Thirteen listed commercial banks paid a sum of N163.58 billion as personnel expenses in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 14% when compared to the N143.48 billion paid to their staff in the corresponding period of 2021.
This is according to data culled from the financial reports of the listed banks on the NGX by Nairalytics – the research arm of Nairametrics.
The banks under consideration were Access, FCMB, Fidelity, First Bank, GT Bank, Jaiz Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Sterling, UBA, Union, Unity, Wema, and Zenith Bank.
The thirteen banks combined had paid N609.2 billion as personnel expenses in the 2021 full year, from which N556.54 billion was paid as wages and salaries, while the remaining were used for other add-ons like defined benefit obligation, contributions to defined contribution plans amongst others.
The Nigerian financial sector is a highly competitive space with big players to the tune of aggregate asset size of over N60 trillion as of March 2022. whilst they compete for market share, and profitability, they also compete for sustainable talent advantage by attracting the best available skillsets in alignment with the company’s goal.
Banks also develop their current employees through reskilling and upskilling programs, which might come with increased remuneration. Employee compensation has long been linked to employee productivity, which in turn reflects on the performance of the company.
The banks do not report their staff strength in their unaudited financial statement, however, based on the audited reports of the banks, they have a total staff strength of over 50,900 as of December 2021. Below is a breakdown of the top banks by personnel expenses.
Stanbic IBTC – N12.38 billion (up by two spots)
Stanbic IBTC paid a sum of N12.38 billion as total employee expenses in Q1 2022, increasing by 30.6% compared to N9.48 billion paid in the corresponding period of the previous year. The holding company reduced its staff strength in the previous year to 2,895 as of December 2021 from 2,972 staff recorded in the previous year.
Zenith Bank – N21.54 billion (flat)
The most capitalized bank listed on the stock exchange spent a sum of N21.54 billion on employee expenses in the review quarter, which is 16.1% higher than the N18.55 billion paid in Q1 2021. In terms of staff strength, the bank boasts of 7,517 employees as of December 2021, which is slightly lower than the 7,544 employees on its payroll the previous year.
UBA – N21.31 billion (down by one spot)
United Bank for Africa is third on the list, having spent N25.58 billion on employee expenses in the first quarter of the year, a 20% increase compared to N21.31 billion spent in the corresponding period of 2021.
Out of the total employee package for the period under review, the bank paid N24.79 billion as staff salaries, accounting for 96.9% of the total employee remuneration. In similar fashion as the other banks, UBA’s staff strength reduced to 10,193 as of December 2021 from 10,817 recorded in the previous year.
Its high employee costs and huge staff strength is due to its large range of operations across the African continent. According to the bank, it operates in 20 African countries ranging from Liberia, Cote d’Ívoire, Gabon, Ghana, amongst others.
First Bank – N25.62 billion (down by one spot)
FBN Holdings, which is a highly diversified financial holding company spent a sum of N25.62 billion as total employee expenses in Q1 2022, a marginal increase compared to N24.81 billion spent in the previous year (Q1 2021).
The company had paid N128.77 billion to its employees for the entire year in 2021, which is the highest paid by any of the banks in the year. FBN was also the highest paying bank in Q1 2021, however, Access has overtaken the holding financial institution to the top spot.
Access Bank – N29.25 billion (up by two spots)
The recently restructured bank paid a sum of N29.25 billion to its employees as total package in Q1 2022, an increase of 45.8% compared to N20.06 billion spent in the corresponding period of 2021. They paid N27.68 billion as wages and salaries while others were restricted share performance plan, contributions to defined contribution plans, and retirement benefit obligations.
The bank had significantly upped its staff salary in the previous year to N91.2 billion, paid to 6,875 employees, which represents an average of N13.27 million annual take home for its employees.
Others
- Unity Bank – N10.54 billion
- GT Bank – N9.82 billion
- FCMB – N7.61 billion
- Union Bank – N5.79 billion
- Fidelity Bank – N5.5 billion
