A report by the Economic Intelligence Unit has ranked Tier-1 Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) among top 12 global companies to watch out for in developing markets.
The 23-page report released by the world leader in global business intelligence titled “Going global: 12 companies to watch in developing markets,” examined six industries which include automotive, consumer goods, energy, financial services, healthcare and telecommunications.
According to the report, in the 12 local companies making waves across developing markets, Nigeria’s GTBank made the headline with its digital banking services and the only financial institution from the continent.
In August 2018 GTBank started offering its banking services on WhatsApp, a social media app. The report noted that GTBank’s digital services have extended beyond banking to online payments for services such as applying for passports.
The report also noted that the bank will continue to play a crucial role in providing loans to energy companies, noting that the bank also gets considerable revenue from upstream oil operations in Nigeria.
“Although GTBank is profitable, it is exposed to the risks posed by volatile oil prices and the weak Nigerian economy, which has led to high levels of bad loans for Nigerian banks.
“In the six months ended June 30th 2018 GTBank’s net interest income fell by 2%, to N161.9bn (US$4.5bn), owing to lower interest income on loans and advances and a fall in yield from fixed-income securities.”
Other companies listed incude:
- Russia’s Kamaz truck maker
- Chinese automaker, JAC Motors
- Mexican multinational bakery, Grupo Bimbo
- UAE-based Majid Al-Futtaim
- India’s crude oil firm, ONGC
- Russian state-owned Rosatom
- Malaysia’s CIMB
- Indonesian healthcare firm, Kalbe Farma
- Brazilian healthcare provider, Notre Dame Intermedica
- Qatari company Ooredoo
- Brazilian telecoms company, Algar Telecom
A review of GTBank’s recently released H1 2018 results shows positive performance across all financial indices, reaffirming the Bank’s position as one of the most profitable and well managed financial institutions in Nigeria.
Its Gross earnings for the period grew by 5.9% to ₦226.6 billion from ₦214.1 billion reported in June 2017. While Profit before tax stood at ₦109.6billion, representing a growth of 8.4% over ₦101.1 billion recorded in the corresponding period of June 2017. The Bank’s Loan Book dipped by 10.8% from ₦1.449 trillion recorded as at December 2017 to ₦1.293 trillion in June 2018, while customers’ deposit grew by 10.0% to ₦2.269 trillion from ₦2.062 trillion in December 2017.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU) is the research and analysis division of The Economist Group, the sister company to The Economist newspaper.
