Out of 10 listed Nigerian banks, Access Holdings Plc, FBN Holdings, and United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc recorded the highest salary growth in the first quarter of 2024, data compiled by BusinessDay shows.
According to the latest financial statements of the lenders, the staff cost of Access Holdings rose by 140 percent to N76.1 billion in Q1 from N33.5 billion in the same period of 2023, followed by FBN Holdings, which grew by 107.3 percent to N64.9 billion.
UBA reported N66.3 billion as employee benefit expenses, a 104 percent increase from N31.2 billion.
Other surveyed banks are Zenith Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc, Fidelity Bank, Sterling Holdings Financial Company Plc, Wema Bank Plc, and FCMB Group Plc.
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Staff expenses include the company’s expenditures concerning staff remuneration and welfare in a specific period, including salaries/wages and other benefits like health insurance, pensions, and training.
Further analysis of the statements revealed that the 10 firms spent N329.3 billion in Q1, up 100.7 percent from N164 billion in the same period of 2023.
In 2023, banks announced staff salary increases across the board ranging from 25 percent to 50 percent, on the back of high inflationary pressure emanating from the removal of the petrol subsidy.
Analysis of individual firms
Access Holdings
Access Holdings saw its personnel cost jump by 66.5 percent in Q1 to N79.8 billion, from N33.5 billion in the same period of last year.
From this total, N76.1 billion was spent on wages and salaries, while the rest was spread across long-term incentive plans, contributions to defined contribution plans, and restricted share performance plans.
The holding company recorded an after-tax profit increase of 121.80 percent to N159.3 billion from N71.8 billion.
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GTCO
GTCO increased its personnel expenses by 76.7 percent to N79.8 billion from N33.5 billion. Meanwhile, N21.5 billion was spent on wages and salaries, accounting for 112.8 of the total employee cost from N10.1 billion.
The holding company recorded an after-tax profit increase of 685.40 percent to N457.1 billion from N58.2 billion.
UBA
UBA incurred N66.3 billion as employee benefit expenses in the review period, a 104 percent increase from the N31.2 billion.
Wages and salaries accounted for 111.5 percent of the total personnel cost, gulping a total of N64.3 billion, while the remaining was spent on defined contribution plans.
The bank’s after-tax profit grew by 166 percent to N142.6 billion in the first quarter of 2024 from N53.6 billion.
FBN Holdings
FBN Holdings, the group company of First Bank saw its personnel cost jump by 107.3 percent in Q1 to N64.9 billion, compared to N31.3 billion in the same period of last year.
The group’s after-tax profit rose by 315.3 percent to N208.1 billion from N50.1 billion in Q1 last year.
Zenith Bank
Zenith Bank personnel expenses jumped by 81.4 percent in the first quarter of 2024 to N42.1 billion from N23.2 billion in the same period of 2023.
The bank’s after-tax profit rose to N258.3 billion from N66 billion within the reviewed periods.
Wema Bank
Wema Bank incurred 72.7 percent of its personnel expenses on wages and salaries, which gulped about N7.2 billion in Q1, representing an increase of 80 percent compared to N4 billion recorded in the same period of last year.
A breakdown of the bank’s staff cost shows that N2.3 billion was spent on outsourced staff costs, while N410 million was allocated to pension contributions. The bank reported a 74.1 percent increase in its after-tax profit to N9.4 billion from N5.4 billion.
Fidelity Bank
Fidelity Bank spent 99 percent of its personnel expenses on wages and salaries, which gulped about N13.9 billion in Q1, representing an increase of 78.2 percent compared to N7.8 billion recorded in the same period of last year.
A breakdown of the bank’s staff cost shows that N131 million was allocated to pension contributions. Meanwhile, the bank’s after-tax profit increased to N31.4 billion, up 101.30 percent from N15.6 billion.
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FCMB
FCMB Group spent 72.6 percent of its personnel expenses on wages and salaries, which gulped about N12.2 billion in Q1, representing an increase of 64.8 percent compared to N7.4 billion recorded in the same period of last year.
A breakdown of the bank’s staff cost shows that N4.3 billion was spent on other employee benefits, while N316 million was allocated to defined contribution plans.
During the period, the group’s after-tax profit rose to 209.70 percent to N28.8 billion from N9.3 billion.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings
Stanbic IBTC incurred N21.1 billion in staff costs, up 51.7 percent from N13.9 billion during the reviewed periods. The holding company’s after-tax profit was N115.8 billion in Q1, from N50.4 billion.
Sterling Financial Holdings Company
Sterling Holdings saw its personnel cost jump by 38.2 percent in the first three months of the year to N6.5 billion, from N4.7 billion in the same period of last year. From this total, N6 billion was spent on wages and salaries, while N562 billion was spent on a defined contribution plan.
The group reported an after-tax profit of N7.5 billion in Q1 from N4.1 billion in the first quarter of 2023.
