Shareholders have expressed strong confidence in Access Holdings Plc’s long-term value creation strategy as Nigeria’s largest financial services group continues implementing its deliberate plan to consolidate its pan-African and global investments into sustainable returns for investors.
Speaking on the outcome of the group’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), shareholders told *The Nation* newspaper that Access Holdings is well-positioned for sustainable growth and enhanced value creation in the years ahead. They noted that the group’s performance over the past 15 months underscores the fundamental strength of the institution and provides reassurance that its current strategic shift from expansion-driven investments to value creation and improved shareholder returns is on the right track.
With nearly one million shareholders, Access Holdings has one of the largest shareholder bases in Africa. More than three-quarters of these investors are retail minority shareholders, making them significant stakeholders in the group. Domestic retail investors also account for a substantial proportion of transactions on the Nigerian stock market.
Shareholders said they believe the group can successfully translate its strong fundamentals into attractive returns while advancing its vision of becoming Africa’s gateway to the global financial system.
Founding Coordinator and Leader of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu, said investors have no concerns about the future of Access Holdings, given its remarkable transformation from a mid-tier bank into one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions.
He explained that shareholders’ understanding of the board’s decision not to declare a dividend for the 2025 financial year was based on both the company’s track record and confidence in its future prospects.
Similarly, President of the Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Dr. Faruk Umar, said Access Holdings has consistently endeared itself to shareholders through its strong performance over the years. According to him, investors are focused on the bigger picture and remain confident that the group will deliver significant long-term value in line with its strategic objectives.
“We’ve no cause to worry about Access Holdings. True, dividend is important to us shareholders, but when you take everything together, it’s like keeping your money in a compounding interest account—you’re going to get a bumper return at the end,” Umar said.
National Chairman of the New Dimension Shareholders Association, Mr. Patrick Ajudua, also commended the company’s growth trajectory, citing the group’s 2025 performance, during which gross earnings rose to N5.53 trillion while total assets exceeded N51.53 trillion.
“As shareholders, we express our satisfaction with the company’s overall performance, particularly in light of the decision not to distribute dividends this year. This decision was clarified as a necessary step to ensure compliance with Central Bank of Nigeria regulations,” Ajudua said.
He added that shareholders used the AGM to highlight areas requiring management attention, including reducing impairment charges on financial assets and further improving cost optimisation measures.
Chairman of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Boniface Okezie, described the overall assessment of Access Holdings’ performance as strong. While acknowledging that the absence of a dividend payment was notable, he argued that dividends alone should not determine perceptions of a company’s performance.
Okezie noted that shareholders entrust directors with the responsibility and discretion to determine whether dividends should be declared. He pointed out that with earnings per share standing at N13.48, the company clearly possesses the capacity to reward shareholders but was constrained by regulatory requirements.
“With earnings per share so impressive at N13.48, the company is certainly capable of rewarding shareholders with as much as N5 per share. We know that it’s the CBN’s rules that posed challenges for dividend disbursement. As a holding company, the performance of the bank, which serves as its main subsidiary, significantly impacts the overall situation. If the bank doesn’t distribute dividends, it naturally limits the holding company’s ability to do so as well,” he said.
Okezie urged regulators to consider the impact of their policies on investors, stressing the importance of dividends in reflecting corporate success and maintaining investor satisfaction. He also expressed confidence in management’s projections and praised the clarity of the group’s growth strategy.
According to him, clear goals are essential for sustainable growth. He commended the board and management for consistently engaging shareholders and advised the company to consider an interim dividend later in the financial year to cushion the impact of the previous non-payment and further align shareholder interests with overall business performance.
National Coordinator of ISAN, Mr. Moses Igbrude, also expressed confidence in Access Holdings’ earnings outlook. He described the company as a robust and well-structured financial institution with the capacity to generate substantial value for shareholders.
According to him, shareholders are confident that management possesses the expertise required to effectively leverage the group’s assets and resources, achieve projected targets, and fulfil commitments made to investors.
Financially, Access Holdings delivered another strong performance in 2025. Pre-tax profit increased by 16.2 per cent to N1.01 trillion, driven by significant growth in core banking operations. Interest income rose to N1.36 trillion, while net fees and commission income grew by 41 per cent to N585 billion. Operating income increased by 23.9 per cent to N3.17 trillion, while gross earnings rose from N4.88 trillion in 2024 to N5.53 trillion in 2025.
The group’s total assets expanded to N51.56 trillion, while shareholders’ funds climbed to N4.33 trillion by December 2025. Its cost-to-income ratio improved from 56.7 per cent to 51.7 per cent, while Return on Average Equity (ROAE) remained strong at 18.4 per cent.
Despite earnings per share of N13.48, shareholders approved the board’s decision to prioritise the structural realignment of the group’s foreign investments to comply with domestic regulatory requirements, a move that necessitated the non-declaration of dividends for the 2025 financial year.
The positive momentum continued into 2026. In the first quarter, pre-tax profit rose to N272.1 billion from N222.78 billion recorded during the corresponding period in 2025, placing the group on course to surpass the N1 trillion profit mark once again. Total assets increased to N54.44 trillion, while shareholders’ equity improved to N4.4 trillion by March 2026.
Speaking at the AGM in Lagos, Chairman of Access Holdings Plc, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, reaffirmed the group’s commitment to long-term value creation, balance sheet resilience and disciplined growth despite a dynamic operating environment.
According to him, the group’s vision is anchored on the belief that the true test of a financial institution is not merely its ability to grow, but its capacity to grow profitably, sustainably and with discipline over time.
“Periods of economic uncertainty often reveal more about an institution than periods of uninterrupted growth. Our focus remains on building a business that is not only growing, but improving in the quality, resilience and sustainability of its earnings,” Aig-Imoukhuede said.
He reiterated the strategic imperative guiding the company’s next phase of growth, stating that the group’s “From Scale to Value” strategy reflects the natural evolution of its journey.
“Scale created opportunity; value creation is how we fully realise it,” he said.
Aig-Imoukhuede noted that while the group continues to generate strong returns, ensuring that earnings per share consistently exceed the cost of capital remains critical to unlocking sustainable shareholder value. He also acknowledged the significant unrealised value embedded within the group’s international subsidiaries and stressed management’s commitment to improving market recognition of that intrinsic value over time.
“Our approach is clear: capital retained today must translate into greater value tomorrow and sustainable returns for our shareholders. Our responsibility is to justify the confidence of our shareholders by building an institution that endures—one defined by clarity of purpose, discipline of execution and sustainable value creation over time,” he said.
