10 Nigerian Banks Lose Over N87bn In One Week Amid Naira Scarcity

Ten commercial banks in Nigeria have lost N87.4 billion in market value within a week of trading activities from 2nd March 2023 to 10th March 2023 on the Nigerian Exchange. This is happening amid the difficulties that Nigerians face in accessing cash, and bank branches are shutting down earlier than usual due to fear of attacks.

The affected banks include some of the largest in the country, such as First Bank, Zenith Bank and Access Bank. First City Monument Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Unity Bank, United Bank for Africa, Sterling Bank, Stanbic bank, and Jaiz bank also suffered significant losses.

Breakdown of the banks’ losses are as follows; The largest loss was experienced by First Bank, whose share price dropped from N11.65 per share on March 2 to N11 per share on March 10. This resulted in a staggering loss of N23.3 billion for First Bank shareholders, as the bank’s market value decreased from N418.1 billion on March 2 to N394.8 billion on March 10.

Zenith Bank followed suit in terms of the banks with the biggest loss, with N18.8 billion wiped off the value of the bank. Zenith Bank’s market value stood at N828.8 billion on March 2, when the share price was at N26.4. However, the bank’s market value dropped to N810 billion on March 10, as its share price plummeted to N25.8 per share at the end of trading.

During the same period, UBA’s share price dropped from N8.7 on March 2 to N8.25 on March 10, resulting in the market value of the bank dropping from N297.5 billion to N282.14 billion, and a loss of N15.3 billion in one week under review.

Other banks that experienced losses in market value during this period include Access Bank, whose market value dropped from N330.5 billion to N325.2 billion, resulting in a loss of N5.33 billion.

FCMB’s market value dropped from N88.7 billion to N85.3 billion, resulting in a loss of N3.36 billion. GTB’s market value dropped from N785.8 billion to N779.9 billion, resulting in a loss of N5.8 billion.

Unity Bank’s market value dropped from N66.6 billion to N60.7 billion, resulting in a loss of N584.4 million. Sterling Bank’s market value dropped from N44.6 billion to N43.1 billion, resulting in a loss of N1.43 billion.

Finally, Stanbic Bank’s market value dropped from N531.2 billion to N518.2 billion, resulting in a loss of N12.9 billion. Jaiz Bank’s market value dropped from N31.4 billion to N31.08 billion, resulting in a loss of N345.4 million.

The loss is attributed to CBN worse policy or naira redesign which has destroyed many businesses in Nigeria, killed many people in Nigeria and caused hardship for almost everybody in Nigeria. This has made many organizations, groups and individuals calling for the permanent suspension of CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele.