In the first quarter (Q1) of 2022, WEMA Bank Plc ranked among the top five most profitable banks in terms of growth in Profit After Tax (PAT).

Based on the performance of the 12 commercial banks listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the banking sector saw exceptional development in the first quarter of this year, with real GDP growing by 23.24 percent year over year.

Wema Bank demonstrated its strength in the important areas of growth in total assets, client deposits, profit after tax, loan book growth, average equity return, and cost-to-income ratio.

Some banks, particularly recently re-engineered banks like Wema Bank and Unity Bank, among others, dominated the efficiency, deposit, and profitability metrics, according to a special report on the financial performance of quoted Nigerian banks in the first quarter of 2022 published by the research arm of Nairametrics.

In fact, Wema Bank came in second place to Zenith as the top bank in the first quarter of 2022 thanks to its outstanding performance across the board.

“Based on their Q1 2022 numbers, we see Zenith Bank on top of the rank, followed by Wema Bank, Stanbic IBTC, First Bank, and Fidelity Bank,” the study stated. “Taking the average of the performance of the banks across the six metrics under our radar.”

Twelve banks—Access Holdings, FBN Holdings, FCMB, Fidelity Bank, Wema Bank, GT Holding, Stanbic IBTC, Sterling Bank, Union Bank, UBA, Unity Bank, and Zenith Bank—had their Q1 2022 results tracked for the analysis.

In terms of profit after tax growth in the first quarter of 2022, Wema Bank outperformed the others with a 199% increase over its previous quarter’s earnings. FBN (108%), Sterling Bank (47.9%), and FCMB (44.6%) are the other banks that did well in this category.

In Q1 2022, the 12 banks that the analysts were following reported an overall profit after tax of N275.27 billion, a 14.7% increase over the N239.95 billion reported in the same period the previous year (Q1 2021).

Even though the CBN’s monetary policy tended to be dovish, or to keep interest rates low, the banks were nonetheless able to report improving bottom lines. The benchmark interest rate was hiked by the top bank in its most recent MPC meeting, from 11.5 to 13 percent, and banks may expect an increase in interest earnings in the future.

The report states that Wema Bank led the list in terms of growth, with its bottom line growing by 119%, while Zenith Bank achieved the largest profit after tax, totaling N58.19 billion.

In terms of the cost-to-income ratio, which displays a company’s expenses as a percentage of its revenue, Wema Bank ranked third as well. In this area, FCMB was the second-place finisher after First Bank. This makes it evident to investors how well a bank is operating.

Wema Bank ranked sixth in terms of increase in total assets for the first quarter, with a growth of 7.7%. Here, the leaders were Zenith Bank and Fidelity, with growth rates of 18.9% and 22.9%, respectively.

The overall assets of the 12 evaluated listed banks increased by 6.7% between December 2021 and the review period, from N57.67 trillion to N61.54 trillion, according to an examination of their combined assets. Over 85% of Nigeria’s yearly real GDP is represented by the combined assets of the listed banks (2021 estimate).

“A better financial situation is shown by the rise in the banks’ total assets. The whole asset base of every bank that was the subject of the investigation showed improvement, the report stated.

Other highlights of the research indicate the emergence of Zenith Bank as recording the biggest growth in client deposits, followed by Fidelity and Unity Bank with 18 per cent and 17.4 per cent rises, respectively, with Wema placing fourth (8.8 per cent) in terms of customer deposit growth.

As of the first quarter of this year, total client deposits were N40.34 trillion, an 8.7% rise over the N37.1 trillion recorded as of the previous quarter.

In the first quarter of 2022, Fidelity Bank topped the list of banks with the fastest loan book growth. In particular, as of December 2021, their client loan climbed by 28% to N1.83 trillion from N1.43 trillion.

With a growth of 15.96 percent, Wema Bank was ranked sixth among banks with the strongest return on equity by the survey. Here, Access, UBA, GT, and Zenith are in first place with growth rates of 21.39%, 20.49%, 19.3%, and 19.2%, respectively.