Kayode Tokede
Access Holdings Plc’s unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30, 2026 has provided encouraging evidence of a business increasingly focused on the quality of the earnings generated from its considerable scale.
Profit before tax increased by 8.3 per cent to N667.4 billion, from N616.2 billion in the corresponding period of 2025. Profit after tax rose by 5.9 per cent to N474.2 billion, compared with N447.5 billion a year earlier.
Those headline numbers are positive. The more revealing feature of the performance, however, lies in the composition of earnings and the significantly stronger result after impairment.
Significant Improvement After Impairment
Interest income increased by 6.9per cent to N3.1 trillion, while interest expense rose by 10.1per cent to N1.8 trillion. Net interest income consequently increased by 2.7per cent to N1.3 trillion.
The much stronger movement came after impairment. Impairment charges declined by 73.5per cent, from N350.0 billion in the corresponding period of 2025 to N92.9 billion. Net interest income after impairment increased by 32.1per cent, from N08.0 billion to approximately N1.2 trillion.
This is one of the clearest features of the nine-month results. The difference between the 2.7 per cent increase in net interest income and the 32.1 per cent increase after impairment highlights the significance of the reduction in impairment charges to the overall earnings performance.
Fee and commission income increased by 8.4 per cent to N650.9 billion, while fee and commission expense declined by 6.9 per cent to N115.9 billion. Net fee and commission income consequently increased by 12.4per cent to N534.9 billion.
Together, these movements contributed to core operating income of N1.83 trillion, representing growth of 5.4 per cent from N1.73 trillion in the comparable period.
The result therefore shows improvement in two important areas: income generated after impairment and net fee and commission income. Both are encouraging developments, although the sustainability of the improvement will depend on continued revenue growth, credit performance and operating-cost discipline.
The Operating Picture Remains Mixed
The nine-month performance is not uniformly positive, and the results are transparent about the areas requiring continued management attention.
Operating expenses increased by 11.8 per cent to N1.3 trillion. At the same time, total other operating income declined by 40.8 per cent to N234.5 billion. The combined effect was a 3.2 per cent decline in total operating income, from N2.13 trillion to N2.06 trillion.
These figures provide important context for the increase in profitability. The results show stronger income after impairment and higher net fee and commission income, but they also show pressure from rising operating expenses and lower other operating income.
This helps explain why operating efficiency features prominently in the Group’s Scale-to-Value agenda. The results identify stronger cost discipline and greater efficiency from the Group’s infrastructure and capabilities as priorities.
The significance of the Group’s strategic response is that these pressure points are explicitly recognised. Despite them, profit before tax still increased by 8.3 per cent, supported by substantially lower impairments and growth in core income.
A Substantial Balance Sheet
The balance sheet provides another important dimension to the results.
Total assets stood at N52.6 trillion at September 30, 2026, an increase of 1.7per cent from N51.7 trillion at December 31, 2025.
Customer deposits grew by 6.6 per cent to N36.9 trillion, while loans and advances to customers increased by 7.4 per cent to N14.3 trillion. Shareholders’ funds remained broadly stable at N4.5 trillion, compared with N4.5 trillion at the end of 2025.
The size of the balance sheet gives meaning to the strategic language the Group has adopted.
Access Holdings described Scale-to-Value as a progression from building scale to improving the quality and productivity of that scale.
The strategic focus articulated in the results is not simply on further expansion. It is on extracting greater quality and productivity from the scale already assembled, with sustainable shareholder returns identified as the ultimate objective.
Geographic Diversification Has Become Significant
The geographic composition of earnings is another notable aspect of the nine-month performance. The banking group remained the principal contributor to Access Holdings’ earnings, accounting for 96 per cent of the Group’s unaudited profit before tax during the period.
Within the banking Group, operations outside Nigeria accounted for 82.2 per cent of Profit Before Tax. International banking subsidiaries contributed 43.7 per cent, Rest of Africa contributed 38.5 per cent, while Nigeria accounted for 17.8 per cent.
The figures demonstrate the extent to which banking group earnings are now distributed across markets outside Nigeria. The Group said it is leveraging this geographic footprint to deepen customer relationships and increase activity across trade finance, transaction banking, payments and treasury services.
