First HoldCo Plc, one of Nigeria’s largest banks, recorded a loss in the final quarter of 2025 after setting aside 748 billion naira ($534 million US dollars) to cover bad loans, Bloomberg reports. The provisions pushed the lender to a 405.9 billion naira loss for the three months ended December, while full-year net profit fell 92 percent to 45 billion naira.

Despite the setback, the Lagos-based bank anticipates profit growth in 2026 following the cleanup of its loan portfolio and a strengthened balance sheet. Billionaire Chairman Femi Otedola said on his X handle that the bank enters the year “lighter, cleaner and better prepared for the recapitalisation era and serious growth.” He added: “We took a huge one-time hit of 748 billion naira to admit old bad loans instead of pretending they do not exist.”

Since becoming the single majority shareholder and chairman in 2024, Otedola has emphasised credit risk management. The bank’s ratio of non-performing loans to total credit dropped to 7 percent last year, down from a peak of 24.7 percent in 2018, though still above the 5 percent target recommended by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The central bank ended forbearance on legacy loans last year, requiring lenders to clean up their books. It had previously intervened in First HoldCo in 2021, removing board members and curbing insider-related borrowing, measures credited with improving the bank’s loan portfolio.

First HoldCo said it now meets capital requirements of 500 billion naira, providing a buffer to absorb future losses and pursue investment opportunities. Otedola highlighted the bank’s underlying strength, noting it generated 2.96 trillion naira in interest income and 1.91 trillion naira in net interest income, allowing it to endure the cleanup while remaining financially robust.