Follow Us on Google Discover
Sterling Bank has reported a pre-tax profit of N55.53 billion for the six months ended 30 June 2026, representing an increase of 21.92% from N45.55 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
For the second quarter, pre-tax profit stood at N27.62 billion, down 1.07% from the N27.92 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2026 but up 1.22% from N27.28 billion in the second quarter of 2025.
The bank’s half-year performance was supported by strong growth in net interest income and other operating income.
However, the second-quarter figures showed that rising impairment charges, higher operating expenses and weaker trading income absorbed much of the growth in operating income.
Also Read
Key Highlights (H1 2026 vs. H1 2025)
- Interest income: N223.58 billion (Up 33.75% YoY from N167.16 billion)
- Net interest income: N137.39 billion (Up 41.04% YoY from N97.42 billion)
- Net fees and commission income: N26.87 billion (Up 21.77% YoY from N22.07 billion).
- Net operating income after impairment: N169.57 billion (Up 23.18% YoY from N137.65 billion).
- Basic earnings per share: 77 kobo (Down 13.48% YoY from 89 kobo)
- Total assets: N4.67 trillion (Up 19.30% from N3.91 trillion in December 2025)
- Cash and balances with the Central Bank of Nigeria: N718.84 billion (Down 5.62% from N761.64 billion in December 2025).
- Customer deposits: N3.62 trillion (Up 21.13% from N2.98 trillion in December 2025).
- Total equity: N547.67 billion (Up 27.75% from N428.70 billion in December 2025)
Driving the numbers
Sterling Bank’s performance was driven mainly by stronger interest earnings. Interest income rose by 33.75% to N223.58 billion, with loans and advances to customers contributing N153.64 billion, or about 68.72% of the total. This shows that lending remained the bank’s most important source of income.
Income from debt instruments at fair value through other comprehensive income also increased by 36.05% to N37.83 billion, while income from cash and cash equivalents rose by 54.25% to N21.00 billion.
Together, these gains lifted net interest income by 41.04% to N137.39 billion.
Funding cost
Funding costs also increased as interest expense rose by 23.57% to N86.18 billion.
Customer deposits remained the largest source of funding cost, with related interest expense increasing to N59.34 billion.
Returns paid to investment account holders more than doubled to N12.84 billion, showing that the bank paid more to attract and retain funds.
Non-interest income
Non-interest income was mixed. Net fees and commission income increased by 21.77% to N26.87 billion, supported by facility management fees, account maintenance charges and electronic banking commissions.
In contrast, net trading income fell by 46.49% to N6.96 billion. The decline was largely due to lower bond income and a foreign-exchange revaluation loss of N4.23 billion, compared with a gain of N775 million in the same period of 2025.
Other operating income
Other operating income provided additional support, more than doubling to N22.19 billion. Direct commodity trading income rose to N12.09 billion, while income from Musharaka investments increased to N3.60 billion.
Credit losses and operating expenses
The biggest pressure on profitability came from credit losses. Credit impairment charges jumped to N23.85 billion from N5.21 billion. This meant that a larger part of the bank’s operating income had to be set aside for possible loan losses.
Operating expenses also increased by 23.81% to N114.03 billion, with personnel expenses rising by 40.34% to N33.19 billion.
Balance Sheet
On the balance sheet, customer loans grew by 13.75% to N1.61 trillion, while customer deposits increased to N3.62 trillion, equivalent to about 77.5% of total assets.
This indicates that deposits remained the bank’s dominant funding source and covered the loan book by more than two times.
However, the 23.57% increase in interest expense suggests that the funding base was not necessarily low-cost.
Market Performance
Sterling Bank’s share price stood at N8.05 as of 29 July 2026, compared with the previous price of N8.00, representing an increase of 0.63%.
The stock had recorded a year-to-date return of 14.18% and a month-to-date return of 3.87%.
