STANBIC IBTC’s non-performing loans (NPLs) jumped more than 4-fold to N116.120 billion in five and a half years as key management personnel of the financial institution obtained credit at 14 percent to 16 percent.
Stanbic IBTC NPLs stood at N26.492 billion as of December 2020 out of a gross credit of N631.462 billion, marking a 4 percent NPL ratio. By December 2024, the bank’s NPL had stood at N103.496 billion from gross loans of N2.405 trillion, representing nearly a 4-fold increase and a 4.3 percent NPL ratio.
However, by the first half (H1) of 2025, its NPL had shot up to N116.120 billion out of a total loan value of N2.495 trillion, representing 4.65 NPL ratio.
The NPL ratio is percentage of NPLs in the total loans granted over a period of time. It is a core indicator of asset quality within the banking sector and measures the proportion of a deposit taker’s loan portfolio that is impaired or at significant risk of default, according to the World Bank.
Stanbic IBTC’s NPL ratio in H1 2025 stoos at 4.65 percent, according to Economy Post‘s calculations. The bank is still in a healthy position, though it is getting closer to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s prudential limit of 5 percent. The CBN mandates banks to keep their bad loans below 5 percent of total credit.
Lost loans
Meanwhike, the amount of Stanbic IBTC’s loans that were declared lost rose from N13.016 billion in 2020 to N89.692 in H1 2025, marking a 589 percent increase over the period. This means the amount of lost loans increased nearly 7 times over the period. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Prudential Guidelines describes a lost loan as one which the borrower did not repay 360 days after pledging to do so.
Key management loans
Economy Post also found that key management personnel and other employees of the tier-2 bank took credit at 14 percent to 16 percent in the first half of 2025.
“Loans include mortgage loans, Vechicle and assets financing and credit cards. Loans granted to employees and executive Directors are granted at concessionary rates 14%-16% below the prime lending rate. The mortgage loans and Vechicle and assets financing are secured by the underlying assets. All other loans are unsecured,” the bank noted in its H1 2025 financial statement.
As of the end of H1 2025, total loans of key management personnel and employees stood at N1.539 billion.
Stanbic IBTC lends to customers at 48%
Stanbic IBTC’s key employees borrow from the bank at 14 percent to 16 percent, but the bank lends its Stanbic IBTC EZCash to customers at 4 percent per month or 48 percent annually, Economy Post found.
Other banks are worse
Some other banks are worse. Zenith Bank charged its key management personnel 4 percent on loans, according to its 2024 full-year financial statement. “Loans to key management personnel include mortgage loans and other personal loans. The loans are repayable from various repayment cycles, ranging from monthly to annually over the tenor and have an average interest rate of 4%. Loans granted to key management personnel are performing,” the bank said in its statement.
READ ALSO: Stanbic IBTC explains N21bn lost loans, eyes out-of-court settlement for 413 cases
However, Zenith Bank increased its interest rate for manufacturing loans from 30 percent in 2021 to 38.5 percent in 2025, according to the CBN.
Similarly, Access Bank granted loans to its associates and management personnel at 8 percent interest rate in the first six months of 2023, while providing the same support to customers and businesses at rates between 27.6 percent and above.
The bank gave out loans to its associates and directors (and their family members) at a tenor of 4 years, while insisting that most of the facilities to individual and corporate customers must not exceed one-year repayment period.
Head, Marketing and Communications for Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, Ms Bridget Oyefeso-Odusami, confirmed the bank’s NPL in H1 2025 as N116 billion as reported by Economy Post.
