ECOBANK Nigeria’s profit before tax fell by 45 percent to $7.34 million in the first nine months of 2026, as a sharp increase in impairment charges eroded earnings despite growth in operating income.
The Nigerian business recorded impairment charges of $37.41 million in the nine months ended September 2026, up 59.8 percent from $23.42 million in the corresponding period of 2025, according to Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s unaudited financial statements.
The increase in impairment charges came as operating income rose by 11 per cent to $125.69 milliom from $113.27m, suggesting that higher income was insufficient to offset the growing cost of credit risk and other operating expenses.
Ecobank Nigeria’s profit before tax consequently dropped to $7.34 million from approximately $13.34m a year earlier.
The decline made Nigeria the weakest-performing geographical region in the group’s African operations, despite the country’s importance as one of its principal banking markets.
In comparison, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa generated $392.20 million in profit before tax, representing a 20 percent increase from the corresponding period of 2025.
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Anglophone West Africa recorded $336.80m, up 10 percent, while Francophone West Africa contributed $266.06m, representing a three percent decline.
Nigeria’s contribution was particularly small relative to the group’s total profit before tax of $736.94 million, which increased by 12 percent from $656.59m in the previous year.
The Nigerian operation’s weak performance reflected pressure from impairment charges, which accounted for about 30 percent of its operating income, compared with approximately 21 percent in the corresponding period of 2025.
At the group level, impairment charges increased by 13 percent to $287.20 million from $254.72 million, although the bank’s overall earnings continued to expand.
Ecobank’s revenue rose by 12 percent to $1.96 billion, supported by a 12 percent increase in net interest income to $1.13bn and a similar growth in non-interest revenue to $831.61m.
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Operating expenses also increased by 12 per cent to $938.08m, keeping the group’s cost-to-income ratio relatively stable at 47.8 per cent, compared with 48 per cent a year earlier.
The group reported profit after tax of $515.81 million, representing a 13 percent increase from $454.46 million in the corresponding period of 2025.
Its balance sheet showed customer deposits increasing by nine percent to $27.54 billion from December 2025, while loans and advances to customers rose by only two percent to $11.97 billion.
Consequently, the group’s loans-to-deposits ratio declined to 46.9 percent from 50.5 percent at the end of December 2025.
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The bank’s stage-three loans ratio, which measures impaired loans as a proportion of gross loans, also improved to 7.5 percent from 9.4 percent over the same period.
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated operates in 38 countries and provides retail, corporate and investment banking services across sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa.
