• Thu. Feb 13th, 2025

Agusto & Co Upgrades Wema Bank’s Rating To Bbb+ With Positive Financial Outlook

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s leading innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has received an upgraded rating from Agusto & Co, a prominent Pan-African credit rating agency. The bank’s rating has been elevated from BBB to BBB+ with an ESG Score of 2, confirming a stable financial outlook for the bank.

This upgrade follows Wema Bank’s robust financial performance in 2023, as reflected in its audited financial report. The bank achieved a 196% increase in Profit Before Tax (PBT), rising from N14.75 billion to N43.59 billion, which translated to higher pre-tax returns on average equity (ROE) and average assets (ROA), increasing from 21.5% to 43.9% and from 1% to 2.1%, respectively. The bank also recorded a 220.4% increase in Profit After Tax (PAT), climbing from N11.21 billion to N33.66 billion, and a 70.63% increase in Gross Earnings from N132.30 billion to N225.75 billion. Additionally, loans disbursed rose by 53.64%, from N521.43 billion to N801.10 billion, and the cost-to-income ratio (CIR) was significantly reduced from 80.1% to 64.4%, despite economic fluctuations. Earnings per share saw a substantial increase of 220.53%, from N87.2 to N279.5.

Agusto & Co highlighted Wema Bank’s improved profitability amid macroeconomic challenges, a lower impaired loan ratio, a better deposit mix, and strong shareholder support, evidenced by a successful rights issue exercise and perpetual bond issuance. The ESG score of ‘2’ signifies that environmental, social, and governance issues have a minimal impact on the bank’s rating.

Commenting on the rating upgrade, Moruf Oseni, Wema Bank’s MD/CEO, expressed gratitude to Agusto & Co for acknowledging the bank’s progress. “Wema Bank is on a journey to the top, driven by a commitment to delivering exceptional value, exceeding expectations, and providing optimum returns to every stakeholder—shareholders, customers, employees, and partners alike. It is this commitment that has reflected positively in our numbers and will propel our growth over the next decade,” said Oseni.

This development underscores Wema Bank’s stable financial standing and readiness to continue fulfilling its role as a commercial bank with national authorization.

Hyacinth Beluchukwu Nwafor

Hyacinth Beluchukwu Nwafor is a seasoned journalist and the CEO/Founder Belch Digital Communications, publishers of Hybrid News Nigeria.

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