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Nigerian banks are becoming increasingly international, with their overseas subsidiaries now accounting for tens of trillions of naira in assets across key African and global markets.
Data reviewed by Nairametrics show that the 10 overseas operations of Access Bank, First HoldCo, Zenith Bank, UBA and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) included in this analysis had combined assets of about N40.66 trillion at the end of FY2025.
Access Bank’s UK operation accounted for the largest share, with N16.69 trillion in total assets, followed by First HoldCo’s UK subsidiary at N4.41 trillion and Zenith Bank UK at N4.31 trillion.
The businesses span the UK, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo, giving their parent groups exposure to major African commercial centres as well as one of the world’s largest financial markets.
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Nairametrics reviewed company-reported financial statements and other publicly available corporate disclosures and ranked the overseas subsidiaries by total assets reported for FY2025. The comparison uses the financial year ended December 2025 and the corresponding FY2024 figures to show the change in asset size.
Executive methodology
The executive profiles accompanying the ranking are based on the leadership of each overseas subsidiary during the FY2025 financial period. As a result, executives appointed in 2026 were not included where their appointments occurred after the financial year used for the asset comparison.
Loknath Mishra- CEO UBA UK
Loknath Mishra took over as Chief Executive Officer of UBA UK on February 2, 2026, bringing decades of international banking experience to the London-based subsidiary.
Mishra joined UBA after serving as Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank UK, where he led the bank’s operations across the UK and Europe, with a focus on governance, regulatory engagement and operational resilience.
His career at ICICI Bank also included roles as Group Head of Wholesale Banking and Global Head of Transaction Banking. His experience spans corporate, institutional and financial institution banking, trade finance, cash management and transaction banking.
At UBA UK, Mishra is expected to strengthen the subsidiary’s regulatory and financial resilience while expanding its role in trade, transaction and correspondent banking between Africa and international markets.
UBA UK had N880 billion in assets IN full year 2025, compared with N730 billion in the previous period of 2024, representing a 21.25% increase.
Paul Croucher- CEO, GTCO UK
Paul Croucher, Managing Director of GTCO’s UK operations, has nearly four decades of banking and finance experience, with a career spanning commercial banking, corporate restructuring, transformation and government-backed finance.
He joined GTCO in 2024 after senior roles at Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest Group and Fortis Banking Group. At NatWest, Croucher held leadership positions in corporate and commercial banking and served as a merger integration programme director during the acquisition of NatWest.
He also spent time at UK Export Finance, where he was Executive Director and Head of Trade Finance and Credit Insurance. Before joining GTCO, he was CEO of Reliance Bank, the Salvation Army’s banking arm, where he led its transformation into a specialist social impact bank.
Croucher is a Fellow of the London Institute of Banking and Finance and the Chartered Institute of Bankers. He holds an MBA and a Diploma in Financial Services.
GTCO UK recorded N1.13 trillion in total assets in FY2025, compared with N1.12 trillion in FY2024, representing a 0.28% increase year on year.
Bernard Gyebi-Managing Director/CEO-UBA Ghana
Bernard Gyebi became the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UBA Ghana on January 1, 2026, succeeding Uzoechina Molokwu.
Gyebi has more than 27 years of experience in Ghana’s banking industry, with a career spanning executive leadership, risk management, corporate governance and regulatory compliance.
Before taking over at UBA Ghana, he held senior positions focused on enterprise-wide risk management across several financial institutions. His experience covers credit risk, operational risk, market and liquidity risk, compliance, anti-money laundering and regulatory governance.
UBA Ghana said his appointment brings expertise in strengthening risk management frameworks, credit culture and portfolio quality, alongside a focus on aligning people, culture and strategy.
UBA Ghana reported N1.59 trillion in assets(FY 2025), up from N1.04 trillion(FY 2024), representing a 52.05% increase based on the figures in your table.
Olajide Motolani S. Ayeronwi – MD/CEO FirstBank DRC
Olajide Motolani S. Ayeronwi is managing director and chief executive officer of FirstBank DRC SA, a position he has held since February 2022.
Ayeronwi joined FirstBank of Nigeria in July 2012 and previously served as managing director of the bank’s subsidiary in Guinea before taking charge of its Democratic Republic of Congo operation.
He has experience across banking and financial services, with a focus on growing FirstBank’s presence in markets with large underserved populations. In the DRC, he has overseen the expansion of the bank’s branch and agency network, with FirstBank DRC using mobile banking and agency banking to extend financial services beyond traditional branches.
Ayeronwi is a graduate of Accounting from the University of Ilorin and an alumnus of Lagos Business School. He has also completed senior management programmes at INSEAD and the University of Michigan.
FirstBank DRC recorded N2.61 trillion in total assets in FY2025, compared with N2.43 trillion in FY2024, representing a 7.33% increase. https://wearevuka.com/speaker/olajide-ayeronwi-2/
Pearl Nkrumah- CEO, Access Bank Ghana
Pearl Nkrumah, Managing Director of Access Bank Ghana, brings more than 25 years of banking experience spanning retail, digital and commercial banking across Africa.
Before taking the top job at Access Bank Ghana, Nkrumah served as Executive Director of Retail & Digital Banking at the bank and Head of Retail & Digital Banking for Access Bank’s African subsidiaries. She was responsible for retail strategy across 14 markets.
Nkrumah began her career at Standard Chartered Bank in 1998 and later joined Stanbic Bank in 2012, where she held leadership roles in commercial and business banking. She joined Access Bank in 2022.
She also serves as Chairperson of the Council of the Ghana Stock Exchange. Nkrumah holds an MBA and BSc in Administration from the University of Ghana, an LLB from GIMPA and a Diploma in Corporate Governance from the Corporate Governance Institute in the UK. She has also completed executive programmes at Harvard Business School.
