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Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) has reported a strong start to 2026, posting a Profit Before Tax of N302.9 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, as growth in interest income, fee earnings and lending activities boosted performance.
The financial services giant disclosed its unaudited consolidated and separate financial statements to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Wednesday.
According to the results, interest income rose by 17.5 per cent year-on-year, while fee income increased by 7.1 per cent, underlining stronger earnings from core banking operations.
GTCO’s loan book expanded by 1.3 per cent from N3.13 trillion in December 2025 to N3.17 trillion in March 2026, while customer deposits climbed 6.3 per cent from N12.87 trillion to N13.69 trillion within the same period.
The Group’s total assets stood at N18.7 trillion, while shareholders’ funds closed at N3.6 trillion, reflecting continued balance sheet strength.
GTCO also sustained one of the strongest capital buffers in the banking sector, with its Capital Adequacy Ratio settling at 39.5 per cent. Asset quality improved significantly, as IFRS 9 Stage 3 loans dropped to 4.4 per cent in Q1 2026 from 5.0 per cent in December 2025. Cost of Risk also eased sharply to 0.2 per cent from 2.2 per cent.
Commenting on the performance, Group Chief Executive Officer, Segun Agbaje, said the first-quarter results signalled a major improvement in the quality of earnings and rising contributions from the Group’s non-banking ecosystem businesses.
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“Our Q1 2026 results mark a defining shift in the quality and composition of our earnings, with strong underlying performance across our core banking operations and increasing contribution from our ecosystem businesses,” he said.
He added that GTCO would continue to deepen customer relationships, scale payments and wealth businesses, and deploy technology to simplify financial services across its markets.
“Our focus remains on driving sustainable earnings by deepening customer relationships, rapidly scaling our ecosystem businesses, and deploying technology to deliver simpler, faster, and more intuitive financial solutions,” Agbaje said.
He noted that the Group sees significant growth opportunities in payments, wealth management and banking across Nigeria, West Africa and East Africa.
GTCO maintained strong efficiency and profitability ratios, posting Pre-Tax Return on Equity of 34.4 per cent, Pre-Tax Return on Assets of 6.6 per cent, and a Cost-to-Income ratio of 31.5 per cent.
The Group, which operates across Africa and the United Kingdom, remains one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions with interests spanning banking, payments, pensions and funds management.
