Nigerian lenders experienced difficulties on a number of fronts in 2020. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic, combined with a slump in oil revenues (which eased toward the end of the year), resulted in the country’s worst economic performance in more than 20 years. Its five largest lenders all posted significant falls in this year’s Top 1000 ranking, with only First Bank Nigeria registering an increase in its Tier 1 capital base during 2020.
Zenith Bank — the country’s largest lender by Tier 1 capital — fell 68 places to number 454 in the Top 1000 ranking, its Tier 1 capital position declining by 5.4% even as it recorded a 7.7% rise in total assets. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s second biggest lender, Guaranty Trust Bank, drops from 537 to 625 in this year’s main ranking.