Zenith Bank Plc strengthened its balance sheet in the nine months ended September 30, 2026 with total assets rising to N34.39 trillion and customer deposits reaching N27.11 trillion.
According to the bank’s unaudited financial statements, total assets increased by 9.3% from N31.46 trillion recorded in December 2025, while customer deposits grew by 11.4% from N24.33 trillion.
Loans and advances to customers also increased by 11.4% to N11.64 trillion from N10.45 trillion, indicating an expansion in the bank’s lending portfolio.
Zenith Bank’s shareholders’ equity strengthened to N5.07 trillion from N4.92 trillion at the end of 2025, while retained earnings increased to N3.04 trillion from N2.81 trillion.
The bank recorded a profit before tax of N928.80 billion for the nine-month period, representing a 1.2% increase from N917.41 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
Net interest income remained strong at N1.93 trillion, supported by a 15.4% reduction in interest expenses to N688.73 billion from N814.23 billion.
The bank also recorded a significant improvement in impairment charges, which declined by 70.5% to N230.77 billion from N782.76 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
Consequently, net interest income after impairment charges increased by 48.4% to N1.70 trillion from N1.14 trillion.
Income from fees and commissions also strengthened, rising by 26.6% to N256.85 billion from N202.94 billion, suggesting improved contributions from the bank’s fee-generating activities.
Other operating income increased to N106.54 billion from N54.19 billion, further supporting the group’s earnings.
Despite these improvements, profit after tax stood at N675.83 billion, compared with N764.20 billion in the corresponding period of 2025, largely reflecting higher taxation and trading losses.
Income tax expenses increased to N252.97 billion from N153.21 billion, while trading activities recorded a loss of N229.19 billion compared with income of N277.65 billion a year earlier.
The bank’s third-quarter performance contributed N244.72 billion in profit after tax, representing approximately 36.2% of its total profit for the nine-month period.
Zenith Bank also reduced its borrowings significantly to N138.48 billion from N651.16 billion at the end of December 2025, representing a decline of 78.7%.
The reduction in borrowings, alongside growth in deposits and shareholders’ equity, reflects changes in the bank’s funding structure during the period.
Basic earnings per share stood at N16.41, compared with N18.60 in the corresponding period of 2025.
Overall, the financial results highlight Zenith Bank’s expanding asset base, growing customer deposits, stronger lending portfolio and improved net interest income after impairment charges, even as higher taxation and trading losses affected bottom-line profitability.