Wema Bank Plc published its unaudited full-year financial results for the period ending December 31, 2025. The bank recorded a significant rise in profitability and core earnings compared with the previous year. The unaudited figures show a distinct improvement in key performance metrics and a substantial expansion in the balance sheet.
Wema Bank’s performance for 2025 delivered strong gains across revenue, profit and assets. Analysts will view these results as clear evidence of the bank’s ability to expand earnings and manage costs effectively in a challenging macroeconomic environment.
At a top-line level, the bank reported a sharp increase in pre-tax profit, up more than 116 percent compared with 2024. The pre-tax figure reached N222.07 billion, significantly higher than the N102.52 billion achieved in the prior year. Profit after tax also rose meaningfully, increasing to N193.19 billion, more than 123 percent above the previous year’s N86.28 billion.
A key driver of this improvement was a robust expansion in gross earnings. Gross earnings climbed to N653.28 billion, reflecting a 51 percent increase year on year. Within this total, interest income was the largest contributor, rising by over 63 percent to N577.10 billion.
The expansion in interest income shows the bank’s capacity to generate higher yields from its loan book and investment securities. A substantial portion of interest income came from loans and advances to customers, which rose significantly and underline Wema Bank’s ability to grow its core lending business.
Net interest income, which captures the difference between interest earned and interest paid out, also showed strong doubling growth. It increased to N360.10 billion, more than 100 percent above the N177.06 billion achieved the previous year. This reflects both higher revenue generation and disciplined control of funding costs.
Despite an increase in interest expense, which grew due to higher costs associated with expanded customer deposits and broader funding needs, the bank maintained improved efficiency. The proportion of interest expense relative to gross earnings declined, indicating a stronger ability to convert revenue into net earnings.
The bank also recorded higher net impairment losses on financial instruments, which rose modestly during the period. The increase was contained, suggesting stable credit quality relative to the pace of asset growth.
Non-interest income also contributed to the overall revenue base. Both fee and commission income and trading income rose, supported by heightened activity in digital banking and transactional services. These income streams contributed positively to earnings, although they remained a smaller share of total revenue compared with interest income.
On the balance sheet front, Wema Bank expanded total assets to N5.06 trillion, up 41 percent from the previous year. This growth was funded principally by customer deposits, which rose to N3.28 trillion, reflecting confidence in the bank’s franchise and successful deposit traction.
Loans and advances to customers also increased materially, underlining the bank’s capacity to deploy capital into productive assets. The expansion across lending and deposit segments supports both net interest income growth and the bank’s broader strategy to grow core banking operations.
Equity attributable to shareholders more than doubled, rising to N621.70 billion. This increase stemmed in part from retained earnings and higher share premium, demonstrating effective retention of profits to strengthen the bank’s capital base.
In summary, Wema Bank’s 2025 unaudited results showcase a year of accelerated earnings growth, balance sheet expansion and enhanced revenue generation. The significant increase in profit before and after tax, driven largely by interest income growth, highlights the bank’s operational momentum. The expansion in key balance sheet metrics underscores the institution’s broader growth trajectory.
The results will likely be seen by investors and analysts as a strong execution of core banking strategy with improved revenue quality and expanding asset deployment capacity.
