of about 20% in asset base in 2016,
accelerating from 3.8% increase in 2015. Its renewed
strength came from a 38% expansion in loans and
advances to N507 billion in the year.

Even with its 2015 asset base, Skye Bank retains
membership of the top 10 largest banks in Nigeria,
sending FCMB, which occupied the 10th position in the
preceding year packing from the top 10 chart. Its
asset base as at the end of 2015 stood at N1.2
trillion. It was a N1.4 trillion bank at the end of 2014.

TheCable