Abbey Bank Plc has reported a significant increase in profit after tax, rising 55.9 percent to N2.26 billion in the nine months ended September 2026. This growth is attributed to a 120 percent surge in gross earnings, which reached N30.15 billion from N13.69 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. The bank's profit before tax also more than doubled to N3.23 billion from N1.52 billion in 2025.
The bank's financial statements revealed that net interest income more than doubled to N6.56 billion from N3.10 billion, driven by interest income of N28.83 billion, up from N13.09 billion a year earlier. However, the growth in interest income came alongside a substantial increase in funding costs, with interest expenses rising to N22.28 billion from N9.99 billion. This highlights the pressure of funding the bank's expanding balance sheet.
Total operating income increased to N7.88 billion from N3.70 billion, while operating expenses rose to N4.65 billion from N2.18 billion. Other operating expenses accounted for N2.96 billion of the total, compared with N1.33 billion in the prior-year period. The earnings growth comes as Abbey Bank advances its transition into a regional commercial bank, having received final approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria on June 5, 2026.
The conversion to a regional commercial bank is expected to broaden the bank's offerings to retail, commercial, and institutional customers. Customer deposits surged 231.3 percent to N263.81 billion as of September 2026, from N79.63 billion at the end of December 2025. This makes deposit growth a major feature of the bank's balance-sheet expansion. Total assets rose 126.6 percent to N375.73 billion from N165.83 billion over the same period.
However, customer loans and advances increased at a slower pace of 14 percent to N11.08 billion from N9.72 billion. The figures show that much of the bank's asset base was held in balances with other financial institutions and investment securities. Balances with banks and other financial institutions reached N214.99 billion, while investments in securities measured at amortised cost stood at N136.19 billion.
Abbey Bank's equity also rose sharply to N73.76 billion from N10.79 billion at the end of 2025, following an additional capital issue of N61.93 billion during the period. The capital increase strengthens the bank's financial base as it prepares to enter commercial banking. Sustaining earnings growth will depend on how effectively it deploys its expanded funding into profitable assets while managing operating and interest costs.
As of the close of trading on Wednesday on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX), the current share price of Abbey Bank stood at N6.80 per share. The bank began the year with a share price of N6.40 and has since gained 6.25 percent on that price valuation, ranking it 79th on the NGX in terms of year-to-date performance.
Key points
- Abbey Bank's profit after tax surged 55.9% to N2.26 billion in nine months ended September 2026.
- The bank's gross earnings surged 120% to N30.15 billion from N13.69 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
- Abbey Bank received final approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria to convert from a mortgage bank to a regional commercial bank on June 5, 2026.
