Nigerian Banks Earn Huge Returns From Forex Trading Over Nine Months

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Despite the decline in the value of the Naira and shortfall in foreign exchange earnings, revenge for forex trading by leading Nigerian banks has grown by 110 percent, year on year, to N145 billion in the nine months ending September 2020.

During the nine months period, the local currency shed 5.9 percent of its value in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window and 28 percent in the parallel market.

In that same period, the exit of Foreign Portfolio Investors, FPIs, and COVID-19 pandemic led to a shortage of forex earnings. However, top Nigerian banks recorded a huge increase in their earnings from forex trading during the nine months.

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An analysis of the financial statements of the 12 banks by BizWatchNigeria showed that six banks had more income from forex trading. The banks include; Access Bank, GTBank, UBA, Union Bank, FCMB, and Stanbic IBTC. Banks that recorded a decline in their earnings from forex trading are First Bank, Sterling Bank and Wema Bank.

Access Bank topped the chart with N63.98 billion in nine months ending September 2020. The bank made a significant leap with an increase of 542 percent when compared with N9.96 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2019. Stanbic IBTC Bank followed with forex trading income of N44.37 billion in 2020, up by 63 percent, from N27.19 billion in the corresponding period of 2019.

UBA was third with a 1.6 percent growth rate, totalling N19.88 billion in 2020 from N19.572 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2019

GTBank saw its earnings from forex hit N12.11 billion in 2020, a 203 percent rise from N3.99 billion in 2019.

Union Bank recorded 156 percent rise, totalling N2.28 billion in 2020, from N889 billion in the corresponding 2019.

FCMB’s forex income, though relatively small in size, represented the most astonishing growth rate of 1,024 percent increase hitting N2.26 billion in 2020, from N201 million in the corresponding period of 2019.

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