Wema Bank

Wema Bank plc is the oldest indigenous bank in the country. It provides a wide array of retail, corporate and SME banking services including current and savings accounts, personal and business loans, debit and credit cards, cash management, agricultural finance, internet and mobile banking, foreign exchange, payment solutions, investments as well as trade and financial advisory services. The company commenced operations under the name of Agbomagbe Bank Limited in 1945. It was transformed into a public limited company in 1987 and was granted a universal banking license in 2001. The Bank’s majority equity of 90% formerly belonged to private and corporate investors, including staff, while Odu’a Investment Company owned the remaining 10%. That split has since been superseded: the register of members at December 31, 2025 recorded 40,118,877,414 shares in issue, of which Neemtree Limited held 11,872,844,847 shares (29.59%), SW8 Investment Ltd 10,778,221,870 shares (26.87%) and Odu’a Investment Company 2,497,595,839 shares (6.23%), with a free float of 37.28%. The Bank formerly had approximately 1,000 employees, served 1.6 million accounts and operated a network of about 140 branches, 190 ATMs and 3,270 PoS terminals mainly in South-West Nigeria, Lagos and Abuja. Its annual report for 2025 describes about 160 branches in 24 states across Nigeria and an average of 2,504 persons employed during 2025, against 2,342 in 2024, and a Fitch rating report of June 12, 2026 records more than 5 million customers. The correspondent banks include HSBC, Citibank, Lloyds Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Union Bank (London), ANZ Banking Group and BHF Bank (Frankfurt). As of June 30, 2017, Wema Bank had total assets of N385.988 billion, customer deposits of N251.719 billion and loan book of N205.714 billion.

 Financials (N billion)

Wema Bank subsidiaries (formerly reported):
Wema Assets Management Ltd
Wema Registrars Ltd
Wema Insurance Brokers Ltd
Wema Homes Ltd
Wema Securities and Finance Plc
Frontage Communications Ltd
The Bank’s annual report for 2025 states that it has one wholly owned subsidiary, Wema Funding SPV Plc, and consolidates only that entity.

Credit ratings (Fitch, June 2026)
Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR): B
Short-Term IDR: B
Long-term National Rating: A (nga)
Short-term National Rating: F1 (nga)

Head office address:
54 Marina, Wema Towers
Lagos, Nigeria
Phone: (234) 1 271 1697
SWIFT code: WEMANGLA
Website: www.wemabank.com

Wema Bank has grown substantially since the 2017 figures above. It reported total assets of N5.07 trillion, loans and advances of N1.7 trillion, profit before tax of N221.8 billion and profit after tax of N194.4 billion for the year ended December 31, 2025, and total assets of N5.76 trillion, customer deposits of N3.45 trillion and net loans and advances to customers of N2.12 trillion at June 30, 2026. During 2025 it completed a N200 billion capital raise, comprising a N150 billion rights issue and a N50 billion private placement, to meet the higher minimum paid-in capital requirement set by the Central Bank of Nigeria; shares in issue rose from 21,430,178,125 to 40,118,877,414, with the 4,545,454,542 shares from the private placement listed on the Nigerian Exchange on November 4, 2025 at N11.00 per share. The Bank remains listed on the Nigerian Exchange under the symbol WEMABANK, with Moruf Oseni as Managing Director.