Nigeria’s largest banks set aside a combined N1.96 trillion in the first nine months of 2025 as impairment charges to cover potential loan losses.
This represents a sharp increase from about N1.32 trillion (up 49%) in the same period of 2024.
Crucially, this surge in provisioning comes as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) begins unwinding its pandemic-era forbearance measures, regulatory relief that previously allowed banks to restructure exposures and delay the classification of non-performing loans.
The apex bank has since flagged banks still under forbearance for “close supervisory engagement.”
Under the revised framework, banks that continue to benefit from forbearance are restricted from paying dividends, issuing executive bonuses, or expanding offshore operations, while those that have met the minimum requirements are transitioning out.
Ahead of the full unwind in March 2026, the CBN disclosed that at least eight banks have already met the requisite forbearance-related standards, signaling an improving regulatory stance.
Against this backdrop, Nairametrics reviewed the financial statements of Nigeria’s top listed banks to determine those with the largest impairment charges so far in 2025.
Below is the ranking of the eight banks with the biggest loan-loss provisions as of Q3 2025.
Access Holdings’ impairment charge climbed sharply by 141.5% YoY to N350 billion, following higher Expected Credit Loss (ECL) provisioning amid FX volatility and a larger loan portfolio.
According to information contained in the company’s 9months interim results, about N255 billion of the impaired loans were from loans to corporate entities and other organizations. The balance were loans to individuals.
Access Holdings also appears to have seen its loan provisioning increase by a whopping N100 billion in the third quarter of the year, signalling aggressive provisioning ahead of meeting the CBN’s forbearance mandates.
The holding company noted that its Nigerian operations “experienced underperformance during the period, attributable to changing macroeconomic conditions, inflationary pressures, and continued regulatory adjustments.”
The cost-to-income ratio (CIR) improved to 54.6% in Q3 2025 from 60.8% as at Q3 2024.
Access Holding has one of the largest loan books in the country with a total loans and advances of N15.6 trillion.
