Fidelity Bank released its interim report for the three months ended March 31, 2026, reporting gross earnings of N434.95 billion — a 37.9% jump from N315.42 billion a year earlier — and a net profit of N74.47 billion for the quarter.
The quarter’s top-line gains were driven by higher interest income, which rose to N314.48 billion from N256.10 billion in Q1 2025, and produced net interest income of N180.97 billion. Profit before tax for the period was N92.48 billion and earnings per share stood at N5.69.
Total assets rose to N11.35 trillion by the end of March 2026, up from N10.46 trillion at December 2025, while customer deposits increased to N7.38 trillion from N6.89 trillion over the same three-month stretch. Total equity expanded to N1.39 trillion from N1.09 trillion at year-end 2025.
Management framed the numbers as proof of a strategic turnaround after the bank’s recapitalisation. Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe said the first-quarter results reinforced what she called the bank’s strong and resilient business model and that Fidelity Bank had entered a new era of growth and impressive returns following the recapitalisation programme. Onyeali-Ikpe added that the bank was on a stronger footing and confident it would set new growth records reflective of its legacy and future.
The Q1 release follows a full-year 2025 performance that already showed rapid expansion. Gross earnings for 2025 were N1.52 trillion, up 45.6% from N1.04 trillion in 2024, and net profit after tax for the year was N242.4 billion. Interest and similar incomes for 2025 rose to N1.11 trillion from N803.1 billion the year before, and fees and commission income climbed to N113.4 billion from N78.4 billion. The bank’s assets grew 18.6% to N10.46 trillion in 2025 from N8.82 trillion in 2024, while customer deposits rose 16.1% to N6.89 trillion from N5.94 trillion. (See more on last year’s surge at
That expansion was financed in part by the recapitalisation completed in 2025. Fidelity Bank raised fresh equity through a public offering, rights issues and a private placement and by early 2026 had an eligible capital base in excess of N560 billion, comfortably above the N500 billion minimum for banks with international authorisation.
But the picture contains a friction point. While the bank’s balance sheet and revenues swelled, net loans and advances fell 2.4% in 2025 to N4.28 trillion from N4.39 trillion a year earlier — a decline the bank attributed to customers paying down mature obligations. The drop in lending contrasts with rising deposits and a larger equity base, leaving an open question about where the next phase of growth will come from: more lending, higher-yield asset deployment, or acquisitions.
That tension matters now because the bank’s capital and liquidity positions give management options they did not have in 2024. Investors and markets will be watching whether Fidelity Bank converts its stronger capital base and rising deposits into renewed loan growth and higher returns on assets, or whether tightening credit demand among customers will keep lending muted even as the bank seeks to boost revenue through fee income and other channels.
For now, the bank’s first-quarter numbers and Onyeali-Ikpe’s optimism put Fidelity Bank in a position of strength. The most consequential question going forward is whether management can translate that strength into sustained lending expansion and higher return on equity; that outcome will determine if the “new era of growth” the bank describes becomes measurable outperformance in the quarters ahead.
