First HoldCo to pay 60% of annual profit as dividends

First HoldCo has shifted to a liberal dividend policy that seeks to distribute at least 60 per cent of its annual post-tax profit as dividends.

The board of directors of the bank holding company adopted the policy at a meeting on Tuesday, the group stated in a regulatory filing on Thursday, underscoring its resolve to prioritise shareholder returns over retaining most of its profits in the business to drive growth.

First HoldCo said the move highlights its directors’ confidence in its earnings capacity, enhanced capital position, improving asset quality, diversified revenue streams, and robust outlook for sustained profitability and growth. The move offers succour to shareholders who had to endure the last financial year without dividends—the first time in many years—after a massive bad-loan loss provision obliterated much of the cash that could have gone into rewarding shareholders.

The financial institution set aside ₦748.1 billion to cover problem loans on its books for 2025, after the Central Bank of Nigeria, in the spirit of international best practices, ordered lenders still carrying forbearance loans from the Covid-19 era to clear their balance sheets of toxic assets.

Profit for the year fell to ₦147.3 billion from ₦663.5 billion, following the provision.

“At First HoldCo, we decided to clean house properly. We took a huge one-time hit of ₦748 billion to admit old bad loans instead of pretending they do not exist,” Femi Otedola, the chairman of the banking group, said in January.

“That is why profit looks like it crashed by 92 per cent. A painful headline, but it is a serious long-term move,” he added.

Regulation also held back peers like United Bank for Africa and Access Holdings from distributing dividends to shareholders for the 2025 financial year on that score.

“Over the last two years, we have undertaken difficult but necessary actions to strengthen governance, clean up the balance sheet, restore confidence, rebuild capital, and reposition the group for long-term growth,” Mr Otedola said in the Thursday statement.

“We are now beginning to see the benefits of those strategic decisions. As performance continues to improve across our businesses, it is only appropriate that our shareholders participate more directly in the value being created.”

Revenue in the first half of 2026 rose 16.7 per cent to ₦1.9 trillion. Pre-tax profit ascended to ₦653.5 billion from ₦356.1 billion, while after-tax profit jumped to ₦526.3 billion from ₦283.8 billion.