Nigeria’s top-tier lenders, First HoldCo, UBA, GTCO, Entry Company, and Zenith Bank (FUGAZ) collectively earned N4.8 trillion in curiosity earnings from funding securities inside the first 9 months of 2025.
Knowledge from {financial} statements filed with the Nigerian Alternate (NGX) present that the FUGAZ group’s whole investments in authorities securities and treasury payments surged to N49.152 trillion, representing a 16.5% rise from N42.204 trillion on the finish of December 2024.
By worth, Entry Company led the pack with N15.25 trillion funding in securities, adopted by UBA (N13.59 trillion), Zenith Bank (N9.05 trillion), First HoldCo (N6.35 trillion), and GTCO (N4.91 trillion). Their respective returns have been:
Analysts say the pattern highlights how banks more and more want sovereign debt devices and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) placements over riskier private-sector lending.
Conservative lending is in sharp distinction with investments in securities
Regardless of file funding returns, most FUGAZ banks adopted a risk-averse lending posture, rising loans and advances to clients at a slower tempo in comparison with the tempo of investments in authorities securities in addition to buyer deposits.
As of September 2025, the banks have combination loans and advances to clients of N42.26 trillion, 7.27% improve in comparison with N39.4 trillion in 2024.
In distinction, their investments in securities jumped by 16.46% to N49.152 trillion as of September 2025.
This distinction exhibits that banks continued to prioritize steady, high-yield authorities property for predictable earnings.
It’s in opposition to this background that the Central Bank of Nigeria is introduced plans emigrate all fixed-income buying and selling and settlement features from the FMDQ Securities Alternate — at the moment below SEC regulation — to its Actual-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and Scripless Securities Settlement System (S4).
The migration, anticipated to start in November, successfully positions the CBN as each operator and regulator of the fixed-income market — a transfer that consolidates management of bond and treasury invoice operations.
For the FUGAZ banks, the timing could possibly be essential. As they mint file earnings from authorities securities, the CBN’s consolidation of the market may both streamline operations or reshape revenue dynamics, relying on how the reforms are executed and controlled.
