Ecobank Group has announced unaudited financial results for the first nine months of 2025, reporting a profit before tax of $657 million, up 34% from the prior year. Earnings per share rose 36% to 1.29 US cents ($0.01), underpinned by sustained revenue momentum, disciplined cost management, and prudent risk practices. Net revenue grew 18% to $1.8 billion, reflecting broad-based strength across business lines and regions.
Operating efficiency continued to improve, with the cost-to-income ratio (CIR) declining to 48.0%, a record low for the Group. Ecobank generated 14% positive operating leverage, as net revenue growth (+18% year-on-year) outpaced operating expense growth (+4%).
The balance sheet remained resilient, supported by strong liquidity and capital buffers. Gross loans increased $1.7 billion year-to-date to $12.2 billion, while customer deposits rose $3.7 billion to $24.1 billion. Asset quality also improved, with the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio reducing to 5.3% from 7.0% in Q1 2024. This reflects the continued success of loan recovery and risk remediation initiatives. The Group maintained a sound capital position, with an estimated CET1 ratio of 12.9% and total capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 16.8%, both comfortably above regulatory minimums.
Ecobank’s diversified earnings continued to underpin performance. Non-interest revenue (NIR) accounted for 42.4% of total revenue, with payments contributing 29.7% of NIR. Payment revenue rose 13% to $221 million, driven by a strong performance in wholesale payments and cards.
Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) delivered profit before tax of $526 million, up 43%, supported by robust origination and cross-selling. Consumer and Commercial Banking (CCB) achieved $354 million profit before tax, up 21%, driven by a clear segmentation strategy, growth in deposits, digital channels, and customer engagement initiatives.
The Group’s performance underscores Ecobank’s earnings resilience and capacity to generate strong returns despite a dynamic operating environment. As macroeconomic conditions stabilise and rates normalise, Ecobank remains focused on disciplined capital allocation, digital innovation, and strengthening its leadership as Africa’s premier pan-regional banking group.
Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Group, stated, “We are pleased to report strong results for the nine months ending September 2025. Our return on tangible equity was 31.2%, tangible book value per share increased by 83%, and profit before tax rose 34% to $657 million. Our cost-to-income ratio (CIR) improved from 54.5% in the same period last year to 48.0%. These results demonstrate the ongoing success of our Growth, Transformation, and Returns (GTR) strategy, the advantages of our diversified and synergistic business model, and a steadily improving economic environment across our key markets.
We are encouraged by our group-wide revenue growth of 18% (totalling $1.8 billion), which has been the fastest in a decade, with each line of business performing well. In Corporate and Investment banking (CIB), revenues grew by 18%, supported by focused client account planning, strong origination and execution discipline, and better cross-selling and product offerings. In Consumer and Commercial Banking (CCB), revenues increased by 13%, driven by significant growth in active customers, deposits, and investments in various initiatives aimed at serving our customers better. We invested in and improved our digital channels and mobile banking, as well as approximately 400 new state-of-the-art ATMs across our network, which will enhance the customer experience and help drive financial inclusion. We have also significantly enhanced our Ellevate program to support women entrepreneurs throughout Africa, renewed focus on the agricultural sector, and improved digital account opening, wealth management services, and lending.
In our Payments, Fintech, and Cross-border Remittances business, revenues rose by 13% to $221 million, which accounted for 13% of our group-wide revenues, primarily driven by a 20% increase in Disbursement Services, and a 14% growth in Cards. We are pleased about the significant progress we are making on our strategic priorities, transformative initiatives, and partnerships that will enable us to grow faster in the future and provide more efficient and better customer services. As Ecobank begins its 40th anniversary celebrations this October, we are grateful to all those who have helped build the foundation upon which we continue to deliver financial solutions to businesses, governments, and households, fostering economic and financial integration across Africa,” Awori concluded.
Ecobank Group is the leading private pan-African financial services group with unrivalled African expertise. Present in 34 sub-Saharan African countries, France, the UK, UAE, and China, its unique pan-African platform provides a single gateway for payments, cash management, trade and investment. The Group employs over 14,000 people and offers over 32 million customers, Consumer, Commercial, Corporate and Investment Banking as well as Payment’s products, services and solutions across multiple channels, including digital.
