Are you looking for the best bank in Nigeria?, there are indicators you need to consider when choosing the best bank and those indicators are the bank international reckoning, profitability, shareholders fund, total assets, earnings and customers deposit. Going by this indicators, we will be mentioning the best 10 banks out of the 24 commercial bank in Nigeria.
These 24 banks have commercial bank license that are on three (3) level;
- International Banking Level
- National Banking Level
- Regional Banking Level
International Banking Level
International Banking Level gives commercial banks the license to operate within the 36 states of Nigeria including the capital territory and outside the country.
The paid up capital required for this Level of Banking is #50 billion ($63 million).
National Banking Level
National Banking Level gives commercial banks the license to operate only within Nigeria.
The paid up capital required for this Level of Banking is #25 billion ($31.7 million).
Regional Banking Level
Regional Banking Level allows banks to operate within the within a minimum of six (6) states and a maximum of twelve (12) state.
The paid up capital required for this Level of Banking is #10 billion ($12.6 million).
This means the number of branches a bank could have, is determined by the Level it operates. Without wasting much of your time, let’s dive into the business of the day.
Best Banks in Nigeria 2024
Below are the best top 10 banks in Nigeria with essential indicators you need to consider.
Top 10 Best Banks In Nigeria 2024
- First Bank of Nigeria PLC
- Access Bank PLC
- United Bank For Africa (UBA)
- Zenith Bank PLC
- ECO Bank PLC
- Polaris Bank PLC
- Fidelity Bank PLC
- Union Bank PLC
- Guaranty Trust Bank PLC
- First City Monument Bank PLC
First Bank of Nigeria PLC
- CEO: Adesola Kazeem Adeduntan
- Licensed Date: founded 1894
- No of Branches: Over 700
- Customer Deposits: #2.75 trillion
- Net Income: #62.7 billion
- Total Assets: #5.9 trillion
- No of Shareholders: #1.3 million
- Shareholders Funds: #71 billion
- Operating Income: #294.4 billion
- No of Employees: 16,000
- Swift Code: FBNINGLAGCS
- Official website: www.firstbanknigeria.com
Access Bank PLC
- CEO: Mr Roosevelt Ogbonna FCA
- Licensed Date: founded 1989
- No of Branches: 583
- Customer Deposits: 33 trillion
- Net Income: #514 billion ($1419 million)
- Total Assets: #10.055 trillion ($1,719 million)
- Shareholders Funds: 5 billion
- No of Employees: 28,121
- Swift Code: ABNGNGLA XXX
- Official Website: Www.accessbankplc.com
United Bank For Africa (UBA)
- CEO: Tony .O. Elumelu C.F.R
- Licensed Date: Founded 1949
- No of Branches: 460
- Customer Deposits: #8 trillion
- Net Income: #200 billion ($253.6 million)
- Total Assets: #8.5 trillion
- Shareholders Funds: #54 billion
- No of Employees: 20,000
- Swift Code: UNAFNGLA005
- Official Website: www.ubagroup.com
Zenith Bank PLC
- CEO: Ebenezer Onyeagwu
- Licensed Date: Founded 1990
- No of Branches: 500
- Customers Deposit: #27 trillion
- Net Income: $854m
- Total Assets: $21,667bn
- Shareholders Funds: #3 billion
- No of Employees: 6390
- Swift Code: ZEIBNGLA013
- Official Website: www.zenithbank.com
ECO Bank PLC
- CEO: Alain Nkontchou
- Licensed Date: Founded 1985
- No of Branches: 273
- Customer Deposits: #118 trillion
- Net Income: #177 billion
- Total Assets: ##1.146 trillion
- Shareholders Funds: #41 billion
- No of Employees: 13,000
- Swift Code: ECOCNGLA
- Official Website: www.ecobank.com
Polaris Bank PLC
- CEO: Lawal Mudathir Omokayode Akintola
- Licensed Date: Founded 2018
- No of Branches: 260
- Customer Deposits: #966 billion
- Net Income: #127 billion
- Total Assets: #11
- Shareholders Funds:
- No of Employees:
- Swift Code: PRDTNGLAXXX
- Official Website: www.polarisbanklimited.com
Fidelity Bank PLC
- CEO: Mustapha Chike Obi
- Licensed Date: Founded 1988
- No of Branches: 240
- Customer Deposits: #806 billion
- Net Income: #127 billion
