Ecobank

Ecobank enters 2026 with a story that splits along two lines: a parent Group turning in one of its strongest years on record, and a Nigerian subsidiary still working through a capital position that hasn't fully caught up to the rest of the franchise. At the Group level, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated closed FY2025, its 40th anniversary year, with revenue up 17% to $2.45 billion, total equity surging 60% to $2.9 billion, and profit after tax attributable to ETI shareholders up 22% to $407 million. The Board recommended a $40 million dividend payout, resuming payments and signalling confidence in the Group's improving capital position; the Group also completed the sale of its Mozambique subsidiary during the year, concentrating capital in markets management sees as offering stronger long-term returns.

Nigeria is where the picture gets more complicated. Ecobank Nigeria met the Central Bank's N200 billion minimum paid-up capital requirement ahead of the March 2026 deadline, but its capital adequacy ratio remains below the regulatory 10% minimum, with a Board-approved capital restoration plan underway and ETI providing support including capital injections. Impairment charges more than doubled to ₦32.8 billion as the subsidiary accelerated provisioning in a deliberate push toward cleaner asset books, and a dedicated Asset Quality War Room has driven recoveries including one $6 million write-back on a long-standing non-performing loan; liquidity has remained comfortably above the regulatory minimum throughout, and dividend payments and management bonuses at the Nigerian subsidiary have been suspended as part of the restoration plan.

Ecobank's continental footprint remains its core differentiator: the Group serves over 30 million businesses and individuals across its markets, operates a single cross-border payments platform through products like Rapidtransfer, and maintains representative offices spanning London, Dubai, and Beijing alongside a wholly owned banking subsidiary in Paris.