Zenith Bank Plc, the Lagos-based financial powerhouse led by Nigerian banking executive Adaora Umeoji, has closed its 2024 fiscal year with a record-breaking profit of over $670 million, reinforcing its dominance as one of Africa’s most profitable lenders.
The bank’s annual profit soared from N676.9 billion ($440 million) in 2023 to N1.032 trillion ($670.7 million) in 2024, reflecting strong growth across all income lines — including a significant boost in interest income, fees and commissions, and trading gains.
Interest income surged from N1.14 trillion ($741.5 million) to N2.72 trillion ($1.77 billion), thanks to an expanding loan book and strategic investments. Fee and commission income nearly doubled to N206.9 billion ($134.5 million), while trading gains skyrocketed from N566.9 billion ($369 million) to N1.1 trillion ($716 million).
Founded in 1990 by billionaire banker Jim Ovia, who still owns a 16.2% stake (5.08 billion shares), Zenith Bank has extended its footprint beyond Nigeria, launching a Paris branch in 2024 to deepen its reach into Francophone Africa and Europe.
Under the leadership of Adaora Umeoji, who assumed the role of CEO in June 2024 and holds 91.9 million shares, the bank’s total assets rose to N29.96 trillion ($19.5 billion), while its total equity jumped to N4.03 trillion ($2.62 billion).
Shareholders were rewarded with a final dividend of N4 ($0.0026) per share, bringing the total dividend for 2024 to N5 ($0.00325) — a notable increase from the previous year.
With a comprehensive income of nearly $1 billion and growing retained earnings of over N2 trillion ($1.31 billion), Zenith Bank continues to strengthen its position as one of Africa’s most valuable financial institutions.
