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.
ETI’s provisions surged 47% YoY to N393.7 billion, driven by challenging conditions in its key markets, particularly Ghana and Nigeria, where inflation and FX volatility impacted loan quality.
The actual loans provisions were a whopping N530.3 billion; however, recoveries of about N185.6 billion helped reduce the total provisioning for the period under review to N393.7 billion.
Ecobank’s asset quality improved in the review period, with the Group’s Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ratio declining to 5.3% from 7.0% in the first quarter of 2024.
The bank said it has “increased provisions for expected credit losses (ECL) to strengthen its balance sheet against potential risks”. Its loan-to-deposit ratio is 50.5% compared to 52.3% in Q3 2024.
Ecobank reported a total Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 16.8% as of September 30, 2025. Both ratios were well above regulatory minimums by 440 and 430 basis points, respectively.
ETI is also one of the largest banking group’s operating not just in Nigeria but in Africa and has a total loan and advances of about $14.2 million or N21.1 trillion.