The combination of geographic reach and increasingly diversified earnings provides a substantial platform from which the Group can pursue stronger earnings quality and capital productivity.
The issue presented by the results is therefore no longer simply the breadth of the franchise. Management’s stated focus is on converting that scale into sustainable shareholder returns through stronger execution, robust risk governance and regulatory compliance, effective capital allocation and greater operating efficiency
Scale-to-Value Moves Closer to the Numbers
The nine-month results provide a clearer definition of what Scale-to-Value means for Access Holdings. Execution capacity is described in terms of strengthening accountability and the Group’s ability to translate strategic priorities into measurable outcomes.
Risk governance and regulatory compliance centre on maintaining robust risk and control disciplines and sustained compliance with applicable regulatory requirements across the Group.
Capital discipline places greater emphasis on productivity and risk-adjusted returns, while operating efficiency focuses on cost discipline and more productive use of the Group’s infrastructure and capabilities.
Earnings quality completes the framework, with an emphasis on deepening recurring income streams and strengthening earnings resilience.
Several elements of the strategy connect directly with developments visible in the reported numbers: the significant decline in impairment charges, growth in fee income, the increase in operating expenses and the increasingly diversified contribution from the banking group’s geographic operations.
The results therefore provide a useful financial context for understanding how Access Holdings intends to translate scale into stronger shareholder outcomes.
Risk Governance and Regulatory Compliance Remain Central
The emphasis on regulatory compliance is particularly relevant given the progress Access Holdings has reported towards resolving its position under Section 19(8)(c) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutios Act (BOFIA).
The Group has identified capital recalls from six banking subsidiaries which, when completed, are expected to bring Access Bank’s investment-in-subsidiaries ratio within the statutory 10 per cent threshold.
According to management, the recall process has already been completed in one subsidiary, while shareholder approvals have been obtained in four of the remaining five subsidiaries. Regulatory approvals and other required processes are being progressed across the remaining subsidiaries.
The Group expects to complete the programme within the CBN’s prescribed compliance timeline, subject to the necessary approvals.
This represents an important development for shareholders. The regulatory issue has constrained the Group’s dividend-paying capacity, and completing the programme would remove a significant obstacle to future distributions.
Any dividend decision would, however, remain subject to the Group’s financial position, distributable reserves, capital requirements and the necessary approvals.
Beyond dividends, the programme also demonstrates how more disciplined capital management can improve financial flexibility across the Group. It provides a practical example of the link between regulatory compliance, capital productivity and sustainable shareholder returns.
Stronger Foundation for Sustainable Shareholder Returns
Taken together, the nine-month results show a business beginning to translate its considerable scale into stronger earnings quality.
Profit before tax increased by 8.3 per cent to N667.4 billion and profit after tax rose by 5.9 per cent to N474.2 billion. More importantly, impairment charges declined by 73.5 per cent, lifting net interest income after impairment by 32.1 per cent to approximately N1.2 trillion. Net fee and commission income also increased by 12.4 per cent to N534.9 billion.
These are significant movements because they provide evidence of stronger earnings after credit costs and a larger contribution from fee-generating activities.
There are still areas requiring attention. Operating expenses increased by 11.8 per cent, other operating income declined by 40.8 per cent, and total operating income was 3.2 per cent lower. The significance of the Scale-to-Value agenda is that these areas are not peripheral to the strategy. Operating efficiency, execution capacity and capital productivity are explicitly identified as priorities.
The broader foundation, however, is substantial. At September 30, 2026, Access Holdings had total assets of N52.6 trillion and customer deposits of N36.9 trillion. Within the banking group, operations outside Nigeria generated 82.2 per cent of profit before tax, with international banking subsidiaries contributing 43.7 per cent and Rest of Africa 38.5 per cent.
That combination of balance-sheet scale, deposit strength and geographically diversified earnings gives Access Holdings a broad platform from which to pursue the next phase of its development.
What makes the nine-month results particularly relevant is that the Group’s strategic emphasis is becoming more closely aligned with the requirements of that next phase. Scale-to-Value is centred on stronger execution capacity, robust risk governance and regulatory compliance, disciplined capital allocation, greater operating efficiency and improved capital.