Pan-African rating agency, Agusto & