Guaranty Trust Holding Company directors are set to earn over ₦600 million in dividend income for the 2025 financial year following the bank’s decision to maintain a strong payout despite a decline in earnings.
The holding company recently declared a total dividend of ₦12.76 per share for 2025, translating to an estimated total payout of ₦466.38 billion to shareholders.
This comes even as profit after tax declined to ₦865.75 billion from ₦1.02 trillion recorded in 2024 on the back of pressure from reduced non-interest income, rising operating costs and higher tax expense.
A breakdown of directors’ shareholdings shows that a significant portion of the dividend distribution will accrue to key members of the board.
Mr. J.K.O. Agbaje, Group Chief Executive Officer, holds a combined 41,628,001 shares (direct and indirect), positioning him as the largest beneficiary among the directors. Based on the declared dividend, his estimated earnings amount to approximately ₦531.17 million.
Mrs. C. N. Echeozo holds a total of 5,048,418 shares, translating to an estimated dividend income of ₦64.42 million.
Mr. A. I. Adeniyi, with a combined holding of 337,712 shares, is expected to receive about ₦4.31 million.
Mr. S. Barau, who holds 43,553 shares, will earn approximately ₦0.56 million in dividend income.
Mr. B. Soyoye holds no shares in the company and is not expected to receive any dividend.
In total, GTCO directors are projected to earn approximately ₦600.46 million from the 2025 dividend distribution.
The distribution highlights a concentration of dividend income with Mr. Agbaje accounting for the overwhelming majority of directors’ earnings.
His share alone represents more than 88 percent of the total dividend income accruing to the board.