Nigerian banks are becoming increasingly international, with their overseas subsidiaries now accounting for tens of trillions of naira in assets across key African and global markets.
Data reviewed by Nairametrics show that the 10 overseas operations of Access Bank, First HoldCo, Zenith Bank, UBA and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) included in this analysis had combined assets of about N40.66 trillion at the end of FY2025.
Access Bank’s UK operation accounted for the largest share, with N16.69 trillion in total assets, followed by First HoldCo’s UK subsidiary at N4.41 trillion and Zenith Bank UK at N4.31 trillion.
The businesses span the UK, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo, giving their parent groups exposure to major African commercial centres as well as one of the world’s largest financial markets.
Nairametrics reviewed company-reported financial statements and other publicly available corporate disclosures and ranked the overseas subsidiaries by total assets reported for FY2025. The comparison uses the financial year ended December 2025 and the corresponding FY2024 figures to show the change in asset size.
Executive methodology
The executive profiles accompanying the ranking are based on the leadership of each overseas subsidiary during the FY2025 financial period. As a result, executives appointed in 2026 were not included where their appointments occurred after the financial year used for the asset comparison.
Loknath Mishra took over as Chief Executive Officer of UBA UK on February 2, 2026, bringing decades of international banking experience to the London-based subsidiary.
Mishra joined UBA after serving as Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank UK, where he led the bank’s operations across the UK and Europe, with a focus on governance, regulatory engagement and operational resilience.
His career at ICICI Bank also included roles as Group Head of Wholesale Banking and Global Head of Transaction Banking. His experience spans corporate, institutional and financial institution banking, trade finance, cash management and transaction banking.
At UBA UK, Mishra is expected to strengthen the subsidiary’s regulatory and financial resilience while expanding its role in trade, transaction and correspondent banking between Africa and international markets.
UBA UK had N880 billion in assets IN full year 2025, compared with N730 billion in the previous period of 2024, representing a 21.25% increase.
Paul Croucher, Managing Director of GTCO’s UK operations, has nearly four decades of banking and finance experience, with a career spanning commercial banking, corporate restructuring, transformation and government-backed finance.
He joined GTCO in 2024 after senior roles at Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest Group and Fortis Banking Group. At NatWest, Croucher held leadership positions in corporate and commercial banking and served as a merger integration programme director during the acquisition of NatWest.
He also spent time at UK Export Finance, where he was Executive Director and Head of Trade Finance and Credit Insurance. Before joining GTCO, he was CEO of Reliance Bank, the Salvation Army’s banking arm, where he led its transformation into a specialist social impact bank.
Croucher is a Fellow of the London Institute of Banking and Finance and the Chartered Institute of Bankers. He holds an MBA and a Diploma in Financial Services.
GTCO UK recorded N1.13 trillion in total assets in FY2025, compared with N1.12 trillion in FY2024, representing a 0.28% increase year on year.
Bernard Gyebi became the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UBA Ghana on January 1, 2026, succeeding Uzoechina Molokwu.
Gyebi has more than 27 years of experience in Ghana’s banking industry, with a career spanning executive leadership, risk management, corporate governance and regulatory compliance.
Before taking over at UBA Ghana, he held senior positions focused on enterprise-wide risk management across several financial institutions. His experience covers credit risk, operational risk, market and liquidity risk, compliance, anti-money laundering and regulatory governance.
UBA Ghana said his appointment brings expertise in strengthening risk management frameworks, credit culture and portfolio quality, alongside a focus on aligning people, culture and strategy.
UBA Ghana reported N1.59 trillion in assets(FY 2025), up from N1.04 trillion(FY 2024), representing a 52.05% increase based on the figures in your table.
Olajide Motolani S. Ayeronwi is managing director and chief executive officer of FirstBank DRC SA, a position he has held since February 2022.
Ayeronwi joined FirstBank of Nigeria in July 2012 and previously served as managing director of the bank’s subsidiary in Guinea before taking charge of its Democratic Republic of Congo operation.
He has experience across banking and financial services, with a focus on growing FirstBank’s presence in markets with large underserved populations. In the DRC, he has overseen the expansion of the bank’s branch and agency network, with FirstBank DRC using mobile banking and agency banking to extend financial services beyond traditional branches.
Ayeronwi is a graduate of Accounting from the University of Ilorin and an alumnus of Lagos Business School. He has also completed senior management programmes at INSEAD and the University of Michigan.
FirstBank DRC recorded N2.61 trillion in total assets in FY2025, compared with N2.43 trillion in FY2024, representing a 7.33% increase. https://wearevuka.com/speaker/olajide-ayeronwi-2/
Pearl Nkrumah, Managing Director of Access Bank Ghana, brings more than 25 years of banking experience spanning retail, digital and commercial banking across Africa.
Before taking the top job at Access Bank Ghana, Nkrumah served as Executive Director of Retail & Digital Banking at the bank and Head of Retail & Digital Banking for Access Bank’s African subsidiaries. She was responsible for retail strategy across 14 markets.
Nkrumah began her career at Standard Chartered Bank in 1998 and later joined Stanbic Bank in 2012, where she held leadership roles in commercial and business banking. She joined Access Bank in 2022.
