FCMB Group kicked off 2025 with a solid earnings performance, fuelled by a surge in interest income and strategic loan growth.
As interest rates climbed, the bank seized the opportunity to reprice assets, lifting gross earnings by 41% to ₦529.2 billion and pushing profit after tax to ₦73.42 billion—up from ₦59.48 billion a year earlier.
Interest Income Surge
Driving this growth, FCMB capitalised on higher benchmark interest rates and deliberately expanded its loan book, which allowed it to boost interest and discount income by 70% to ₦458.4 billion.
Consequently, gross earnings surged 41% year-on-year to ₦529.2 billion.
Moreover, the Group nearly doubled its net interest income to ₦207.4 billion, up from ₦106.2 billion.
While interest expenses climbed 54% to ₦251 billion, FCMB efficiently repriced its assets faster than its liabilities, thereby preserving its margin and benefiting from Nigeria’s rate environment.
Resilient Non-Interest Revenue
In addition to interest earnings, FCMB strengthened its non-interest revenue.
Fee and commission income rose 31% to ₦47.4 billion, reflecting increased transaction volumes, digital banking activity, and advisory services.
On the other hand, net trading income declined by 29% to ₦22.2 billion.
This drop followed reduced foreign exchange gains and less volatile market conditions compared to the previous year.
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To manage growing credit risks, FCMB proactively raised its impairment charges.
Net impairment losses increased to ₦36.2 billion from ₦31.3 billion, demonstrating the Group’s commitment to strengthening its risk buffers amid macroeconomic uncertainty.
Nevertheless, the bank modestly grew its customer loan portfolio to ₦2.38 trillion, compared to ₦2.36 trillion at year-end 2024.
Solid Balance Sheet Growth
Simultaneously, operating costs rose.
Personnel expenses jumped 34% to ₦48.3 billion, while general and administrative costs surged 59% to ₦57.2 billion.
These increases reflected inflationary pressures, exchange rate movements, and continued investment in technology infrastructure.
Despite rising costs, FCMB lifted its profit before tax by 23% to ₦79.1 billion, showing efficient cost and income management.
Furthermore, FCMB expanded its balance sheet.
The Group grew total assets to ₦7.54 trillion from ₦7.05 trillion in December 2024, largely by increasing its investment securities to ₦1.4 trillion and modestly growing customer deposits by 5.6% to ₦4.54 trillion.
It also strengthened its liquidity position — more than doubling its cash and cash equivalents to ₦1.53 trillion.
FCMB enhanced shareholder value as well.
It increased shareholders’ funds to ₦747.4 billion from ₦688.9 billion, supported by retained earnings and fair value gains on debt instruments.
In addition, the Group declared a dividend of ₦21.78 billion.
However, earnings per share declined to ₦3.70 from ₦6.00 due to a higher number of shares in issue and the impact of Additional Tier 1 capital deductions.
In summary, FCMB navigated a volatile economic environment with agility and discipline.
By focusing on core banking performance, proactive risk management, and operational efficiency, the Group demonstrated not just growth — but resilience with strategic intent.
