Wema Bank nine-month profit rises 76.6% to ₦258.64bn on interest, trading gains

Wema Bank Plc made a pre-tax profit of ₦258.64 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 76.62% from ₦146.43 billion in the same period last year, according to its unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30.

Profit after tax rose 72.56% to ₦219.84 billion from ₦127.40 billion, the bank said. Gross earnings grew 45.72% to ₦673.24 billion from ₦462.00 billion.

The third quarter alone brought in ₦104.08 billion in pre-tax profit, about 40% of the nine-month figure.

Where the money came from

Interest income remained the biggest earner, rising 37.21% to ₦543.56 billion and making up about 81% of gross earnings. Income from loans and advances to banks and customers contributed ₦326.01 billion.

Interest from cash and cash equivalents jumped sharply to ₦91.28 billion from ₦8.04 billion. Income from investment securities, however, fell 12.11% to ₦126.27 billion.

The bank also earned much more from trading. Net trading income rose 332.09% to ₦46.08 billion from ₦10.66 billion, with treasury bills alone bringing in ₦40.47 billion. Non-interest income nearly doubled to ₦129.68 billion.

On the cost side, interest expenses rose 35.60% to ₦217.68 billion, driven mainly by what the bank paid on customer deposits, which climbed 66.51% to ₦200.54 billion. Operating expenses also went up, with personnel costs rising 37.29% to ₦69.10 billion.

Even so, net interest income after impairment rose 39.50% to ₦307.34 billion. BusinessDay put the cost-to-income ratio at about 40.8%, down from 48.8% a year earlier.

Bigger balance sheet, more loans

Total assets grew 46.42% to ₦7.43 trillion from ₦5.07 trillion at the end of December 2025. Loans and advances to customers rose 44.49% to ₦2.51 trillion, while customer deposits grew 17.40% to ₦3.86 trillion.

Loans grew faster than deposits, meaning the bank is lending out a larger share of its balance sheet. Its Stage 3 loans, those at risk of not being repaid, fell to ₦69.33 billion from ₦88.06 billion, about 2.7% of gross loans compared with 4.9% in December.

Impairment charges on financial assets rose 21.19% to ₦18.54 billion.

Shareholders' equity rose 27.34% to ₦790.13 billion. The bank paid ₦50.15 billion in dividends in the period, compared with ₦21.43 billion for the whole of 2025.

Earnings per share still slipped slightly to 730.63 kobo from 738.48 kobo, which BusinessDay linked to the bank's larger share base after its 2025 capital raising.

Wema Bank shares closed at ₦32.00 on Friday, up 3.23% from ₦31.00. The stock has gained 56.9% this year from its opening price of ₦20.40.

What happens next: Investors will watch whether the bank can keep earnings growing as funding costs rise and its loan book expands. The full-year results, due after December, will show whether the third-quarter pace holds.