Nigeria’s top-tier lenders, First HoldCo, UBA, GTCO, Access Corporation, and Zenith Bank (FUGAZ) collectively earned N4.8 trillion in interest income from investment securities within the first nine months of 2025.
Data from financial statements filed with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) show that the FUGAZ group’s total investments in government securities and treasury bills surged to N49.152 trillion, representing a 16.5% rise from N42.204 trillion at the end of December 2024.
By value, Access Corporation led the pack with N15.25 trillion investment in securities, followed by UBA (N13.59 trillion), Zenith Bank (N9.05 trillion), First HoldCo (N6.35 trillion), and GTCO (N4.91 trillion). Their respective returns were:
- N1.3 trillion (Access)
- N1.14 trillion (Zenith)
- N1.03 trillion (UBA)
- N720.15 billion (First HoldCo)
- N570.23 billion (GTCO)
Analysts say the trend highlights how banks increasingly prefer sovereign debt instruments and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) placements over riskier private-sector lending.
Conservative lending is in sharp contrast with investments in securities
Despite record investment returns, most FUGAZ banks adopted a risk-averse lending posture, growing loans and advances to customers at a slower pace compared to the pace of investments in government securities as well as customer deposits.
- Zenith Bank’s loans to customers dropped to N9.37 trillion (-0.34%)
- Access Corporation’s loans: N12.9 trillion (+20%)
- UBA’s loans to customers: N7.19 trillion (+3.51%)
- GTCO loans to customers: N3.24 trillion (+16.1%)
- First HoldCo: N9.55 trillion (+8.98%)
As of September 2025, the banks have aggregate loans and advances to customers of N42.26 trillion, 7.27% increase compared to N39.4 trillion in 2024.
In contrast, their investments in securities jumped by 16.46% to N49.152 trillion as of September 2025.
This contrast shows that banks continued to prioritize stable, high-yield government assets for predictable earnings.
Regulatory shake-up looms over fixed-income market
It is against this background that the Central Bank of Nigeria is announced plans to migrate all fixed-income trading and settlement functions from the FMDQ Securities Exchange — currently under SEC regulation — to its Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and Scripless Securities Settlement System (S4).
The migration, expected to begin in November, effectively positions the CBN as both operator and regulator of the fixed-income market — a move that consolidates control of bond and treasury bill operations.
For the FUGAZ banks, the timing could be crucial. As they mint record income from government securities, the CBN’s consolidation of the market could either streamline operations or reshape profit dynamics, depending on how the reforms are executed and regulated.
