ECOBANK Group, the leading pan-African financial services group, has delivered strong financial results for the year ended December 31, 2025, reflecting continued execution of its Growth, Transformation, and Returns (GTR) strategy and deliberate growth across its businesses.
Profit before tax grew by 21 per cent year-on-year to $801 million, while net revenues rose by 17 per cent to $2.45 billion, driven by solid performances in both Corporate and Investment Banking and Consumer and Commercial Banking. Growth was supported by increased client activity, higher trade volumes, and continued expansion in payments and lending across the Group's extensive network.
The Group's diversified pan-African business model continued to underpin its resilience and operational and financial performance. Central, Eastern and Southern Africa (CESA) emerged as the fastest-growing region, while Anglophone and Francophone West Africa delivered strong profitability supported by improved funding costs, trade flows, and treasury activities.
A statement issued by Ecobank Group said operational efficiencies improved as revenue growth outpaced cost increases, resulting in a record cost-to-income ratio of 48.3 per cent, an improvement from 52.8 per cent a year ago.
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The Group maintained a robust balance sheet, with solid capital and liquidity buffers.
Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) recorded strong momentum, achieving a 40 per cent increase in profit before tax to $697 million, backed by growth in trade finance, cash management, and capital markets.
Similarly, Consumer and Commercial Banking (CCB) delivered substantial results, with profit before tax rising by 27 per cent to $480 million, supported by robust deposit mobilisation and heightened lending activity, which rose by 33 per cent.
Across the CIB and CCB businesses, customer deposits grew by $4.9 billion to $25.3 billion, reflecting significant transaction flows and deepened customer engagement, while loans driven by trade finance and digitally enabled lending rose to $12.8 billion.
Asset quality pressures increased during the year, primarily driven by higher non-performing loans in Nigeria linked to legacy exposures and the exit from regulatory forbearance. The Group has taken prudent steps to strengthen its balance sheet, including raising expected credit loss reserves to 7.8 per cent of gross loans from 5.7 per cent. The total capital adequacy ratio of 16.7 per cent remained comfortable above minimum regulatory requirements by 420 basis points.
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The performance drove sustained value for shareholders, marked by a return on tangible equity (ROTE) of 27.8 per cent, reflecting its strong financial position.
In view of the performance, the ETI Board recommended a dividend payout of $40 million or 0.16 US cents ($0.0016) per share, subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting.
The Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Group, Jeremy Awori, commenting on the performance, said: "Our 2025 performance has further demonstrated that our Growth, Transformation and Returns (GTR) strategy, along with our diversified pan-African business model, is yielding positive results."
He added that the Group continued to invest in enhancing its solutions and customer interactions across both physical and digital channels, resulting in a 1,000-basis-point increase in customer satisfaction to 70 per cent.
He further noted significant progress in key turnaround subsidiaries in the CESA region, including Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia, where efficiency ratios improved markedly.
Mr Awori said the achievements were made possible by the dedication of approximately 14,000 Ecobank employees across Africa, who have embraced the ongoing transformation and prioritised customer needs.
