Tony Chukwunyem 
Despite the harsh business environment and fierce competition from fintechs, audited financial statements for the full year ended December 31, 2024, so far released by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in the country, indicate that lenders still significantly grew their customer deposits last year compared with 2023, findings by New Telegraph has shown.
Specifically, an analysis of the audited financial statements for the full year ended December 31, 2024 of seven DMBs, indicate that they grew their total customer deposits by N21.13 trillion or 43.57 per cent to N69.63 trillion at the end of last year compared with N48.50 trillion at the end of 2023.
The seven DMBs are: Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA), GTCO Plc, Fidelity Bank, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Group Plc and Wema Bank Plc.
A breakdown of the results indicates that Zenith Bank’s customer deposits rose by 44.78 per cent or N6.79 trillion to N21.96 trillion at the end of 2024 compared with N15.17 trillion at the end 2023. Also, UBA’s customer deposits surged by 47.03 percent or N7 trillion to N21.89 trillion at the end of 2024 compared with N14.89 trillion at the end of the preceding year.
Similarly, GTCO grew its customer deposits by 35.11 percent or N2.60 trillion to N10.01 trillion at the end of 2024 from N7.41 trillion at the end of 2023. Fidelity Bank’s customer deposits equally headed north, rising by 47.88 percent or N1.92 trillion to N5.94 trillion at the end of December compared with N4.01 trillion at the end of 2023.
Standing at N3 trillion at the end of last year, Stanbic IBTC Holdings customer deposits rose by 45.20 per cent or N936.98 billion from N2.07 trillion at the end of 2023. For FCMB, the lender’s customer deposits increased by 39.4 per cent to N4.30 trillion at the end of 2024 compared with N3.08 trillion in the previous year.
Wema Bank’s customer deposits rose by 35.65 percent or N663.24 billion to N2.52 trillion at the end of last year compared with N1.86 trillion at the end of 2023.
Analysts note that contrary to the impression in some quarters that increased competition from Fintech companies will negatively affect DMBs’ customer deposits growth, lenders’ financial statements show that they are effectively leveraging digital technologies, like the fintechs, to grow their customer deposits.
However, a recent report by Unity Bank indicated that the rising cost of living in the country is leading to an increase in cash withdrawals by consumers.
The report said that consumers are grappling with diminished purchasing power, occasioned by persistent inflation and exchange rate volatility, adding that this may negatively impact the retail and hospitality sectors as well as some Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
The report stated: “Consumers face diminished purchasing power due to persistent inflation and currency volatility.
