By Aliyu Galadima
Ecobank Group has reported a total of $660m in non-performing loans, NPLs, or stage 3 loans, as of June 30, 2025.
According to the company’s unaudited half year financials seen by this Newspaper, this represents a six per cent year-to-date ,YTD, decline and a two per cent drop year-on-year ,YoY, or 9% when adjusted for constant currency.
The reduction was largely driven by the write-off of fully impaired loans and the reclassification of certain loans from stage 3 to stage 2, with improvements noted particularly in the Corporate and Investment Banking ,CIB, and Consumer credit portfolios.
As a result of this remediation and recovery strategy, the Group’s NPL ratio improved to 5.7%, down from 6.7% in December 2024 and 6.6 per cent in June 2024.
The NPL coverage ratio rose to 90.1% supported by the Group’s targeted recovery initiatives.
Gross impairment reserves for expected credit losses slightly declined by 1% YTD to $594m, with total ECLs as a percentage of gross loans falling to 5.1 per cent, compared to 5.5% at the end of the previous year.
Total gross loans and advances stood at $11.6bn at the end of June 2025, marking a 14% YoY increase or 5% in constant currency and a 10% rise since the beginning of the year. Growth was recorded across all business lines.
The CIB segment added $508m loans, primarily through trade finance, while Consumer and Commercial Banking ,CCB, loans grew by $585m, led by activity in commercial banking and among high-value customers in the CESA, UEMOA, and AWA regions.
Within CCB, Consumer Banking ,CSB, earned $91m, up 12%, 22%,in constant currency), while Commercial Banking posted $125m, an 8% increase ,15% in constant currency.
Group net revenues reached $1.12bn, a 12% rise ,16% in constant currency, in the first half of 2025. This growth was supported by improved margins, increased investment securities balances in CIB’s UEMOA operations, and non-interest fee income.
In Nigeria, Ecobank recorded a profit before tax of $9m for the six months ended 30 June 2025, a 45% increase from the $6m posted in the same period of 2024, or 76% in constant currency.
This performance was supported by effective treasury management. The annualised return on average total equity improved to 6.5% from 3.8% in the prior year.
Nigeria’s net revenues rose to $74m, up 10%, 29%in constant currency, with net interest income growing by 28% ,50% in constant currency, driven by lower funding costs and increased consumer loan balances.
The net interest margin improved to 4.9%, compared to 3.4% a year earlier.
Non-interest revenue in Nigeria declined to $23m, down 16% ,1% in constant currency, due to lower volumes in wholesale payments and reduced account service fees, though card revenues saw modest gains.
Operating expenses fell to $50m, a five per cent reduction in nominal terms, though up 10% in constant currency, reflecting inflationary pressures.
The CEO of Ecobank Group, Jeremy Awori said that the group’s half-year results reflect strong execution of our Growth, Transformation, and Returns ,GTR, strategy and the resilience of its diversified pan-African business model.
He noted that despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, the group delivered a 23% increase in Profit Before Tax year-on-year to $398m, while Return on Tangible Equity reached 30.5%.
“For the first time in over a decade, we reduced our Groupwide cost-to-income ratio to below 50% through strong revenue growth, disciplined cost management, and operational efficiency.
“Our Consumer and Commercial Banking businesses continued to build momentum, generating $3.4bn in new deposits, 83 per cent of which were low-cost CASA accounts. We enhanced our Corporate and Investment Banking capabilities, improved profitability across our major markets, and saw encouraging performance in the CESA region”, he said.
