Access Holdings Plc ended 2025 as a significantly larger institution, but not necessarily a stronger one. The group crossed major milestones — total assets up 24.2% to ₦51.56trn, customer deposits up 53.4% to ₦34.56trn, and profit before tax breaking ₦1trn for the first time at ₦1.01trn. On the surface, these are the numbers of a dominant African financial group.
Beneath them, however, the quality of earnings weakened. Net interest income after impairment fell 18.5%. Impairment charges more than doubled. Costs rose faster than revenue. Other comprehensive income swung from a ₦456.8bn gain to a ₦284.5bn loss. And despite a 15.7% rise in profit after tax to ₦743.0bn, basic earnings per share dropped 19.3% to 1,348k. The trade-off for scale in 2025 was clear: Access got bigger, but shareholders and the balance sheet absorbed more risk to get there.
The deterioration started with credit and cost. Impaired loans jumped 27.1% to ₦468.0bn, forcing net impairment charges up 113.4% to ₦523.6bn. That single line wiped out most of the benefit from 13.3% gross earnings growth and left net interest income after impairment at ₦833.3bn, down from ₦1.02trn in 2024. At the same time, personnel expenses rose 32.2% to ₦504.2bn and other operating expenses hit ₦1.002trn. With revenue not growing as fast, the cost-to-income ratio came under pressure. It signals that the group’s African expansion and inflationary environment are feeding directly into the expense base.
The second area of weakness was volatility. The ₦284.5bn OCI loss was driven by ₦272.1bn in fair value losses on debt instruments and ₦137.2bn in reclassification losses. It reflects Access’ sensitivity to rising bond yields and naira movements. Because the hit was taken in equity, profit after tax was protected, but total comprehensive income attributable to owners collapsed 62.8% to ₦408.8bn. Shareholders also faced dilution. EPS fell despite higher PAT, likely due to capital raised to fund growth. And the funding mix shifted: deposits from financial institutions fell 59.9% to ₦3.73trn, meaning the bank is now more reliant on retail deposits that are stable but more expensive.
These are not small issues. They expose Access to three immediate threats. First, macro and rate risk. Another round of CBN hikes or naira devaluation will hit OCI and capital again. Second, credit risk. A 113% jump in impairments suggests stress in the loan book that could push the NPL ratio above the current 2.68% if the economy slows. Third, regulatory and competitive pressure. Income tax and minimum tax rose 12.8%, and fintechs are attacking the same ₦34.5trn deposit pool Access just won.
Yet it is precisely in the face of these weaknesses that Access deployed its core strengths, and with some effect. The ₦34.56trn customer deposit surge was the most important defense. It funded the ₦10trn asset growth without increasing reliance on volatile interbank borrowing, and it provided the liquidity — ₦6.23trn in cash — needed to meet obligations. This neutralized the classic maturity mismatch risk of borrowing short and lending long.
When impairments crushed lending margins, Access used revenue diversification as a counterweight. Net gains on financial instruments jumped 152.5% to ₦1.05trn. Fee and commission income rose 46.8% to ₦754.6bn. Together, they offset the decline in net interest income after provisions and pushed PBT up 16.2%. It was an active asset-liability management move: use the treasury book to profit from rate volatility when the loan book could not.
Capital was the third buffer. Total equity grew 15% to ₦4.33trn. That allowed the group to absorb the OCI loss in equity, not in profit, and to keep growing. Loans to customers still expanded 16.1% to ₦13.34trn and investment securities 43.8% to ₦16.31trn. Asset quality even improved slightly, with NPL ratio dipping to 2.68%, suggesting provisioning was ahead of the cycle.
Access also positioned to exploit opportunities. The deposit base can now be rotated into higher-yielding government securities and pan-African lending as rates stabilize. The treasury capability proven by the ₦1.05trn gain can be used again in volatile markets. The ₦4.33trn equity base provides capacity for further acquisitions and to deepen diaspora and trade finance flows through UK and UAE entities. And at this scale, even small efficiency gains matter — a 1% improvement in cost-to-income would save over ₦50bn, enough to offset much of the staff cost inflation.
The verdict for 2025 is therefore mixed but deliberate. Access Holdings chose growth and used its size, deposit franchise, and trading capability to neutralize the immediate risks of impairments, funding shifts, and rate volatility. It stayed liquid, solvent, and profitable under pressure.
But “bigger” came at the expense of “better.” Profit became more volatile, more dependent on trading, and less accretive to shareholders per share. For 2026, the test will be whether Access can convert this scale into cleaner earnings — lower impairments, controlled costs, and hedged OCI. If it does, 2025 will look like a necessary investment year. If it doesn’t, the weaknesses flagged this year will define the next cycle.
