Banks’ customer deposits rise 24% on naira crunch

Major Nigerian banks saw the deposits from customers rise in the first quarter of this year amid the cash scarcity ocassioned by the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

BusinessDay’s analysis show that customer deposits received by 10 banks listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited increased 24.4 percent to N50.76 trillion in Q1 2023 from N40.79 trillion in the same period of last year.

“Customer deposits to banks was increased as a result of the improvement in cash availability which boosted people’s confidence in the banks,” said Tajudeen Ibrahim, director of research and strategy, ChapelHill Denham.

Ibrahim added that the bank is a safer place to keep money rather than at home.

“The driver of the increase can also be linked to term deposits, which are from banks’ corporate customers and not necessarily the retail customers,” he said.

Access Bank saw its customer deposit increased to N9.94 trillion in the first quarter of 2023, up 32.7 percent from N7.49 trillion in the same period of 2022.

United Bank for Africa reported a 30 percent increase in customer deposits, which amounted to N8.65 trillion, from N6.65 trillion in the same period of 2022.

Fidelity Bank’s customer deposits stood at N2.67 trillion in the first quarter of this year, up 29 percent from N2.07 trillion in the same period of 2022.

First City Monument Bank received deposits from customers which amounted to N2 trillion in the first three months of 2023, a 27.4 percent increase from N1.57 trillion in the first three months of 2022.

Zenith Bank’s deposits from customers grew 26.1 percent to N9.14 trillion in the first quarter of 2023 from N7.25 trillion in the same period of 2022.

Union Bank’s deposits from customers stood at N1.63 trillion in the first quarter of 2023, a 24 percent increase from N1.31 trillion a year earlier.

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Guaranty Trust Holding Company saw its customer deposits rise by 21.2 percent to N4.91 trillion in the first quarter of this year from N4.05 trillion in the first three months of 2022.

Wema Bank’s customer deposits amounted to N1.16 trillion in the first quarter of 2023, up 16 percent from N1 trillion a year earlier.

Ecobank’s deposits from customers increased by 13.8 percent to N9.33 trillion in the first quarter of 2023 from N8.2 trillion in the first quarter of 2022.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings’ deposits from customers rose by 10.8 percent to N1.33 trillion in the first quarter of 2023 from N1.2 trillion in the first quarter of 2022.