We took a huge one-time hit of N748bn to admit old bad loans instead of pretending they do not exist. Painful headline, but it is a serious long-term move,” he wrote. It made N2.96tn in interest income and N1.91tn in net interest income, which gave it the strength to take the cleanup and still stay standing,” he stated. Otedola expressed optimism about the bank’s prospects, noting that the cleanup positioned First Bank favourably for the recapitalisation exercise and future growth. Bad loans cleared + strong income engine + long-term thinking = real value creation,” he concluded.

Source: Punch January 31, 2026 17:49 UTC