Fitch upgrades outlook for 11 Nigerian financial institutions

Fitch Ratings has revised the outlooks of 11 Nigerian financial institutions from Stable to Positive, while affirming their Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at ‘B’. The affected entities include major banks such as Access Bank, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), First Bank of Nigeria, and Fidelity Bank, as well as the Bank of Industry.

The decision follows Fitch’s recent revision of Nigeria’s sovereign ‘B’ Long-Term IDR outlook to Positive. The agency noted that the upgrades reflect ongoing reforms to the country’s policy framework and increased confidence that economic momentum will persist despite upcoming elections. For several institutions, the positive outlook suggests that Nigeria’s sovereign credit profile and operating environment may become less restrictive to their standalone creditworthiness.

Specific developments were noted for First HoldCo Plc and First Bank of Nigeria, where the outlook revision was supported by their return to compliance with total capital adequacy ratio (CAR) requirements. Additionally, the outlook for the Bank of Industry was upgraded due to expectations of strengthened government support for the policy bank.