Nine listed deposit money banks (DMBs) spent a total of N427.39 billion as personnel expenses in the first three months of this year, according to the lenders’ unaudited financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2025.
The amount is 26.67 per cent, or N89.99 billion, higher than the N337.41 billion that the banks spent as staff costs in the corresponding period of last year.
The banks are Access Holdings Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA), FirstHoldCo Plc, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Fidelity Bank Plc, FCMB Group Plc and Wema Bank Plc. Nigerian banks’ personnel expenses comprise wages and salaries, pension contributions, and other staff costs.
New Telegraph’s analysis of the nine DMBs’ unaudited financial statements for Q1’2025, indicates that Access Holdings’ personnel expenses increased by 32.20 percent, or N25.72 billion, to N105.56 billion compared with N79.85 billion in the first quarter of last year.
Also, UBA Group’s staff costs(employee benefits expenses) rose by 27.16 percent, or N18 billion, to N84.32 billion in the first three months of this year compared with N66.31 billion in the corresponding period of 2024. FirstHoldCo’s personnel expenses increased by 4.59 percent or N2.94 billion to N67.04 billion in the first quarter of this year as against N64.10 billion in Q1’24.
Similarly, Zenith Bank’s personnel expenses rose by 47.06 per cent, or N20.02 billion, to N63.02 billion in the first three months of 2025 compared with N42.85 billion in the corresponding period of last year.
GTCO’s staff costs were up by 23.14 per cent, or N5.16 billion, to N27.43 billion in Q1’2025 as against N22.28 billion in the first three months of last year.
Tier 2 lender, Stanbic IBTC’s, personnel expenses rose by 15.77 per cent, or N3.35 billion, to N24.60 billion in the first quarter of this year compared with N21.25 billion in the corresponding period of last year.
FCMB’s staff costs rose by 35.15 per cent or N5.92 billion to N22.75 billion in the first three months of 2025 as against N16.84 billion in Q1’24.
Also, Fidelity Bank’s personnel expenses increased by 40.65 per cent, or N5.69 billion, to N19.69 billion in the first quarter of this year compared with N13.99 billion in the corresponding period of the preceding year.
Wema Bank’s personnel expenses equally headed north in the first three months of this year, rising by 30.59 per cent, or N3.04 billion, to N12.98 billion as against N9.94 billion in Q1’24.
Analysts attribute the surge in personnel expenses to the upward review of staff salaries implemented by several banks in response to persistent inflationary pressures, occasioned by the Federal Government’s removal of the subsidy on petrol on May 29, 2023 and the devaluation of the naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in June of the same year.
