Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), the Lagos-based multinational financial services group led by Nigerian banker Segun Agbaje, reported a 7.76% drop in profit for the first half of 2026 due to a sharp increase in income tax expense, which jumped by approximately N36.96 billion ($27.84 million), from N151.89 billion ($114.41 million) to N188.85 billion ($142.25 million), which outweighed marginal growth in pre-tax earnings.

According to its audited financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2026, GTCO’s profit after tax fell to N414.19 billion ($312.23 million, from N449.01 billion ($338.57 million in the same period of 2025. That additional tax burden more than consumed the roughly N2.13 billion ($1.6 million) increase in profit before tax, bringing profit after tax down by approximately N34.83 billion ($26.23 million).

GTCO’s profit declines despite stable pre-tax earnings

GTCO’s profit before tax increased marginally by 0.4% to N603.03 billion ($454.61 million) from N600.9 billion ($452.99 million a year earlier. However, income tax expense surged 24.33% to N188.85 billion ($142.39 million) from N151.89 billion ($114.51 million), significantly reducing the amount of profit retained after tax.

The fully-fledged financial holding company’s interest income increased 7.5% year-on-year, while trading income climbed 24.7%. Net interest income rose 2.75% to N649.6 billion ($489.78 million), despite interest expense increasing 24.24% to N223.8 billion ($168.7 million).

Loan impairments ease, but fee income remains a drag

Loan impairment charges provided some relief, falling 65.94% to N18.72 billion ($14.11 million). As a result, net interest income after impairment rose 9.29% to N630.88 billion ($475.68 million).

GTCO’s non-interest income remained under pressure during the period. Net fee and commission income declined 8.98% to approximately N123 billion ($92.72 million), from N135.17 billion ($101.88 million), while other income fell 37.47% to N44.3 billion ($33.39 million).

The group also recorded a N46.2 billion ($34.83 million) fair-value loss during the period, tempering the benefit of stronger interest and trading income.

Customer deposits strengthened, rising 10.3% to N14.19 trillion ($10.70 billion) from N12.87 trillion ($9.70 billion) in December 2025.

Loans and advances to customers edged up to N3.15 trillion ($2.38 billion) from N3.13 trillion ($2.36 billion), pointing to relatively modest growth in the group’s loan book during the period.

Asset quality also improved, with GTCO reporting group Stage 3 loans at 4.6% and a cost of risk of 0.6%, compared with 2.2% previously.

GTCO expands balance sheet under Agbaje

Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), a leading Lagos-based financial holding company, offers a diversified suite of services encompassing retail and investment banking, pension and asset management, and payment solutions.

Under the leadership of Segun Agbaje, who holds 41,628,001 shares in GTCO, the company has pursued strategic expansion. This growth is fueled by both its core commercial banking operations and its burgeoning non-banking financial services segment. GTCO’s total assets increased 4.81% to N18.62 trillion ($14.03 billion) from N17.76 trillion ($13.39 billion) at the end of 2025, while shareholders’ funds stood at approximately N3.3 trillion ($2.49 billion).

Under Agbaje, GTCO has continued to broaden its operations beyond traditional banking, with expansion across payments, pension administration and funds management, reinforcing its position as a diversified financial-services group with operations spanning Africa and the United Kingdom. The group also declared an interim dividend of N1 per share for the first half of 2026.