Access Bank, one of the major tier 2 banks in Nigeria released an impressive result for the first quarter of the year.
The company posted a gross income of NGN 52 billion compared to NGN 46 billion it recorded in the same quarter last year. This represents a growth of approximately 20%.
To make this revenue, the company also managed to reduce its interest expenses by -9%. Its interest expenditure was NGN 20 billion compared to NGN 22 billion it expended within the same quarter last year.
Attributed to the push towards online, mobile and digital banking, the company recorded the biggest growth in its non-interest income. The company raked in NGN 18 billion compared to NGN 9 billion it recorded in the same quarter last year. This is a 50% percentage increase year-on-year.
Access Bank might need to watch its investment securities activities, the bank made a loss of NGN 3 billion compared to NGN 13 billion it recorded year on year. The loss is from its investment derivatives of about NGN 2 billion loss. The bank however said “valuation gains or loss on derivative financial instruments recycles through foreign exchange trading income upon maturity of the derivative”. It is expecting that the loss might be reversed depending on the matured value of the underlying assets.
Access Bank is one of the few banks that declared profit for the first quarter of the year. The Nigerian economy has been slowed down due to the fall in oil prices.
