The year 2018 has been very challenging and equally
eventful for the Nigerian banking sector. Skye Bank morphed into
Polaris Bank, while Access Bank and Diamond Bank are fixing the
bolts and nuts of the biggest banking deal of 2018.
The banking sector, which controlled trillions of naira in
market value and transactional strength in 2018, also had a
bleeding year, as many of the listed entities had massive declines
in share price and market capitalisation.
The biggest bank in Nigeria, by market cap, for 2018 is Guaranty
Trust Bank (GTB), with a year-end market cap of over N1 trillion at
the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Unity Bank had the smallest market cap by the end of the year,
but had a drastic increase in market value, with a 109.8 percent
increase in share price, to lead the pack as the best
performing bank at the exchange for 2018.
Access Bank, on its way to becoming Nigeria’s largest bank, come
2019, had the worst year, in terms of market value, shedding 35.05
percent of its share price in 365 days.
Since the Herbert Wigwe-led bank made the move to acquire
Diamond Bank, the latter has gained more than 45 percent in market
value, becoming the bride of the Nigerian bourse.
HERE ARE THE BEST AND WORST PERFORMING BANKS OF 2018
| Rank | Bank | Share price (N) | 2018 Share price gain/loss (%) | Market Cap (N’billion) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unity Bank | 1.07 | +109.8 | 12.51 |
| 2 | Sterling Bank | 1.90 | +75.93 | 54.70 |
| 3 | Diamond Bank | 2.18 | +45.33 | 50.49 |
| 4 | First City Monument Bank | 1.89 | +28.57 | 37.43 |
| 5 | Wema Bank | 0.63 | +26.00 | 24.30 |
| 6 | Stanbic IBTC | 47.95 | +17.38 | 491.04 |
| 7 | Ecobank | 14.00 | -9.20 | 337.40 |
| 8 | Zenith Bank | 23.05 | -10.10 | 722.12 |
| 9 | First Bank of Nigeria Holdings | 7.80 | -11.36 | 285.37 |
| 10 | Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) | 34.45 | -15.46 | 1,001 |
| 11 | Fidelity Bank | 2.03 | -17.48 | 58.82 |
| 12 | Jaiz Bank | 0.50 | -20.63 | 14.73 |
| 13 | United Bank for Africa (UBA) | 7.70 | -25.73 | 263.38 |
| 14 | Union Bank of Nigeria | 5.60 | -28.21 | 231.03 |
| 15 | Access Bank | 6.80 | -35.05 | 196.71 |
The ranking above is basically driven by market forces and share
value, it does not directly take into account corporate
governance issues, non-performing loans (NPLs), and other
management factors.
By market cap, the leading banks for 2018 are GTB, Zenith Bank,
Stanbic IBTC, Ecobank and First Bank of Nigeria.
Banks not listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), such as
Keystone Bank, were not taken into consideration while compiling
this list.
Culled from Thecable
Read more best-and-worst-performing-banks-of-2018/