Policies of bank regulatory body, Central Bank of Nigeria, have helped to strengthen Nigerian banks over the years. These policies come in form of recapitalization, bail out, etc. Banks are engine room of every functional economy. The basis for ranking first top 20 banks in Nigeria in this survey is the total assets of the banks.
Here are the Top 20 Banks In Nigeria you Can Banks with Without Problems.
No 20: First City Monument Bank was founded in 1982 as City Securities Limited. It is worth $72million and over 2,000 staff. It was the first bank to be established in Nigeria without government or foreign support.
No 19: Standard Chartered Bank of Nigeria has total assets of $79.6milion
No 18: Jaiz Bank is a non-interest Nigerian bank founded in 2003. It has total assets of $88.8milion. Jaiz Bank is an Islamic bank.
No 17: Heritage Bank was founded in 1989 as Societe Generate Bank (Nigeria), and is renowned as the first bank to introduce ATM (Automated Teller Machines) in Nigeria’s banking system. It has total assets of $192million.
No 16: Wema Bank Plc is commonly referred to as Wema Bank, Wema Bank Plc was founded in Nigeria in 1945. It came in at top 16 on the chart. It has total assets of $245million and over 1,300 employees.
No 15: Stanbic IBTC Holdings was founded in 1989. It has total assets of N85.65billion (approx. $428.25million) and over 2,000 staff. Stanbic IBTC Holding is a member of Standard Bank Group, South Africa.
No 14: FSDH Merchant Bank Limited has a total asset of $572.5million. It came in at number 14 on this chart of first 20 banks in Nigeria.
No 13: Enterprise Bank: It was formerly called Spring Bank when founded in 2004 as a result of a merger of six different banks. The total asset of Enterprise Bank is $1.31billion.
No 12: Citibank Nigeria has $2.5billion in assets. It comes in at number 12 on the list.
No 11: Keystone Bank was founded in 2011 after Central Bank of Nigeria revoked the license of defunct Bank PHB with total assets of $1.91billion. It has many subsidiaries in Nigeria and other countries in Africa.
No 10: Skye Bank Plc is another Nigerian bank to make the list of first top 20 banks in Nigeria coming in at number 10. It was founded in 1989 with the name Prudent Bank Plc. It has total assets over $3.9billion. The bank has over 260 branches across Nigeria.
No 9: Fidelity Bank Plc was founded in 1988 as Fidelity Union Merchant Limited. It has a total asset of $6.31billion. The bank has over 220 branches nationwide and over 2.3million customers.
No 8: Union Bank of Nigeria Plc was founded in 1917, and it is another strong bank to make the list first top 20 banks in Nigeria with total assets over $6.78million.It has many subsidiaries in Nigeria. It evolved from Barclay Bank to Union Bank.
No 7: Diamond Bank Plc was also founded in 1990, and it is worth $7.3billion in total assets. It has a subsidiary in Benin Rep., Senegal and Ivory Coast. It has about 240 branches in Nigeria.
No 6: United Bank for Africa or UBA is a big name in Nigerian banking sector as it hits first top 20 banks in Nigeria at number 6. It was founded in 1949. It has since spread to over 19 African countries, U.K. and the U.S. UBA has a customer base of 7 million and over 600 branches. Today’s UBA is worth over $12.3bilion in assets and is a product of the successful merger of Standard Trust Bank Plc and Continental Trust Bank Limited.
No 5: Access Bank Plc is the next to make the list. It was founded in 1989. Access Bank has total assets of $12.6billion and over 9,000 staff. The bank also has over 300 branches in Nigeria. It also has subsidiaries in other African countries like Congo, U.K., Zambia and Sierra Leone.
No 4: Zenith Bank of Nigeria plc is one of the first 20 banks in Nigeria. Founded in May 1990, Zenith Bank has a shareholder base of about 15.7billion in assets. It has over 6,600 employees and over 500 branches across states in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia and United Kingdom.
No 3: Ecobank is a transnational bank with total assets of $20.0billion and over 19,000 employees. It has many subsidiaries in Angola, France, South Africa, etc. it came in at number 3 on this list.
No 2: First Bank of Nigeria PLC: Founded in 1894 as Bank of British West Africa and later to First Bank in 1979, First Bank of Nigeria Plc is the oldest Nigeria bank. First Bank is the second Nigeria’s largest bank by assets with assets totaling about $21.3billion. The bank has grown over the years and now has branches in Ghana, The Gambia, United Kingdom, Sierra Leone, and Senegal.
No 1: Guaranty Trust Bank Plc or GTBank as it is fondly called is also a name to reckon with in Nigerian banking sector as it is the first among all on this chart of first top 20 banks in Nigeria. Founded in July 1990, GTBank has total assets of N2,355.9 trillion ($11.77trillion) and with over 10,000 staff on its payroll.
The first top 20 banks in Nigeria above immensely support the growth of Nigerian economy. They strive to increase their capital base by continuously repackaging their services, spreading their reach (opening new branches), using juicy promotions to attract customers, winning and building on customer loyalty, deploying modern technology and trying new ideas.
The first top 20 banks in Nigeria have helped to give many Nigerians jobs, financed Nigeria’s economy (contribute in making it the largest in Africa), managed the finances of many Nigerians, and funded many government projects in Nigeria.
Send in more of this article. I heard that SKYE Bank is in distress ?
Okay, we will do exactly that…
good research sir. thanks for contributing to my knowledge. can you pls send this data to my mail box?
I think we already published all the information you may be looking for on this topic. Or is there any other thing you need?
I have just read your selection of Top 20 Nigerian Banks. Your story disclosed that GTBank has assets worth $11.77 Trillion. I guessed you wanted to write Billion zdollars, because there is bank in Nigeria with such assets. Please correct the information for the benefits of your readers. Thanks Chicgao, USA
Hello Sir, I think the value is actually correct because Wikipedia recorded ₦ 2,355.9 Trillion as at 2014. If you convert this to dollar, you will get about $11 Trillion plus. This was a simple conversion from the market data we got during research. We really appreciate you for reading InfoGuideNigeria. Thanks Sir.