In today’s Nigeria, where prices are rising and a single income is insufficient to sustain the cost of living, more people are paying attention to which investments actually yield a return.
For many, owning shares in top-performing banks has become a smart way to earn passive income. As several banks reported substantial profits for the 2024 financial year, many financial institutions are distributing the profits to their shareholders.
Here’s a look at the top Nigerian banks rewarding their investors with some of the highest dividend yields in the market based on the 2024 declared dividend:
8. First HoldCo Plc:
Dividend yield: 2.14%
Dividend Growth (2023-2024): 50%
First HoldCo Plc, one of Nigeria’s oldest financial institutions, is the only bank paying the lowest dividends among the FUGAZ banks, placing it right at the bottom of our list of banks paying the highest dividends in Nigeria based on the dividend yield.
Dividend yield reflects the percentage of return on investment based on how much the stock costs. It reflects a more actual return on your investment.
A company dividend per share may be higher, but still has a low dividend yield, because the dividend may be high but when compared to the share price, the actual return on investment is relatively small. For instance, a N5 dividend on a N31 share is a better yield than a N8 dividend on a N68 share.
FirstHoldCo declared a dividend of N0.60 per share for the 2024 financial year, amounting to a 2.14% dividend yield for the year. While the bank payout ratio stood at 3.21%.
The bank dividend marks a 50% growth rate from the N0.40k per share declared in 2023.
7. Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc:
Dividend Yield: 8.20%
Dividend Growth: 51.5%
Sitting comfortably in the seventh position is Stanbic IBTC Holding Plc with a dividend yield of 8.20%. For the 2024 financial year, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc posted a profit after tax of N225.3 billion, a 60% surge from the N140.6 billion recorded in 2023.
As the company’s profit surged, its shareholders dividend also soared to a total dividend of N5 for the year, which consisted of a N2 interim dividend and N3.00 final dividend.
In terms of dividend payout ratio, its payout ratio stood at 29.24%, highlighting the business stability. Payout ratio indicates the percentage of profit paid out to shareholders in the form of dividends.
Companies with higher dividend payout ratios are typically more attractive to investors looking for income-based investments.
However, high payout ratios mean less profit is being reinvested into the business and may impact the company’s growth potential.
Over the years, the bank has shown consistent growth, highlighting its commitment to shareholder returns. It declared N3.50k and N3.30k in 2022 and 2023, respectively, marking 51% year-on-year growth.
6. Wema Bank Plc:
Dividend Yield: 9.10%
Dividend Growth: 50%
Wema Bank Plc might not be among the top banks paying large amounts to investors, as the bank just crossed to the list of banks paying in naira instead of kobo per dividend as the bank declared a dividend of N1.00 per share.
However, based on dividend yield, the bank’s dividend yield stood at 9.10%. That is, as an investor if you had invested prior in the bank earlier, you would be cashing out 9.10% of the total amount invested as a dividend for the year.
For the payout ratio, the bank’s payout ratio is at 20.69%, showing the banks reinvest 79.31% of its profit into the business. Its dividend growth has also seen a consistent increase from 40% increase in 2023, to N0.50k, to 50% increase in 2024, to N1.00 dividend declared per share.
5. Zenith Bank Plc:
Dividend yield: 10%
Dividend Growth: 25%
Zenith Bank Plc, one of the FUGAZ banks, has consistently affirmed its commitment to shareholders returns, reflected in its consistent growth in dividends declared, placing it among the banks paying the highest dividends in the financial sector.
In 2024, the company’s profit after-tax surpassed N1 trillion, posting N1.03 trillion profit for the year. The company declared a N4.00 final dividend, bringing the total dividend to N5.00.
This accounts for a dividend yield of 10% and a payout ratio of 15%. Highlighting the bank’s growth potential as it reinvested 68.42% of profit back into the business.
It has consistently maintained a steady dividend payout. The bank paid N3.2 per share in 2022, N4 per share in 2023, then N5 per share in 2024. Following its impressive performance, the company has promised a bigger dividend payout to shareholders in the future.
4. Fidelity Bank Plc:
Dividend Yield: 11.06%
Dividend Growth: N162.5%
Fidelity Bank Plc declared a final dividend of N1.25k per share in addition to the interim dividend of N0.85k per share in 2025, bringing the total share declared for 2024 to N2.10, amounting to 11.06%.
The bank payout ratio stood at 31.58%, showing that the bank returned about 31% of its profits to shareholders while it reinvested about 68%.
It has a rapid dividend growth, with N2.10 dividend per share declared in 2024, marking a 162.5% year-on-year growth in payout from the N0.80 declared in 2023, providing an attractive yield to investors.
3. GTCO Holdings Plc
Dividend yield: 11.81%
Dividend Growth: 150.9%
Based on the amount paid per share alone, GTCO could have ranked first in the list of top paying banks. However, in terms of dividend yield, which reflects the actual return on investment, it currently ranks third with a dividend yield of 11.81%.
GTCO stood out as one of the top-paying dividend stocks in 2024, rewarding shareholders with a total dividend payout of N8.03 per share made up of N1 interim dividend and N7.03 final dividend.
With over N1 trillion declared in profit, it ensured that shareholders felt the impact in their returns, reaffirming its commitment to delivering returns to shareholders with a payout ratio of 23%.
Its dividend growth rate has been on a consistent growth rate with N3.1 dividend per share in 2022, N3.2 per share in 2023, while it more than doubled in 2024 to N8.03.
2. Access Holdings Plc:
Dividend yield: 11.9%
Dividend growth: 19%
Access Holdings Plc, Nigeria’s largest financial institution based on assets, stood in second place with a dividend yield of 11.9% in 2024.
Following its performance in 2024, the bank declared a final dividend of N2.05 per share, combined with the interim dividend of N0.45 per share, bringing the total share for the year to N2.50k.
The bank payout ratio stood at 14.96%, in comparison to some other Tier 1 banks. The bank returns to investors improved in 2024 as it declared N125.29 billion as dividends to shareholders in 2024, a 67 percent increase from the N74.6 billion paid in 2023.
Following its performance, the company shared its forward-looking plan to deliver N1 per share as an interim dividend in 2025.
1. United Bank for Africa (UBA):
Dividend yield: 15.97%
Dividend growth: 78.6%
United Bank of Africa (UBA) takes the top spot for banks paying the highest dividend to shareholders with a dividend yield of 15.97%.
The payout ratio stood at 23%. The dividend per share has also seen considerable growth over the years, growing steadily, with N1.1 per share declared in 2022, N2.8 per share in 2024, while it witnessed a 78.6% surge in 2024 to N5.00 per share.
Although other banks may have paid higher per-share payout, its high dividend yield sets it apart, as the top bank giving the highest return on investment to investors from its declared dividend.
When considering the financial institutions with the best returns based on dividend returns to shareholders, it is not enough to look at the per-share payout amount only, but to also look at it in conjunction with its percentage return, especially when considering income-based stocks.
