Inside Nigerian banks’ rise to the top of Africa’s capital growth rankings

Nigerian banks are beginning to reap the rewards of recapitalisation and years of pan-African expansion, with four lenders emerging among Africa’s 10 fastest-growing banks by Tier 1 capital in The Banker’s 2026 Top 1000 World Banks rankings.

An analysis by BusinessDay of the latest rankings shows that Access Holdings, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Zenith Bank accounted for four of the continent’s top 10 lenders by capital growth in 2025, highlighting how stronger capital positions, cross-border acquisitions and a stabilising domestic economy are reshaping Nigeria’s banking landscape.

Access, Nigeria’s largest banking group by assets, topped the continental ranking after growing its Tier 1 capital by 60.9 percent to $2.46 billion—the biggest increase recorded by any African lender. Egypt’s Commercial International Bank (CIB) followed with a 47.8 percent rise to $3.91 billion, while GTBank ranked third with a 40.2 percent increase. UBA placed sixth and Zenith Bank ninth, giving Nigeria the largest representation in Africa’s top 10 fastest-growing lenders.

The rankings reinforce Nigeria’s emergence as one of Africa’s fastest-growing banking markets. While South Africa remains the continent’s largest banking hub by assets and capital, Nigerian lenders are increasingly setting the pace for growth through recapitalisation, stronger earnings and regional expansion.

“Nigerian banks similarly march up this year’s rankings, taking advantage of a stabilising economy and the dollar’s weakness,” The Banker said.

The UK-based banking and financial intelligence publication attributed Access Holdings’ performance to the final phase of its aggressive acquisition strategy, noting that the lender recorded “the continent’s largest annual increase in Tier 1 capital” after completing the acquisitions of National Bank of Kenya and several Standard Chartered subsidiaries across Africa.

Zenith Bank also climbed 55 places to 526th globally after increasing its Tier 1 capital by 29.1 percent. However, The Banker said the lender narrowly trailed GTBank in its Nigerian performance rankings, with GTBank scoring higher on operational efficiency, asset quality and financial soundness.

Outside Nigeria, Egypt’s CIB emerged as Africa’s biggest mover, climbing 89 places in the global rankings after increasing Tier 1 capital by 47.8 percent, driven largely by higher retained earnings.

Tier 1 capital is regarded as the strongest measure of a bank’s financial health because it consists mainly of common equity and retained earnings that can absorb losses during periods of financial stress. Under the Basel III framework, regulators use it to assess a bank’s resilience and capital strength.

The list also revealed that years of expansion by Nigerian lenders are beginning to translate into stronger balance sheets and greater regional influence.

Recapitalisation powers expansion

The performance follows the completion of Nigeria’s banking recapitalisation exercise, which saw lenders raise more than N4.65 trillion ($3.24 billion) in fresh capital to meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s new minimum capital requirements. The framework sets minimum capital thresholds of N500 billion ($345 million) for international banks, N200 billion ($138 million) for national banks and N50 billion ($34.5 million) for regional lenders.

The exercise which ended in four months ago, is said to be one of the country’s biggest in two decades.

Access became the first lender to exceed the new threshold after raising N351 billion ($242 million) through a rights issue.

Speaking during the group’s 2024 investor call, Roosevelt Ogbonna, group managing director of Access Bank, said the capital raise was designed to fund expansion rather than simply comply with regulatory requirements.

“We have consistently stated that our capital raise had nothing to do with the Central Bank’s directive requiring banks to raise their minimum capital,” Ogbonna said. “The capital was deployed immediately, and its impact is already visible.”

A significant portion of the proceeds financed the acquisition of Standard Chartered’s subsidiaries in Angola, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and The Gambia, alongside National Bank of Kenya and a majority stake in Mauritius-based AfrAsia Bank, further strengthening Access’s position as one of Africa’s most geographically diversified banking groups.

The expansion is already reshaping the group’s earnings profile. Nigeria’s contribution to Access Holdings’ pre-tax profit fell to 37 percent between January and September 2025 from 61 percent two years earlier, while African subsidiaries nearly doubled their contribution to 35 percent. The UK and other international businesses accounted for the remaining 28 percent.

The same trend is emerging across other Nigerian lenders.

Zenith, which recently completed a capital raise of more than N350 billion ($242 million), has set an ambitious target of generating about half of its profits outside Nigeria over the medium term. The lender has expanded into Côte d’Ivoire and is pursuing licences in Ethiopia and Kenya as it seeks to diversify earnings beyond its home market.

GTCO, the parent company of GTBank has also completed the capital raise of its flagship banking subsidiary after raising more than N209 billion ($144 million) in its first fundraising phase, followed by a N10 billion ($6.9 million) private placement. 

Similarly, UBA raised N178.3 billion ($123 million) through a rights issue after an earlier N239 billion ($165 million) capital injection, pushing its capital base above the regulatory threshold ahead of the deadline.

For analysts, the recapitalisation exercise is changing not only the size of Nigerian banks but also their strategic direction.

Ayokunle Olubunmi, head of financial institutions ratings at Agusto & Co., said Nigerian lenders are deliberately reducing their dependence on the domestic economy.

“Given the exposure of their businesses to Nigeria’s macroeconomic environment, banks are deliberately diversifying their income base,” he said. “Operating in countries with stronger sovereign ratings also helps reduce overall risk.”

The strategy has also been supported by the retreat of international lenders from Africa. Over the past decade, global banks including Barclays, HSBC and Société Générale have exited or scaled back operations across the continent, creating acquisition opportunities for well-capitalised regional players.

Mobifoluwa Adesina, senior research and consulting analyst at Afrinvest West Africa, said the recapitalisation exercise has placed greater emphasis on deploying fresh capital efficiently.

“Banks are trying to deploy capital more efficiently to generate stable and sustainable returns as Nigeria remains a volatile market amid ongoing reforms,” he said. “Expanding across Africa allows lenders to diversify earnings, spread risk and position themselves for long-term growth.”

Africa’s banks punch above their weight

Beyond Nigeria, The Banker said Africa’s banking industry continues to outperform global peers despite its relatively small size.

Although the continent is home to about one-fifth of the world’s population, African banks account for less than one percent of the Tier 1 capital held by the world’s 1,000 largest lenders.

Yet the publication said Africa’s biggest banks continue to “punch above their weight”, recording aggregate profit and Tier 1 capital growth well above the global average. All 33 African banks included in this year’s rankings increased their Tier 1 capital in dollar terms, with lenders in Nigeria, South Africa and Morocco benefiting from the weaker US dollar during 2025.

The findings point to a broader shift in African banking. While South Africa remains the continent’s largest banking market by assets, Nigeria is increasingly emerging as its fastest-growing. The recapitalisation programme, coupled with years of regional expansion, is producing larger and better-capitalised lenders capable of competing across multiple African markets.