Shareholders fume as big banks expend N553bn on AMCON levies in 9 months

•Say steep deductions eating into profits, returns

By Chinwendu Obienyi

Nigeria’s biggest banks are feeling the heat after paying a whopping N552.74 billion to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in just the first nine months of 2025.

The top five Tier-1 lenders, Access Bank, FBN Holdings, GTCO, UBA and Zenith Bank, revealed the massive deductions in their latest financial statements filed with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and many shareholders are not taking it lightly.

The banks say the charges have become one of the heaviest regulatory costs they have faced in over 10 years. The AMCON levy is fixed at 0.5% of a bank’s total assets and off-balance-sheet items. But as banks grow bigger, thanks to inflation, currency revaluation, and rising asset values, the levy automatically shoots up as well.

For some lenders, the AMCON deduction alone now gulps more than 20% of their operating expenses.

Analysts say that is a huge strain, even though banks have recently posted stronger earnings from interest rates and gains from foreign exchange movements. The steep deductions have triggered complaints from shareholders, who argue that the rising costs are eating into profits and returns. Some are now pushing for the government to revisit and possibly overhaul the AMCON funding model, saying the current system punishes growth instead of encouraging it.

Zenith Bank paid about N143.84 billion to AMCON in the first nine months of 2025, up from N92.20 billion in the same period of 2024, a sharp 56% jump. UBA paid roughly N92.89 billion, Access Bank paid N154.33 billion, GTCO paid N50.85 billion, while FBN Holdings contributed about N110.83 billion.

Altogether, the five big banks remitted about N552.74 billion to AMCON within nine months. This steep rise in regulatory cost has angered shareholders, who say the levy is now excessive and unfair. Many argue that AMCON is overstaying its mandate and that today’s banks should not be paying for toxic loans from a crisis that happened more than a decade ago.

President of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Boniface Okezie, voiced the frustration clearly: “We cannot continue paying for a crisis that ended over a decade ago. These levies are draining shareholder value and distorting banks’ cost structures. AMCON has become a permanent burden rather than a temporary solution.”

Other shareholder groups described the nearly N550 billion burden as a “punishing weight” on Tier-1 banks already struggling with unstable foreign exchange, high funding costs, and stricter monetary policies.

The Pragmatic Shareholders Association insisted that AMCON has “overstayed its usefulness” and questioned how effective it has been in recovering the assets it was created to manage. They want regulators to explain why deductions remain so high at a time when banks are battling record operating expenses.

Their concerns come at a sensitive time for the economy. With interest rates at their highest levels in years to fight inflation and support the naira, banks have become more cautious about lending. Analysts warn that if regulatory costs keep rising, banks may shift focus to fees and FX-related income instead of giving naira loans to businesses.

This could slow growth in manufacturing, trade, services, and other sectors that rely heavily on bank credit. “If banks are forced to absorb escalating regulatory fees, they will lend less to the real economy,” a Lagos-based fund manager warned. “That ultimately hurts job creation and growth.”

Still, the situation is tricky for policymakers. AMCON is yet to clear the trillions of naira in bad debts it took on after the 2009 banking crisis, and reducing the levy may push the government itself to cover the agency’s obligations.

For now, pressure is mounting on regulators to review how long the levy should last and whether it should still be calculated based on total assets rather than actual risk exposures. As shareholder groups intensify calls for change ahead of the 2026 financial year, AMCON’s future has become one of the most debated issues in Nigeria’s banking space.