- Total Assets: #1.4 trillion
- Number of Shareholders: 400,000
- Shareholders Funds: #167 billion
- Swift Code: FIDTNGLAXXX
- Official Website: www.fidelitybank.ng
Union Bank PLC
- CEO: Mr. Mannir Ringim
- Licensed Date: Founded 1917
- No of Branches: 240
- Net Income: #30.2 billion ($30 million)
- No of Employees: 2200
- Swift Code: UBNINGLAXXX
- Official Website: www.unionbank.com
Guaranty Trust Bank PLC
- CEO: Hezekiah Oyiniola
- Licensed Date: Founded 1990
- No of Branches: 235
- Customer Deposits: #44 trillion
- Net Income: #74.1 billion ($93.8 million)
- Total Assets: #14 trillion
- Shareholders Funds: #35 billion
- No of Employees: 10,000+
- Swift Code: GTBIGB2L
- Official Website: www.gtbank.com
First City Monument Bank PLC
- CEO: Oladipupo Jadesimi
- Licensed Date: Founded 1982
- No of Branches: 220
- Customer Deposits: #715 billion
- Net Income: #131 billion
- Total Assets: #2 trillion ($5 billion)
- Shareholders Funds: #144 billion
- No of Employees: 3610
- Swift Code: FCMBNGLA
- Official Website: www.fcmb.com
The Net profit mentioned in the indicators are all before tax. We also wrote about Ussd codes for mobile banking for Jaiz bank and Stanbic IBTC Bank. Feel free to read about them also.
Best Banks in Nigeria for Business Loan
Business loan in Nigeria can be categoritically divided into two;
- Secured Loan
- Unsecured Loan
Secured Loan
This type of loan requires collateral such as property, equipment and inventory to be provided as security for the loan. The lender(bank) can seize the collateral if the borrower fails to repay loam on the said date. Secured Loan are long-term loans and they have lower interest rate.
Unsecured Loan
This type of loan does not require collateral, it is based on trust or borrowers credit worthiness. Unsecured Loan are short-term loan and they have higher interest rate.
Below are best banks in Nigeria that can offer business loan with low interest rate;
- Access Bank PLC
- First Bank of Nigeria
- Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB)
- United Bank for Africa (UBA)
- Zenith Bank PLC
- Stanbic IBTC Bank
- Fidelity Bank
- Ecobank Nigeria
- Union Bank of Bank
- Sterling Bank
How to Open a Bank Account in Nigeria
To open a bank account in Nigeria, all you need to do is visit a branch of any bank of your choice with the required documents such as, Light bill receipt, Government Issued I’D (national I’D, international passport, driver’s license), Passport Photograph, Proof of Residential Address.
List of Commercial Banks With International Banking License
This are list of Banks that have license to operate within Nigeria and outside the country.
- Access Bank PLC
- Fidelity Bank PLC
- First City Monument Bank (FCMB)
- First Bank Of Nigeria PLC
- Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB)
- Union Bank of Nigeria PLC
- United Bank For Africa (UBA)
- Zenith Bank PLC
List of Banks With National Banking License
This are list of banks that have license to operate only in Nigeria including the federal capital territory.
- CitiBank Bank Nigeria Limited
- ECObank Nigeria
- Heritage Bank PLC
- Keystone Bank PLC
- Polaris Bank PLC
- Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC
- Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited
- Sterling Bank PLC
- Titan Trust Bank Limited
- Unity Bank PLC
- Wema Bank PLC ?
List of Commercial Banks With Regional Banking License
Thus are list of Bank that have license to operate in within the minimum of 6 states and maximum of 12 states in Nigeria.
- Globus Bank Limited
- Parallex Bank Limited
- Premium Trust Bank
- Providus Bank
- SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited
Conclusion
Choosing the right bank is very essential in terms of finance management. The banks mentioned In this article are among the best in Nigeria, offering a wide range of good customer services and low charge rate. We advise you feel free to Bank with any of them, they are safe and reliable.
