In 2025, four of the FUGAZ banks generated a combined N1.949 trillion in pre-tax profit from their foreign subsidiaries, which accounted for 54.77% of their combined group profit of N3.56 trillion.
Despite this strong foreign subsidiaries’ contribution, overall, the combined group pre-tax profit declined by 11%.
This can be attributed to large impairments, fading foreign exchange gains, and high operating expenses in 2025, which dragged domestic profit lower.
For instance, in 2025, UBA Nigeria accounted for over 90% of the Group’s total impairment of N331 billion. Similarly, Zenith Bank Nigeria accounted for over 97% of the group’s impairment of N742 billion in 2025
Before examining each bank, the ranking is worth stating upfront. UBA led the group with N671.1 billion in foreign subsidiary profit, followed by Access Holdings at N571.305 billion, GTCO at N375.322 billion, and Zenith Bank at N331.758 billion. First HoldCo’s 2025 figure was not publicly disclosed.
Zenith Bank Plc- N331.758 billion
Zenith Bank generated N331.758 billion in pre-tax profit from its four foreign subsidiaries in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, and the UK in 2025.
- This represents 26.26% of the group’s reported pre-tax profit of N1.263 trillion; higher than the 14.07% contribution in 2024 and 16.5% in 2023. The trajectory is consistently upward.
- With just four offshore units, Zenith’s foreign contribution compares favourably against peers operating far larger networks.
- Unlike in 2024, where Zenith Bank UK led the group, in 2025 Zenith Bank Ghana took the top spot with N193.367 billion in pre-tax profit; up 135% year-on-year. Zenith Bank UK followed with N98.87 billion, up from N84.1 billion in 2024.
Despite this, Zenith’s Nigerian operations remain dominant, contributing N923 billion out of the group’s N1.26 trillion pre-tax profit.
GTCO Plc- N375.322 billion
GTCO’s foreign subsidiaries recorded N375.322 billion in pre-tax profit in 2025, up 37% from N273.142 billion in 2024.
- This puts the offshore contribution at 43.35%, higher than the 21.57% and 21.44% contribution in 2024 and 2023, respectively. In two years, GTCO’s foreign contribution has effectively doubled as a share of group profit.
- The group operates across eight countries: Ghana, Liberia, Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Sierra Leone, the UK, and Kenya. The Kenya subsidiary operates as a regional hub, housing GT Bank Uganda and GT Bank Rwanda under its structure, extending the effective footprint to ten markets.
- GT Bank Ghana led the group with N196 billion, up 65% year-on-year; a single subsidiary generating more than half of the group’s entire foreign profit. All subsidiaries were profitable except GT Bank Tanzania, which posted a pre-tax loss of N149 million, a significant improvement from a N1.1 billion loss in 2024.
GTCO Nigeria contributed N871.918 billion to group pre-tax profit while non-banking subsidiaries, including Habari Pay, Asset Management, and Pension Fund operations, added N20.47 billion, up from N14.59 billion in 2024 and N5.96 billion in 2023.
The non-banking businesses are small today but growing consistently.
Access Holding Plc: N571.305 billion
Access Holdings’ 15 offshore subsidiaries generated N571.305 billion in pre-tax profit in 2025, representing a 24.2% year-on-year (YoY) increase.
- This accounted for 56.73% of the Group’s adjusted pre-tax profit of N1.007 trillion; higher than the 53% contribution in 2024 and significantly higher than the 27.32% contribution in 2023.
- Access Holdings is now a bank where foreign operations contribute more than half of total profit. That structural shift; from 27.32% in 2023 to 56.73% in 2025, happened in just two years.
- Just as in 2024, Access Bank UK was the standout performer, contributing N288.5 billion, more than half of the entire foreign subsidiary total and more than any single domestic or foreign operation at any other FUGAZ bank.
- The group recorded losses from two subsidiaries: South Africa and Kenya. Mozambique, which had reported a loss in 2024, returned to profitability with a pre-tax profit of N5.56 billion.
On the revenue side, Access Holdings recorded N5.529 trillion in gross earnings for 2025, with its foreign operations contributing N1.4 trillion, highlighting the growing significance of its international footprint.
UBA Plc – N671.1 billion
UBA, with operations in 20 African countries and the UK, led its peers in 2025 by generating N671.1 billion in pre-tax profit from its foreign operations. This accounted for 92% of the group’s pre-tax profit before adjustment of N729.785 billion.
- Foreign subsidiaries generating 92% of group profit means UBA Nigeria, the flagship domestic bank, contributed just 8%. UBA Nigeria generated N50.121 billion while the African network generated N671.1 billion
- The 2025 contribution marks a significant jump from 53% in 2024 and 29.69% in 2023
- Among the subsidiaries, UBA Côte d’Ivoire led with N126.58 billion, followed by UBA Ghana at N78.17 billion and UBA Sierra Leone at N65.58 billion. Only UBA Tanzania and UBA UK posted pre-tax losses.
Impairment losses across UBA’s foreign subsidiaries declined 54% YoY to about N25.6 billion, with UBA Cameroon accounting for the highest impairment at N18 billion.
First Holdco Plc
First HoldCo, the parent company of First Bank of Nigeria, operated six subsidiaries across Africa and one in the United Kingdom as of 2024, with representative offices in China and France.
- In its 2024 results presentation, the group disclosed that foreign subsidiaries contributed 27.5% of total pre-tax profit of N796.47 billion translating to N219.03 billion from international operations. That figure made First HoldCo the fourth-largest foreign earner among FUGAZ banks in 2024, ahead of Zenith.
- For 2025, First HoldCo did not provide a detailed breakdown of foreign subsidiary earnings.
Given the group’s earnings recovery in 2025; Q1 2026 results showing PBT up 72.20%, the absence of this disclosure leaves a meaningful gap in the full FUGAZ foreign subsidiary picture. Investors watching First HoldCo’s re-rating story will want this data when the 2025 annual report is fully published.
Insight
The N1.949 trillion generated by four FUGAZ banks from their foreign subsidiaries in 2025 was impressive.
– The question for 2026 is what happens when the domestic business recovers and whether new regulatory requirements complicate the foreign earnings picture at the same time.
If domestic recovery continues and Q1 results suggest it is, these banks will soon be compounding two powerful earnings engines simultaneously.
But a risk is emerging from the CBN’s proposed HoldCo operating guidelines. The CBN is pushing toward treating each subsidiary as a more standalone entity for regulatory purposes, and one of the likely operational consequences is a rise in operating expenses at the subsidiary level.
The foreign subsidiaries have kept operating costs moderate partly because they share infrastructure, technology, compliance, and risk resources with the parent group.
In2025, the combined operating expenses of the foreign subsidiaries are close to half of domestic operating expenses; a cost advantage built on shared resources that ringfencing could erode.
