Zenith, Access, GTB, 8 others earn N72.7bn from account maintenance

Zenith, Access, GTB, 8 others earn N72.7bn from account maintenance

A total of eleven banks listed on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange generated N72.7bn from account maintenance charges in the half year of 2023.

Data obtained from the half-year financial statements of these listed commercial banks on the Nigerian stock market showed this figure.

Zenith Bank, Access, GTB are clearly the top three banks that raked in the largest amount from the account maintenance fee in the first half of the year, according to a report by Nairametrics on Sunday.

The three banks are followed by United Bank for Africa, First bank and First City Monument Bank.

The remaining five banks on the list are Stanbic IBTC, Sterling Bank, Fidelity Bank, Wema Bank and Unity Bank.

Zenith Bank generated a sum of N21.02bn from account maintenance, representing 28.91 per cent of the total income of the 11 banks.

Access Holdings recorded N13.36bn, a 10.97 per cent year-on-year increase in its account maintenance income.

GTCO generated N10.48bn, which is 11.08 per cent year-on-year increase over N9.44bn recorded in the half-year 2022.

UBA generated N9.64bn from account maintenance income between January and June 2023, representing a 46.11 per cent increase compared to N6.59bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2022.

First Bank of Nigeria’s account maintenance income was put at N5.19bn. This is a decline of 43.5 per cent from N9.17bn generated in half-year 2022.

FCMB came sixth on the list with N3.85bn in revenue from account maintenance, which is 16.3 per cent higher than N3.32bn recorded in 2022.

The other five banks are Stanbic IBTC –N2.64bn; Sterling Bank – N2.39bn; Fidelity Bank – N1.76bn; Wema Bank – N1.63bn and Unity Bank – N745m.

The amount generated from account maintenance charges in the half-year of 2023 represents a 7.44 per cent increase compared to N67.69bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2022.

The fees are charged on current accounts only regarding debit transactions to third parties and debit transfers/lodgements to the customer’s account in another bank.

Banks’ earnings from account maintenance charges may be seen as low compared to other revenue streams.

A directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria, on bank charges to commercial banks allows them to charge their customers a “negotiable” N1 per mille.

 

This means banks can charge N1 per N1,000 debit transactions on current accounts. Banks’ account maintenance charges come in the form of COT ( as Commission on Turnover) which is a charge levied on customer withdrawals by their banks.