Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Group CEOs of seven Nigerian banks will earn approximately N796.6 million in final dividends for 2023.
The seven banks are United Bank for Africa (UBA), Access Bank, GTCO Holdings, Zenith Bank, Fidelity Bank, FCMB Group, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings.
According to the 2023 audited financial statements of these banks, the final dividend earnings of their CEOs in 2023 mark an 88% increase from the N423.6 million earned in 2022.
Among these CEOs, Zenith Bank’s outgoing CEO, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, will be the highest earner with N315.6 million. He holds 90.176 million shares in Zenith Bank Plc. The bank paid a final dividend of N3.5 per share.
For Onyeagwu, this marks a 32% increase from the N238.3 million earned in the final dividend for FY 2022. As of December 31, 2022, he held 82.176 million shares in Zenith Bank, with the bank paying a final dividend of N2.9 per share.
Ebenezer Onyeagwu is followed by Oliver Alawuba, CEO of UBA, who will earn N132.5 million. He holds about 57.619 million UBA shares, and the bank will pay a final dividend of N2.3 per ordinary share. For Oliver Alawuba, this marks a significant appreciation from the N1.43 million earned in 2022 as a final dividend.
From December 31, 2022, until the present date, Alawuba has increased his number of shares held in UBA from 1,593,248 to 57,618,686. He is followed by Segun Agbaje, Group CEO of GTCO Holdings.
Segun Agbaje will earn N112.4 million in final dividend for FY 2023, marking a 237.5% increase from the N33.3 million earned for FY 2022. The increase was primarily due to GTCO’s 237.5% increase in final dividend from N0.8 per share for FY 2022 to N2.7 per share for FY 2023.
Ladi Balogun, Group CEO of FCMB Group, will earn N102.6 million for FY 2023, marking a 103% increase from the N50.5 million he earned in 2022.
The CEO of Access Bank Plc, Roosevelt Ogbonna, earned N80.8 million in final dividend for FY 2023, up from N58.3 million he earned for 2022.
The only female on the list, Fidelity Bank’s CEO, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, earned N41.8 million for FY 2023, up from N34.8 million she earned for FY 2022.
Stanbic IBTC’s Group CEO, Demola Sogunle, will earn N10.9 million based on a proposed final dividend payment of N2.2 per share. It represents a 59% increase from the N6.8 million earned in the final dividend for FY 2022.
Though its 2023 financial statement is available, Wema Bank’s CEO, Moruf Oseni, does not hold any shares of Wema Bank. Hence, he is not entitled to any dividend from the bank.
Banks’ bumper earnings in 2023
The increase in dividends is linked to the bumper earnings recorded by these banks last year. In 2023, eight banks such as Access, GTCO, Zenith, UBA, Fidelity, Wema, Stanbic IBTC, and FCMB posted a net income of N2.8 trillion, marking a 217.6% increase from the N885.5 billion net income reported in FY 2022.
The banks posted their highest-ever earnings in a single financial year, off the backs of increased interest income and net gain recorded from FX revaluation. In FY 2023, Zenith Bank recorded the best net income with N676.9 billion, followed by Access Holdings’ N619.3 billion.
The increase in earnings also came with an increase in final dividend, as the eight banks with publicly available financial statements have proposed to pay a cumulative of N396 billion as final dividend for FY 2023. Zenith Bank, being the top earner, is also the top dividend payer with N109.9 billion, followed by GTCO with N79.46 billion.
UBA will pay a final dividend of N78.66 billion. Access Holdings paid a final dividend of N63.98 billion. Stanbic IBTC will pay a final dividend of N28.5 billion, marking a payout ratio of 20.27% which is the highest by a bank for 2023.
Fidelity Bank paid a dividend of N19.2 billion, FCMB paid a dividend of N9.9 billion, but Wema Bank will pay a dividend of N6.4 billion.
For these eight banks, their final dividend payout for FY 2023 represents a 32.9% increase from the N297.9 billion for FY 2022.
