Ghana leads GTCO’s banking subsidiaries with 77% profit growth

…overtakes Sierra Leone unit in 2025 to emerge group’s fastest-growing banking unit

Guaranty Trust Bank Ghana has emerged as the fastest-growing subsidiary within the GuarantyTrust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) in 2025, posting a 77.3 percent increase in earnings and overtaking Sierra Leone, according to a BusinessDay analysis of the group’s latest financial statements.

The Ghanaian unit, operating in Africa’s top gold-producing country, reported profit after tax of N127.5 billion ($85.0 million), up from N71.8 billion ($47.9 million) in 2024. The strong performance was driven by a 67 percent rise in operating income, supported largely by the sharp appreciation of the Ghanaian cedi.

The cedi gained between 41 percent and 43 percent against the US dollar in 2025—making it one of the world’s best-performing currencies and marking its first annual appreciation in over three decades. The rebound was underpinned by elevated gold prices, stronger export earnings, and improved foreign reserves.

In comparison, GTBank Ghana recorded a 40.6 percent profit growth in 2024, while Sierra Leone had posted a sharper 329 percent surge in the same period.

In June, Global rating agency Fitch upgraded the bank’s credit rating to ‘B-’ from ‘CCC+’, citing improved local currency debt servicing conditions and West African nation’s progress in normalising relations with external creditors.

“The Ghanaian cedi has appreciated significantly, which we forecast will contribute to a sharp reduction in inflation. Strong profitability and the cedi appreciation have improved the banking sector’s capitalisation, positioning it well for the end of regulatory reliefs at the end of 2025,” Fitch said in a report.

However, the agency noted that sovereign exposure remains elevated, with banks holding fixed-income securities equivalent to over 200 percent of total equity as of end-2024. These include new cedi bonds, US dollar local bonds issued under the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, and restructured Eurobonds.

It also highlighted GTBank Ghana’s strong profitability metrics, with operating returns on risk-weighted assets averaging 16 percent between 2021 and 2024, largely driven by high yields on sovereign securities. Net interest margins, however, declined to 13.6 percent in 2024 from 16.2 percent in 2023 due to lower treasury bill rates.

The country’s macroeconomic environment has also improved significantly, with inflation easing to 3.3 percent in February and maintaining a single-digit trend since September, supported by currency strength and favourable commodity prices.

Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda drag group performance

Despite the strong showing in Ghana, GTCO’s home market weighed on overall performance. The Nigerian business—its largest market—saw profit fall by 25.1 percent to N626 billion ($391.3 million).

At the 34-year-old financial group group level, profit fell by 14.9 percent to N865.7 billion ($577.1 million). Interest expense rose by 38.6 percent year-on-year to N392.6 billion ($245.4 million), reflecting elevated funding costs, while loan impairment charges declined by 51.4 percent to N66.4 billion ($41.5 million).

Across other African subsidiaries, performance diverged. Kenya and Rwanda recorded profit declines of 22.5 percent and 54.4 percent respectively, while the group’s United Kingdom operation also weakened, with profit falling to N12.9 billion ($8.1 million) from N16.2 billion ($10.1 million) in 2024.

Uganda and Tanzania remained loss-making, although losses narrowed. Uganda’s losses reduced to N479.9 million ($0.3 million) from N783.4 million ($0.5 million), while Tanzania recorded a significant reduction in losses.

Total operating income across African banking units edged down to N1.74 trillion ($1.09 billion) from N1.81 trillion ($1.13 billion), while operating expenses rose to N283.2 billion ($177.0 million) from N241.9 billion ($151.2 million). Notably, six subsidiaries—including Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania—reported lower expenses as easing inflation across several markets reduced cost pressures.

Fintech arm HabariPay emerges as growth driver

Beyond banking, GTCO’s diversification strategy is gaining traction, led by its fintech subsidiary, HabariPay Limited.

Among GTCO’s 15 subsidiaries—including non-banking units—the company delivered a 151 percent surge in after tax profit to N9.74 billion ($6.1 million), up from N3.88 billion ($2.4 million) in 2024, making it the fastest-growing unit across the group.

Launched in 2022, the payments-focused business underscores the increasing contribution of digital and fee-based income to GTCO’s earnings mix.

Meanwhile, GT Fund Managers—previously the most profitable non-banking subsidiary—saw earnings moderate, with net income declining to N8.38 billion ($5.2 million) from N8.73 billion ($5.5 million).

With this shift, HabariPay has overtaken the asset management arm as GTCO’s most profitable non-banking subsidiary, signalling a strategic pivot towards fintech and digital financial services as key growth drivers