Nigerian Banks See Biggest Fall in Africa’s Top 100 Ranking
*Combined Tier 1 capital plunges 45.6%
Three Nigerian lenders — Union Bank of Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC Bank, and Ecobank Nigeria — recorded the steepest declines in the Top 100 African Banks 2025 ranking, as their combined Tier 1 capital fell to $881 million from $1.62 billion in the previous edition, according to an analysis by MarketReporters.
The annual survey, published by African Business magazine on Monday, ranks African lenders by Tier 1 Capital — the sum of a bank’s initial capital, reserves, and retained earnings — a key measure of financial strength.
Union Bank dropped 41 places to 86th, Stanbic IBTC Bank fell 31 places to 73rd, while Ecobank Nigeria slipped 17 places to 80th.
“Nigerian banks managed to break into the top ten between ten and 15 years ago, but their relative strength has declined as the Nigerian economy has faltered, with falling oil production, currency fluctuations, and the slow pace of economic diversification taking their toll – although the country is plotting a turnaround,” the survey report said.
The report added that the top 100 African banks had a combined Tier 1 capital of $126 billion, up from $120 billion in 2024, but still below the $135.3 billion recorded in 2022.
“Despite growing competition in the sector and the benefits of digitalisation for both banks and bank customers, it appears that the continent’s biggest banks have had a reasonable rather than spectacular past 12 months,” African Business noted.
Union Bank, which appointed Yetunde Oni as its Managing Director and CEO in January 2024— making her the first woman to lead the 107-year-old institution — has been navigating a period of strategic transition following its acquisition by Titan Trust Bank.
Despite the ranking drop, Stanbic IBTC Holdings continues to maintain the highest banking stock value on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, reflecting investor confidence in its diversified portfolio and strong governance structure. Its parent group, Standard Bank of South Africa, remains Africa’s largest lender with $13.2 billion in Tier 1 capital, up from $12.5 billion in 2024.
Ethiopian banks emerge as biggest risers
While Nigerian lenders struggled, Ethiopian banks emerged as the biggest risers in the 2025 rankings. African Business reported that Awash International Bank, Bank of Abyssinia, and Dashen Bank climbed 18, 17, and 16 places, ranking 50th, 72nd, and 71st, respectively.
Kenya followed with two banks — Prime Bank and Stanbic Bank Kenya — while Rawbank from the Democratic Republic of Congo recorded the sharpest overall rise, up 26 places to 62nd.
“East Africa is the next best represented region with 21 entries, led by Kenya with ten. The number of Ethiopian banks stands at six, up from five last year and just two in 2022,” the report stated. “It seems likely that Ethiopian banks will gain greater representation as a result of banking sector deregulation and growing competition in that country’s financial services sector.”
Regional overview
North Africa remains the continent’s dominant banking hub, with $57.9 billion in total Tier 1 capital, followed by Southern Africa ($40.4 billion), West and Central Africa ($14.9 billion), and East Africa ($12.7 billion).
“While East Africa could be seen as the weakest region in terms of banking strength, it can also be characterised as the fastest growing,” African Business said.
South Africa’s Standard Bank continues to top the continental chart, ahead of the National Bank of Egypt ($7.3 billion) and Morocco’s Attijariwafa Bank ($6.2 billion).
“Going back more than a decade, Standard Bank, FirstRand, Absa, and Nedbank were regularly the four biggest African banks. However, their relative dominance has been eroded by the poor performance of the South African economy,” the report added.
