Seven listed Deposit Money Banks’ (DMBs) personnel expenses rose by 20.74 per cent, or N79.96 billion, to N465.48 billion in the first three months of this year, compared with the N385.52 billion that they posted for the corresponding period of 2025, according to findings by New Telegraph.
The banks are Access Holdings, FBN Holdings, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), Stanbic IBTC Holdings, and Wema Bank. Nigerian banks’ personnel expenses comprise wages and salaries, pension contributions, and other staff costs.
New Telegraph’s analysis of the financial institutions’ unaudited financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2026, shows that at N131.641 billion, the amount that Access Holdings spent as personnel costs in Q1’26 is N26.88 billion, or 24.70 per cent higher than the N105.56 billion it reported for the corresponding period of 2025.
Also, UBA Group’s staff costs(employee benefits expenses) increased by 16.93 per cent, or N14.27 billion, to N98.59 billion in the first three months of this year compared with N84.32 billion in Q1’25. Similarly, FBN Holdings’ personnel expenses rose by 32.13 per cent, or N21.71 billion, to N89.27 billion in the first quarter of 2026 compared with N67.56 billion posted by the company in the corresponding period of last year.
According to its financial statements, Zenith Bank’s personnel expenses were up 10.48 per cent to N69.62 billion in Q1’26 compared with N63.02 billion in the first quarter of last year. In the same vein, GTCO’s staff costs were up by 16.03 per cent, or N4.41 billion, to N31.89 billion in the first three months of this year from N27.48 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings’ personnel expenses rose slightly by 7.49 per cent, or N1.84 billion, to N26.44 billion in Q1’26 from N24.60 billion in the first quarter of last year. Wema Bank’s personnel expenses also headed north in the first three months of this year, rising by 38.86 percent, or N5.05 billion, to N18.03 billion from N12.98 billion in the corresponding period of last year.
Analysts note that despite their increased adoption of digital technology and closure of unprofitable branches, banks’ personnel expenses have surged in recent years, occasioned by the upward review of staff salaries implemented by many lenders in response to the inflationary pressures triggered by the Federal Government’s removal of the subsidy on petrol on May 29, 2023 and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) devaluation of the naira in June of the same year.
