By Seun Ibiyemi
Zenith Bank Plc has disclosed that its Staff Provident Fund, comprising salary contributions from employees, recently invested about ₦2.3 billion in the bank’s shares, highlighting the institution’s strategy to grow staff benefits through equity participation.
Details of the transaction were contained in a director dealing notice filed with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on November 11, 2025, and signed by the company secretary, Michael Osilama Otu.
According to the filing, the fund purchased 33,015,935 units of Zenith Bank shares in nine tranches at an average price of ₦69.67 per share, under transaction ID 029200268F8M5Y1629.
The trades were executed over three days, September 26, 29, and 30, 2025 on the NGX.
However, the fund later sold 1.75 million units of the shares on November 7, 2025, at ₦59.98 per share, realizing ₦104.97 million, likely to meet short-term staff benefit obligations.
The transaction underscores how institutional funds can strategically leverage the equities market to strengthen long-term employee welfare schemes.
Meanwhile, Zenith Bank’s latest financial results for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, showed robust revenue growth despite higher operating costs.
The bank’s interest income rose 40.7 per cent to ₦2.74 trillion, compared to ₦1.94 trillion in the same period of 2024.
A breakdown of the figures revealed that the bank earned ₦1.36 trillion from loans and advances, ₦740.5 billion from treasury bills, and ₦400.3 billion from other investment securities.
Total expenses during the period stood at ₦814.2 billion, while net interest income climbed to ₦1.92 trillion from ₦1.2 trillion in the previous year.
Personnel expenses also rose to ₦182 billion, up from ₦150.6 billion a year earlier, while other operating costs increased by 12.74 per cent to ₦532.1 billion.
Despite these higher expenses, the bank posted a net income of ₦1.14 trillion, representing a 42.6 per cent year-on-year increase, after accounting for an impairment charge of ₦781.5 billion.
However, pre-tax profit declined to ₦917.4 billion, compared to ₦1 trillion in the corresponding period of 2024.
The mixed performance reflects strong underlying revenue growth tempered by rising operational and personnel costs, even as the Staff Provident Fund continues to expand its investment base in the bank’s shares.