Naira Scarcity: Zenith Bank’s Profit Drops to N223.91bn, Faces N967bn Lawsuits

Zenith Bank has released its financial statement for the period ended December 31, 2022, disclosing the firm’s net profit depreciated by -8.44 per cent.

The lender reported that its profit after tax declined to N223.91 billion in 2022, which is N20.64 billion below the N244.55 billion net profit posted for the preceding year. 

Prime Business Africa understands that the bottom line fell in the same year that the country was gripped by the Naira crunch after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) initiated the infamous Naira redesign policy. 

The Naira scarcity led to banks like Zenith Bank closing some branches due to attacks from aggrieved customers who were unable to access their money deposited in the financial institution.

Although amid the threat to its operations, Zenith Bank was able to increase gross earnings by 23.51 per cent to N945.55 billion during the financial period of last year, compared to the N765.55 billion revenue earned in 2021.

Zenith Bank also grew its Net Interest Income in 2022 after closing the year with N366.62 billion. This is a 14.28 per cent increase from the N320.80 billion Net Interest Income recorded the year before. 

Meanwhile, despite criticism trailing Zenith Bank over its downtime on the firm’s electronic platform during the Naira scarcity period, the Bank saw an increase of 22.06 per cent in its earnings on electronic transactions. 

Fees on electronic products increased by N8.26 billion to N45.73 billion in 2022, surpassing the N37.47 billion generated from electronic transactions in 2021.

Meanwhile, Zenith Bank is facing lawsuits that put the company at risk of losing N967 billion, which is more than the N223.91 billion net profit generated in 2022. 

The litigation claims against Zenith Bank increased by N80.41 billion when compared to that of N143.5 billion recorded the year before. Although the lender  

“The Group is presently involved in several litigation suits in the ordinary course of business. The total amount claimed in the cases against the Group is estimated at N967 billion (31 December 2021: N143.5 billion),” Zenith Bank discloses.