Wema Bank Plc has delivered a remarkable financial performance for the first half of the year, hitting a profit before tax (PBT) of ₦72.57 billion on the back of a powerful surge in interest income.
The financial results, submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), reveal substantial growth across all key metrics, building firmly on the momentum recorded in the 2025 financial year.
According to the financial statement, Wema Bank’s profit before tax (PBT) for the first half of the year grew to ₦72.57 billion, marking a significant 76.1 percent increase from the ₦41.21 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2025.
This stellar bottom-line performance reflects the bank’s improved revenue generation capacity and stronger contribution from its core banking operations.
Following a tax expense deduction of ₦9.43 billion, the bank’s profit after tax (PAT) settled at ₦63.13 billion for the period, up by 76.1 percent from the ₦35.85 billion reported in the first half of the prior year. This net profit expansion marks one of the bank’s most robust half-year growth rates in recent history.
The bank’s strong performance was primarily driven by a sharp acceleration in interest income, which expanded to ₦179.96 billion from ₦110.08 billion in the same period last year. Higher yields on earning assets, strategic pricing in a high-interest-rate environment, and an expanding loan portfolio were key factors behind this performance.
Notably, interest income generated from loans and advances to customers contributed ₦96.48 billion, while income from money market placements and cash reserves rose to ₦40.28 billion.
Despite a surge in funding costs that pushed interest expenses up to ₦80.53 billion (compared to ₦53.44 billion in the previous year), Wema Bank’s net interest income grew by 75.6 percent to ₦99.43 billion against ₦56.64 billion in the prior period.
On the non-interest income front, the bank experienced mixed results, with net fees and commissions declining to ₦17.39 billion from ₦25.05 billion, impacted by a contraction in electronic banking fees which dropped to ₦6.10 billion.
However, positive operating leverage was maintained as overall revenue growth outpaced the expansion of operating expenses.
Wema Bank’s balance sheet remains on a solid expansion path. Following the conclusion of its 2025 financial year where total assets crossed the five-trillion mark to settle at ₦5.072 trillion, the bank has continued to optimize its deposit franchise and loan deployment.
The successful completion of its ₦200 billion capital raise comprising a ₦150 billion Rights Issue and a ₦50 billion Private Placement has fortified the bank’s capital adequacy ratio well ahead of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) 2026 recapitalisation deadline.