Wema Bank’s pre-tax profit rises to N6.96bn

Wema Bank Plc has reported a profit before tax of N6.96 billion for the 2020 financial year, up from N6.76 billion in the previous year.

The lender’s profit after tax, however, fell slightly to N5.06 billion from N5.19 billion in 2019, its unaudited financial statements obtained by Markets Reporters on Thursday showed.

Its gross earnings declined to N80.85 billion in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic from N94.89 billion a year ago.

The bank reported a net interest income of N31.04 billion for the year ended Dec. 31, 2020, compared to N25.99 billion in 2019.

Deposits from customers grew by 40.68 percent year-on-year to N812.09 billion from N577.28 billion while loans and advances to customers rose by 27.49 percent to N368.75 billion from N289.24 billion.