Access Bank Ghana recorded N2.69 trillion in total assets in FY2025, up from N1.87 trillion in FY2024, representing a 43.96% increase.
Thomas Attah John, GTBank Ghana
Thomas Attah John is the Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank Ghana, bringing about two decades of experience in banking and financial services. He has spent more than 16 years within GTBank, where he has led and executed deals across the Corporate, Telecoms, Operations and Retail businesses, with expertise spanning business development, deal origination and structuring, and credit appraisal.
He holds a Chartered Banker MBA from the University of Bangor in the UK, an MBA from Lagos Business School, a Certificate in Management Performance Measurement from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and a BSc in Pure and Applied Chemistry from the University of Calabar.
Under his leadership, GTBank Ghana had N2.95 trillion in total assets as of FY 2025, compared with N1.60 trillion at the end of FY 2024 representing 84.63% increase.
Henry Chinedu Onwuzurigbo- CEO, Zenith Bank Ghana Limited
Henry Chinedu Onwuzurigbo is the managing director and chief executive officer of Zenith Bank Ghana Limited, a position he has held since his appointment on May 4, 2022.
Before becoming CEO, Onwuzurigbo served as an executive director of Zenith Bank Ghana and previously held the position of executive director responsible for Business Development and Treasury at Zenith Bank UK.
He has more than 24 years of banking experience, with a career spanning business development, operations, marketing, branch and regional management, inspection and internal audit.
Onwuzurigbo was also the pioneer head of Internal Audit at Zenith Bank UK and previously headed Internal Audit at Zenith Pensions Custodian, a subsidiary of Zenith Bank.
A chartered accountant, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. He is also a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors UK, an associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation Nigeria and a senior member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.
Before joining Zenith Bank, he worked in audit and consultancy at Coopers & Lybrand, now PricewaterhouseCoopers. He has undertaken training in leadership, strategy, anti-money laundering and general banking practices at institutions including London Business School and Lagos Business School.
Onwuzurigbo also serves as treasurer of the Ghana Association of Banks and sits on the governing councils of the National Banking College Ghana and the Ghana Association of Banks.
Zenith Bank Ghana recorded N3.78 trillion in total assets in FY2025, up from N2.09 trillion in FY2024, representing an 80.37% increase based on the figures used in this analysis.
Udu Ovbiagele – CEO Zenith Bank (UK)
Udu Ovbiagele is the chief executive officer of Zenith Bank (UK) Limited, having previously served as executive director of the UK subsidiary.
Ovbiagele began his banking career at Zenith Bank’s Domestic Operations Group before moving into Corporate Banking at the group’s head office. His career at Zenith spans more than two decades, with experience across corporate banking, trade finance, project finance, investment banking, development finance, telecommunications, fintech and international trade.
Before becoming CEO, Ovbiagele was executive director of Zenith Bank UK, where he oversaw the Trade Finance, Correspondent Banking, Multinational Corporates and Institutional Banking groups, as well as the bank’s Dubai branch and Digital Marketing Group. His responsibilities have included business development, corporate strategy, facility structuring, loan syndication and income optimisation.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Relations from the University of Reading and an MBA in International Business from the University of Birmingham. He also holds a postgraduate certification in the Mechanics of International Trade and Finance from the London Institute of Banking & Finance and Middlesex University. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers and the National Institute of Credit Administrators and has undertaken executive leadership training at London Business School.
Zenith Bank UK recorded N4.31 trillion in total assets in FY2025, up from N4.10 trillion in FY2024, representing a 5.03% increase.
Olukorede Adenowo –CEO FirstBank UK Limited
Olukorede Adenowo is chief executive officer of FirstBank UK Limited, a position he assumed in November 2023, after joining the bank’s board on November 16, 2023. FirstBank UK’s own management profile says he resumed as CEO in November 2023 after serving as chief executive of Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria.
Adenowo spent more than 24 years at Standard Chartered, rising through senior corporate and institutional banking roles across Nigeria, West and Central Africa. Before moving to FirstBank UK, he served as CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria from April to November 2023. He previously served as managing director for Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking in Nigeria and West Africa, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Gambia with responsibility for Senegal, and deputy managing director of Standard Chartered Bank Cameroon.
His career at Standard Chartered also included regional roles covering financial institutions, corporate and institutional banking and global corporates. He served as regional head of Global Corporates Africa and later as Africa co-head of Financial Institutions and Public Sector, working with banks and governments across several African markets.
Adenowo began his career at Deloitte Nigeria, where he worked as a senior consultant from 1987 to 1992, before joining Standard Chartered in 1999. He also served as vice president of the Gambia Bankers Association. He studied Organizational Leadership at INSEAD and Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
Under Adenowo, FirstBank UK closed FY2025 N4.41 trillion in total assets, that is down from N4.87 trillion in FY2024, representing -9.52%.
Jamie Simmonds- CEO, Access Bank UK
Jamie Simmonds has served as the founding Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Access Bank UK since January 2008.
Simmonds holds extensive experience across the financial services industry, having held director-level positions at National Westminster, Coutts, Royal Bank of Scotland, Gerrards and Close Brothers. His experience spans corporate, retail and private banking, as well as the start-up and turnaround of financial services businesses.
He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School Executive Management Programme, an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, a member of the Association of Foreign Bankers and a certified financial adviser.
Under his leadership, Access Bank UK has grown into the bank’s largest overseas operation by assets among the markets reviewed. The UK subsidiary recorded N16.69 trillion in total assets at the end of FY2025, up from N9.48 trillion in FY2024, representing a 76% increase.
