GTCO Becomes Second Nigerian Bank to Hit N5 Trillion Valuation 

Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), one of Nigeria’s largest financial services groups, saw its market capitalisation cross the N5 trillion mark for the first time on Monday, becoming the second lender to achieve the milestone after Zenith Bank.

Data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited showed that GTCO’s share price rose 3.7 percent to N140 from N135 on Friday, lifting its market value to N5.11 trillion.

The rally came despite pressure on the group’s earnings, with profit after tax declining in 2025 and the first quarter of this year.

The parent company of GTBank reported a net income of N866 billion for 2025, down from N1.02 trillion in the prior year.

While profit before tax rose marginally by 0.9 percent year-on-year to N302.9 billion, net profitability was weighed down by a significant increase in tax expenses.

According to a note by CSL Research on Monday, the group’s effective tax rate climbed sharply to 28 percent in Q1 2026 from 14.1 percent in the same period of last year.

“Management attributed this increase to recent fiscal policy changes affecting the taxation of investment securities,” it said.