The management of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) has received praise from its shareholders for paying out the largest dividend in Nigeria’s banking industry for the 2025 fiscal year—N12.76 kobo.
At the GTCO’s 5th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, the shareholders praised both the Group’s outstanding 2025 fiscal year performance and its compliance with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new N500 billion minimum capital requirement.
Chief Timothy Adesiyan, President of the Nigerian Shareholders’ Solidarity Association, spoke at the AGM and expressed delight about the management dividend payout for 2025FY. He emphasized that the board has shown discipline in maintaining its dividend payout to shareholders.
Another shareholder, Mrs. Bisi Bakare, the Chairman of the Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), praised the management for giving shareholders a total dividend payout of N12.76 kobo in 2025. She pointed out that GTCO is the first Nigerian bank to do so, and she urged the management to continue doing so.
The management of GTCO announced an interim dividend of N1.00 per share for the half-year that ended in June 2025 and a final dividend of N11.76kobo for the 2025 fiscal year, totaling N12.76kobo.
Suleiman Barau, the Board Chairman of GTCO, responded to shareholders by stating that the Group has developed over time from a single-line banking institution into a more comprehensive financial services ecosystem that includes banking, payments, funds management, and pension administration.
“This diversification is a strategic attempt to create an organization that can serve customers more comprehensively while creating multiple engines of sustainable growth; it is not just a structural change.”
A diverse ecosystem lowers risk concentration, expands the value proposition we provide to individuals, companies, and institutional clients, and enables the Group to operate with more balance across economic cycles,” he stated.
He pointed out that the risk culture of ongoing management is supported by its discipline. “Maintaining a healthy balance sheet and strong credit practices is essential in an environment where macroeconomic conditions remain fluid across many markets,” he stated.
“The Board remains deeply committed to ensuring that the Group’s growth is anchored in careful risk assessment, responsible lending practices, and robust internal controls,” he continued.
In the end, a strong financial institution is defined by its capacity to maintain stability, credibility, and relevance during times of uncertainty rather than only its performance in favorable circumstances.
“Years of meticulous institution-building, disciplined leadership, and a shared commitment across the organization to long-term value creation are reflected in the durability of our performance,” Barau continued.
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