Zenith Bank Plc has announced its unaudited results for the third quarter ended 30 September 2020 with gross earnings rising by 4% to ₦509 billion from ₦491 billion posted in the same period in the previous year. This performance demonstrates the Group’s resilience against the backdrop of a challenging macro-economic environment brought about by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
According to the unaudited account which was presented to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), this growth was driven by non-interest income which grew by 11% to ₦173 billion from ₦157 billion recorded at the end of Q3 2019, reflecting the Group’s increasingly diversified business model. The Group’s Profit Before Tax (PBT) rose marginally to ₦177 billion at the end of Q3 2020, representing a 1% growth over the ₦176 billion posted in the corresponding period last year.
The result also demonstrates the Group’s ability to deliver optimal pricing for its interest-bearing assets and liabilities in a declining yield environment, as net interest income grew by 5% Year-on-Year (y-o-y) to ₦225 billion despite the drop in total interest income from ₦322 billion to ₦319 billion. Interest expense and cost of funds were down 13% and 27% to close at ₦94 billion and 2.2% respectively, reflecting the Group’s robust treasury and liquidity management.
Total deposits closed at ₦5.2 trillion at the end of Q3 2020 up from ₦4.3 trillion in December 2019, dominated by low-cost deposits. Retail deposits grew impressively by 58% to ₦1.7 trillion at the end of Q3 2020 up from ₦1.1 trillion as at December 2019, underpinned by the continuous expansion and improvement of the Group’s digital platforms.
In terms of asset quality, the Group’s Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio improved to 4.80% (FYE 2019: 4.95%), despite growing loans and advances by 17 % from ₦2.5 trillion as at December 2019 to ₦2.9 trillion at the end of Q3 2020, affirming the Group’s prudent credit risk management. The liquidity and capital adequacy ratios (CAR), at 67.4% (Bank: 52.5%) and 21.5% respectively at the end of Q3 2020, remain above regulatory thresholds of 30.0% and 15.0%.
Zenith Bank Plc has continued to demonstrate resilience and industry leadership. In recognition of its track record of excellent performance, Zenith Bank was voted as the Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria 2019 by the World Finance and the Best Digital Bank in Nigeria 2019 by Agusto and Co. The Bank was also recognised as Bank of the Year and Best in Retail Banking at the 2019 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI) Awards. More recently, the Bank emerged as the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria, for the third consecutive year, in the Banker Magazine “Top 500 Banking Brands 2020”, Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital in the “2020 Top 1000 World Banks” Ranking published by The Banker Magazine, Best Bank in Nigeria 2020 in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards 2020, and Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) at the ThisDay Awards 2020.