The combined operating expenses of 10 Nigerian banks rose by 42.51 per cent to N3.23tn in 2023 compared to N2.26tn in the previous year.
The yearly reports that the financial institutions submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited served as the basis for this.
Access Holdings, FBN Holdings, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa, FCMB Group, Sterling Financial Holding, Fidelity Bank, Wema Bank, Stanbic IBTC, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company are among the financial institutions that were examined.
An operating expense is one that a business incurs during regular business operations, according to Investopedia, an online resource for investing education.Rent, furnishings, inventory costs, marketing, employee spending, insurance, step costs, money set aside for R&D, and depreciation and amortization are all included.
The primary causes of the rise in the lenders’ operating expenses in 2023 were personnel costs and other operating expenses.The largest bank in Nigeria, AccessCorp, saw a 38.85% increase in operating expenses during the reviewed period, rising from N502.36 billion in 2022 to N697.53 billion.
Holdco gave an explanation for the increase, claiming that higher wages and salaries were the reason behind a 43.97 percent increase in personnel costs, which rose from N116.62 to N167.90 billion.
On the strength of an increase in IT and e-business expenses to N78.05 billion, other operating expenses also increased to N465.67 billion from N341.32 billion.
The group’s operating costs increased last year as a result of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria surcharge, which increased by 30.49 percent to N68.81 billion.