"Billionaire Femi Otedola's First HoldCo Outperforms Every Major Bank in Nigeria and South Africa in Earnings"

First HoldCo generated a return on average equity of 31.63% in the first quarter of 2026, the highest figure among tier-1 banks in either Nigeria or South Africa.

The figure comes from the company's own investor presentation, which benchmarks its performance against four Nigerian peers and six South African ones. Its half-year figure stood at 30.37%.

Return on average equity reflects what a bank earns on shareholders' invested capital, and it remains the metric bank investors monitor most closely. A figure above 20% is generally regarded as strong.

No competitor in either market came close. Zenith Bank recorded 24.90% for the quarter, GTCO 24.80%, Access Holdings 19.86%, and United Bank for Africa 13.70%. Across the five Nigerian banks, the average stood at 22.98%, with a median of 24.80%.

The South African comparison is measured over twelve months rather than a single quarter, making it somewhat less directly comparable, though the gap remains substantial. Capitec came closest at 29.12%, trailed by FirstRand at 19.58%, Standard Bank at 18.73%, Absa at 13.67%, Investec at 12.46%, and Nedbank at 7.44%. These six banks averaged 16.83%, with a median of 16.20%.

As a result, the typical Nigerian tier-1 bank earns 8.6 percentage points more on equity than its typical South African counterpart, despite trading at a fraction of the valuation.

Capitec is priced at 9.03 times book value and 31.87 times earnings, making it by far the continent's most expensive bank, reflecting a decade in which South African investors have paid a premium for its growth. First HoldCo, by comparison, trades at 1.91 times book value and 17.56 times earnings.

In other words, First HoldCo generates a higher return on equity than Capitec while trading at roughly a fifth of its valuation multiple.

Within the Nigerian market, however, First HoldCo commands the premium. Access Holdings trades at 0.43 times book value and 2.19 times earnings, Zenith at 1.01 and 5.01, UBA at 0.49 and 5.83, and GTCO at 1.35 and 5.65. Against a Nigerian median of 1.01 times book and 5.65 times earnings, First HoldCo trades at nearly double the former and more than triple the latter.

Its shares have gained 194.4% this year, the strongest performance of any Nigerian bank.

The buying driving that rally has been publicly disclosed throughout the year. Femi Otedola, who chairs the company and owns roughly 27.6% of it, has filed a steady series of share purchases with the exchange, pushing the stock to a record 159.90 naira on Sept. 1. He has stated publicly that he intends to raise his stake beyond 51%. Sustained buying at this scale withdraws shares from circulation and props up the price independently of underlying earnings performance.

First HoldCo is now valued at 6.7 trillion naira (about $5.08 billion), making it Nigeria's most valuable bank. Zenith is the only other lender to clear the 5 trillion naira mark. GTCO sits just above 4.7 trillion, Stanbic IBTC around 2.4 trillion, UBA near 1.9 trillion, and Access Holdings roughly 1.5 trillion.

The broader sector has re-rated sharply. The NGX Banking Index rose 67.96% in the year to Sept. 14, outpacing the 56.35% gain in the wider market, while the twelve largest banks' combined market value climbed from 16.44 trillion naira in December to 27.61 trillion — an increase of 11.17 trillion naira. Average price-to-earnings across the group rose from 4.38 to 5.83 times, and price-to-book from 0.86 to 1.26 times.

Even so, Nigerian banks continue to trade at a discount to comparable lenders in Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, and Tanzania.

That discount has a specific cause bearing directly on First HoldCo's own figures. The naira's collapse following the 2023 foreign exchange reforms generated substantial currency revaluation gains that fed directly into reported profits, and investors have struggled to distinguish these from recurring operating earnings. As the exchange rate stabilizes, banks must now demonstrate that returns are being driven by lending, fees, and transaction income rather than currency effects.

A return on equity above 30% carries a different meaning depending on which of these sources it stems from.

First HoldCo is one of only six Nigerian companies joining the FTSE Frontier 50, the narrower and more selective of the two indices Nigeria rejoined this month. The Frontier 50 includes only the fifty most liquid stocks across the twenty-six frontier markets tracked by FTSE Russell, and it is the benchmark that international funds actively follow — making inclusion highly significant and keenly sought. Nigeria secured six of the thirteen new global slots. The change took effect after market close on Sept. 18, requiring index-tracking funds to purchase the stock irrespective of their view on valuation, with the country's return to frontier market status formally taking effect Sept. 21 after three years in unclassified status.

The company is the parent of FirstBank, Nigeria's oldest bank, founded in 1894.