THE total customer deposits held in 10 of Nigeria’s largest banks topped N34.4 trillion in the first nine months of 2021, about N3.55 trillion higher than what was reported at the end of 2020.
Data from Nairalytics Research show that Nigerian banks have deployed mobile technology, agency banking, business strategies and other traditional forms of marketing in driving deposits.
Competition has been intense with the advent of challenger banks offering zero or next to nothing in charges to migrate.
All 10 banks now have deposits in excess of N1 trillion.
A closer look into the data reveals Access Bank came tops as the bank with the largest customer deposit in Nigeria with N6.2 trillion. The bank grew its deposits by 11.4 per cent Year-to-Date as it cemented its leadership in deposit mobilisation among its peers. Access Bank’s deposit however remains at 18 per cent of total banking sector deposits.
Available records further showed that UBA edged out Zenith Bank as the second largest bank with deposits, posting a 7.2 per cent rise in customer deposits to N6.08 trillion. Zenith Bank reported a total of N6.04 trillion in third place growing deposits by a whopping 13.1 per cent.
GTB reported a deposit of N3.7 trillion representing a 6.7 per cent rise.
Stanbic IBTC is the most aggressive bank this year when it comes to deposits, crossing the N1 trillion mark after recording a massive 33.5 per cent deposit growth.
Next to Stanbic is Sterling Bank with a 21 per cent rise in deposits to N1.1 trillion compared to N950 billion in December 2020. Just like Stanbic, growth for Sterling Bank came from its term deposits which doubled from N155.2 billion to N302.5 billion. Fidelity Bank, FCMB and Union Bank all recorded double-digit growth in their deposits.
Meanwhile, as at nine months ended September 2021, customer deposits in 10 leading banks stood at N28.7 trillion
This represented a 12.6 per cent rise when compared with N25.4 trillion deposits recorded in the corresponding period of 2020.
The banks are Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), United Bank for Africa, UBA, Access Bank, Zenith Bank, Fidelity Bank, Union Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Unity Bank, Wema Bank and Sterling Bank.
Findings from the filings by the banks in the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX, indicates that the cumulative deposits comprise N12.7 trillion current account deposits which rose by 13 per cent from N11.22 trillion in corresponding period of 2020; N8.1 trillion savings account deposits, up by 37 per cent from N5.9 trillion in 2020; and N6.7 trillion term deposits, rising by 20.6 per cent from N5.58 trillion in 2020.
Also included is about N1.5 trillion domiciliary account deposits which rose by 15 per cent from N1.33 trillion in 2020; and N251.47 billion other deposits, up by 82 per cent from N138.16 billion in 2020.
The bank with the highest growth in customer deposits was Stanbic IBTC which recorded a 45 per cent rise in deposits to N1.09 trillion in 2021 from N751.8 billion in 2020.
Conversely, the bank with least growth in customer deposits was GTB whose deposit grew by 5.7 per cent to N3.7 trillion in 2021 from N3.5 trillion in 2020.
In its ‘Access to financial services in Nigeria 2020 survey’, Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA), a financial services advocacy group, noted that banks’ deposit growth was driven by use of digital financial services, savings, remittances, and agents by 106 million Nigerians.
EFInA, however, concluded that at the current rate of progress, the National Financial Inclusion Strategy targets for 2020 will not be met until around 2030.
Source: tribuneonlineng