Jim Ovia-led Zenith Bank Plc saw a 34 per cent surge in its asset base in 2020, lifting the bank’s value from N6.347 trillion to N8.481 trillion in one year and making it Nigeria’s biggest bank by asset, its audited financial statements showed on Tuesday.
The lender could, however, cede that position to fiercely aggressive rival Access Bank, when its own financial statements are issued any moment from now.
Access Bank executed no fewer than four major expansion deals on the continent last year including acquisitions in Kenya, Zambia, Cameroun and Mozambique, which should catapult its asset estimate well beyond the N7.925 trillion reported in September 2020, and has lined up more of such transactions in eight other countries across Africa.