JAIZ Bank has classified a total loan of N902.331 million granted to a company owned by its Non Executive Director, Mr Abdulmutallab Muhammad Hadi, as substandard.
This was gleaned from the fourth quarter (Q4) 2025 financial statement of the non-interest bank released to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on January 30, 2025, seen by Economy Post. The financial statement shows that Mr Hadi’s company, Noble Hall Limited, owes the bank the sum of N902.22 million debt, which has been classified as ‘substandard.’
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Prudential Guidelines, a loan is said to be ‘lost’ if it is not returned after more than 360 days. Similarly, a loan is classified as ‘doubtful’ when it is not repaid after 180 days but within less than 360 days. Also, a loan may be classsified as substandard if it is not returned after 90 days but within less than 180 days.
Earlier, Jaiz Bank had classified the loan by Mr Hadi’s Noble Hall Limited as ‘doubtful’ and ‘substandard.’ According to Jaiz Bank’s half-year (H1) 2025 financial statement seen by Economy Post, Mr Hadi of Noble Hall Limited had an outstanding loan of 49.701 million classified as ‘doubtful’ by June 2025. Incidentally, this same N902.331 million loan had also been classified as ‘substandard’ by the end of June 2025.
Mr Hadi is a non-executive director of Jaiz Bank and founder of two firms – Farm To You Ltd and Dattaku Global Investment Ltd. The financial statement further shows that Mr Hadi’s company collected a loan of N78.973 million, which is ‘performing.’ A ‘performing’ loan is a loan that the borrower is paying back as agreed in the loan arrangement, according to the Cambridge Dictionary.
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Non-rapayment of loans on time by banks’ directors is not new. In 2024, Fidelity Bank had classified loans granted to 2 of its ex-directors as ‘lost’ as at the end of the 2024 financial year. The loans were granted to ex-directors, Ms Onome Olaolu and Mr Ik Mbagwu, according to the bank’s 2024 full-year financial statement seen by Economy Post.
Ms Olaolu’s Cy Incorporated Nig Ltd was granted finance lease/overdraft, which stood at N321.580 million as at the end of 2024. Similarly, Mr Mbagwu’s Equipment Solutions And Logistics Services Ltd got a term loan/overdraft, which stood at N767.029 million by the end of December 2024. Though their collaterals were perfected, the loans were not repaid, according to the bank.
Ms Olaolu’s interest on the lost loan stood at N8.493 million by December 2024, but Mr Mbagwu’s interest was not in the financial statement of the bank. Interest is the charge for borrowing money, according to Investopedia, a finance platform.
Higher revenue, profit
However, Jaiz Bank grew revenue by 23 percent to N102.076 billion in the full year of 2025, from N82.875 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2024.
Profit rose 32.19 percent to N31.043 billion in 2025, from N23.484 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2024. Retained earnings fell to N12.57 billion in 2025 from N15.69 billion in 2024.
Jaiz Bank Plc is the pioneer non-interest Bank in Nigeria. It has been providing ethical services to individuals, corporate, and government entities since 2012 with the mission of making life better through ethical finance. The value of total financing assets stood at N245.685 billion as against N215.254 billion in 2024. Non-financial assets’ value stood at N19.665 billion in 2025 as against N6.835 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
Jaiz Bank’s debt ratio is above 1, which is a healthy number for a non-interest bank. Its assets’ value stood at N1.287 trillion in 2025, while liabilities were put at N1.218 trillion. This shows the bank is solvent and can repay its obligations, experts say.
“But it can do more by raising its assets value,” said one financial analyst, who asked not to be quoted.
