Nigerian banker Herbert Wigwe’s Access Holdings posts $312 million in profit in 9M 2022

Feyisayo Ajayi -

Access Holdings, a pan-African financial services conglomerate led by Nigerian multimillionaire banking mogul Herbert Wigwe, reported a double-digit percent increase in earnings at the end of the first nine months of its 2022 fiscal year, with profit exceeding $310 million.

According to figures from the group’s recently published financial statement, profit rose by 12.4 percent during the nine-month period, from N122.03 billion ($278.6 million) in 2021 to N137 billion ($312.8 million).

The group’s robust financial performance across its broad-based banking operations can be attributed to the double-digit earnings growth, despite the difficulties and challenges in its operating environment.

During the period under review, Access Holdings’ interest income rose by 25.9 percent from N395.14 billion ($902.1 million) to N497.47 billion ($1.13 billion), while its fee and commission income increased from N113.56 billion ($259.2 million) to N133.49 billion ($304.7 million).

Despite the increase in gross earnings, the group’s profits were hampered by an increase in personnel expenses above N72 billion ($164 million), as well as an rise in other operating expenses to N254.3 billion ($580 million) from N188.8 billion ($431 million).

As a result of the strong financial performance, the group’s total assets increased by 14.65 percent, from N11.7 trillion ($26.7 billion) to N13.45 trillion ($30.7 billion), while retained earnings increased by 19.2 percent, from N397.27 billion ($907 million) to N473.5 billion ($1.08 billion).

Access Holdings is Nigeria’s largest financial services group by assets and one of the most capitalized financial institutions on the Nigerian Exchange. Its operations include South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Gambia, and Mozambique.

Wigwe, a Nigerian business executive who was instrumental in the pan-African banking group’s growth and expansion, owns a significant 4.27-percent stake in the bank, or 1,517,850,729 ordinary shares.