GTCO

Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc. Photo: GTCO

Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc has seen its interest income surge more than sixfold since the COVID-19 pandemic, while its banking subsidiary, Guaranty Trust Bank, has raised customers’ international spending limit on naira cards to $40,000 per quarter.

GTCO’s interest income rose from N77.04bn in the first quarter of 2020 to N467bn in Q1 2026, representing a 506 per cent increase, as higher interest rates, expanding earning assets and stronger yields fuelled the group’s interest-driven earnings.

The Q1 2026 figure was also 17.5 per cent higher than the N397.4bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2025. Net interest income increased to N356.29bn from N64.28bn in Q1 2020.

The growth reflects the changing earnings environment for Nigerian banks since the pandemic, with high interest rates supporting stronger returns on loans, placements and fixed-income investments.

GTCO’s loan interest income rose 24.8 per cent, while interest earned on cash equivalents and placements increased 30.5 per cent.

The group’s net loan book also grew 1.3 per cent to N3.17tn.

Interest income is the amount paid to an entity for lending its money or letting another entity use its funds, according to the Corporate Finance Institute. It is also the amount earned by an investor’s money placed in an investment or project.

“Right now, depositors who earn salaries can obtain easy loans sometimes three times their earnings from their banks. It was not so in 2020. Banks have strengthened their due diligence ever since and earned huge revenues from interest income,” said a Lagos-based finance analyst, Dibor Akaghane.

In Q1 of 2020, the Central Bank of Nigeria kept the Monetary Policy Rate at 13.5 per cent, maintaining its policy stance amidst early global disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Q1 2026, the CBN’s MPR was reduced by 50 basis points from 27.0 per cent to 26.5 per cent during its February meeting. Higher interest rates have ensured that banks earn huge revenue from lending to individuals and firms post-COVID.

Meanwhile, GTBank has raised the quarterly international spending limit on its naira cards from $20,000 to $40,000, making it the first among Nigeria’s recapitalised banks to announce the new threshold.

The higher limit allows eligible customers to spend more on international transactions, including flights, hotel bookings, tuition, medical expenses and online purchases.

The bank previously increased the limit from $6,000 to $20,000 following improvements in foreign exchange market conditions.

GTCO reported gross earnings of N571.42bn in Q1 2026, while profit before tax rose marginally to N302.89bn. Profit after tax, however, fell 15.42 per cent to N218.13bn, largely due to higher tax liabilities.