Shareholders of three Nigerian banks which include Access Holdings Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, and FBN Holdings Plc enjoyed the largest dividend payout in 2023 as the banks witnessed a profit surge.

Financial institutions payout dividends as a means to distribute profits to shareholders and also, attract investors seeking regular income.

The figures which were lifted from the annual financial statements of nine banks analysed by Business Day showed that the banks’ combined dividend payout in 2023 rose by 37.8% from ₦337.9 billion recorded in 2022, to ₦465.7 billion in 2023.

The top three banks that made the largest dividend payments are:

Access Holdings plc’s shareholders in 2023, made some profit as the financial institution witnessed a remarkable 246.3% increase in dividend payments, reaching ₦115.3 billion from ₦33.3 billion the previous year (2022).

Shareholders of Fidelity Bank also received a huge dividend payout which increased by a significant 60% amounting to ₦20.8 billion.

The bank posted a net income of ₦99.45 billion for the 2023 financial year indicating a 113% growth from the ₦46.72 billion Profit After Tax (PAT) posted in 2022.

Shareholders of FBN also saw a notable growth of 42.1% in dividend payments, totaling ₦17.9 billion.

The bank’s profit for the 2023 financial year rose to ₦309.89 billion, indicating a 127% increase from ₦136.17 billion recorded in 2022.

Apart from the three banks, other banks also witnessed increased dividend payments to their shareholders.

Some experts however, noted that the banks made a lot of profit from the naira devaluation policy which also led to increased dividend payout.

Another major factor which significantly contributed to the banks’ huge profits during the period is the FX gains which also rose remarkably from ₦897.4 billion in 2022, to ₦2.8 trillion in 2023