Ecobank Group, the pan-African financial services group listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), delivered its strongest annual performance on record in 2025, with profit before tax rising 21 percent to $801 million and net revenues climbing 17 percent to $2.45 billion, driven by broad-based growth across all major business lines and regions.
The full-year audited results for the year ended December 31, 2025, released by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), showed that the group’s Growth, Transformation, and Returns (GTR) strategy continued to produce measurable results, with efficiency improving sharply alongside revenue expansion.
Operationally, the group achieved a record cost-to-income ratio of 48.3 percent, compared to 52.8 percent a year earlier, as revenue growth outpaced cost increases. The improvement in the cost ratio to below 50 percent is notable, as pan-African banks have historically struggled with high operating costs due to the complexity of running multi-country compliance, treasury, and technology stacks across dozens of markets.
Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) led the group’s earnings, with profit before tax surging 40 percent to $697 million, backed by growth in trade finance, cash management, and capital markets. Consumer and Commercial Banking (CCB) also delivered strong results, with profit before tax rising 27 percent to $480 million, supported by robust deposit mobilisation and a 33 percent increase in lending activity.
Customer deposits across both business segments grew by $4.9 billion to reach $25.3 billion, while loans rose to $12.8 billion, driven by trade finance and digitally enabled lending.
Regionally, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa (CESA) emerged as the fastest-growing segment, with the group also reporting meaningful progress in turnaround subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia. Anglophone and Francophone West Africa remained key contributors to overall profitability, supported by improved funding costs, trade flows, and treasury performance.
The 2025 results also reflect a broader shift in the operating environment, as several African central banks, including those of Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, cut interest rates during the year as inflation eased and currencies stabilised, reducing the hedging costs that had previously weighed on dollar-reported earnings.
Asset quality came under some pressure during the year, primarily from higher non-performing loans in Nigeria linked to legacy exposures and the withdrawal of regulatory forbearance. The group raised its expected credit loss reserves to 7.8 percent of gross loans from 5.7 percent, while maintaining a total capital adequacy ratio of 16.7 percent, which sits 420 basis points above the minimum regulatory threshold.
The group’s return on tangible equity (ROTE) stood at 27.8 percent, and earnings per share rose 23 percent to 1.68 US cents. The ETI board has recommended a dividend payout of $40 million, equivalent to 0.16 US cents per share, subject to shareholder approval at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM).
Jeremy Awori, Group Chief Executive Officer, said the results affirmed the value of the group’s diversified pan-African model, adding that a 1,000-basis-point increase in customer satisfaction to 70 percent reflected continued investment across both physical and digital channels. He credited the performance to the efforts of approximately 14,000 Ecobank employees operating across the continent.
Ecobank operates in 39 African countries and serves tens of millions of customers across its consumer, commercial, corporate, and investment banking segments.
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