Access Holdings’ Q1 profits rise by 10%, lags rivals in core efficiency 

This performance was largely supported by strong growth in interest income, which rose by 58.28% year-on-year to N980.68 billion.

While the bank recorded a surge in interest income in Q1 2025, this was heavily offset by a 71.32% jump in interest expenses to N760.47 billion, shrinking net interest income by over 20% to N220.21 billion.

Access retained just 22.45% of its interest income after funding costs, far below GTCO (80.11%), Zenith Bank (70.58%), highlighting pressure on its cost of funds.

Still, strong non-interest income, driven by fee and commission growth and FX/fair value gains, helped cushion the blow, underlining the group’s diversified earnings base even as funding costs eroded core profitability.

Access Holdings’ Q1 2025 performance was largely fueled by strong interest income, which surged by 58.28% year-on-year.

This growth was underpinned by two main sources: income from loans and advances to customers and banks, which made up 63.29% of the total interest income (up from 61% in Q1 2024), and interest income from investment securities, which contributed 34.14%, slightly higher than 33.89% last year.

While these numbers appear impressive, rising interest expenses dulled the shine.

As a result, net interest income dipped 20.13% to N220.21 billion, reflecting the pressure from higher funding costs.

What kept the bottom line afloat was a robust non-interest income performance. Total fee and commission income rose 55.26% to N174.48 billion, driven largely by:

Additionally, fair value and foreign exchange gains nearly doubled, reaching N214.39 billion, a significant boost to the bank’s earnings resilience.

Despite a 5.81% contraction in total assets to N39.09 trillion, Access Holdings maintained its status as one of the largest banks by asset size.

The drop was primarily due to lower balances in loans, investment securities, and cash with the Central Bank.

However, the bank’s ability to grow its deposit base amid tight liquidity stands out.

Customer deposits rose by N507.56 billion in the quarter alone, reaching N23.03 trillion, providing much-needed balance sheet stability and supporting liquidity ratios.