Zenith Bank suffered ₦5.26 billion fraud loss in recently released 2024 financial records and this has sparked concerns over customer fund security.
Despite posting a record ₦1.3 trillion profit in 2024, Zenith Bank Plc has been rocked by an alarming ₦5.26 billion fraud loss, a development that is now casting serious doubts over the bank’s internal controls and raising growing fears among customers about the safety of their deposits.
According to its recently released audited financial statements, Zenith Bank suffered nearly 500 fraud-related incidents last year. While that number reflects a slight drop in frequency, the actual monetary losses skyrocketed by over 1,270%, from ₦383.38 million in 2023 to over ₦5.26 billion in 2024.
The bank acknowledged that it encountered fraudulent transactions totalling ₦7.74 billion, with a staggering 68% resulting in unrecovered losses. Such figures reveal a worrisome vulnerability at one of Nigeria’s most trusted financial institutions.
“This isn’t just about internal accounting — it’s about public trust. How secure are customers’ funds when fraud can quietly drain billions from the system?” a Lagos-based banking analyst questioned.
Although the fraud losses represent just 0.4% of Zenith’s after-tax profit, the breach of security raises critical questions about how the bank safeguards its operations in an era of increasingly sophisticated cybercrime and internal collusion.
This disclosure comes amid rising anxiety over financial crime across Nigeria’s banking sector. Just recently, Access Holdings Plc confirmed fraud losses of over ₦1.64 billion ($1.0 million), largely stemming from electronic fraud and unauthorized transfers, echoing the same vulnerabilities highlighted in Zenith Bank’s report.
According to the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), Nigerian banks lost a collective ₦10.1 billion to fraud in Q3 2024 alone. Worse still, insider fraud, often involving bank staff jumped 54%, indicating that even trusted employees are now becoming weak links.
Regulators Crack Down, But Is It Enough?
With public trust on the line, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently directed NIBSS to debit settlement accounts of banks implicated in fraud. But for customers, such after-the-fact measures may offer little comfort.
“Customers aren’t just worried about dividends or profits, they want to know their money is safe,” said one concerned depositor. “If a Tier-1 bank like Zenith can lose billions, who is really protected?”
Zenith’s massive losses were disclosed alongside a strong financial performance: ₦3.9 trillion in gross earnings, a 52.5% YoY profit increase, and a sharp growth in interest income, now standing at ₦2.7 trillion.
Its customer deposit base surged to nearly ₦22 trillion, positioning the bank just behind Access Holdings and UBA in terms of asset strength. But with rising fraud incidents, customers may now be re-evaluating their confidence in even the biggest players.
Calls for Transparency and Accountability
Zenith Bank’s decision to openly report these losses marks a notable shift in an industry where many banks still hide or downplay fraud cases. According to NIBSS, only 60 of Nigeria’s 163 financial institutions reported fraud cases in 2023.
But transparency without reform may not be enough. Stakeholders are now urging banks to strengthen internal security systems, invest in fraud detection tools, and most importantly, restore confidence in the banking system.
As the financial sector braces for heightened regulation and customer scrutiny, Zenith’s fraud loss may well be a canary in the coal mine warning that even the biggest banks are not immune to internal decay and external threats.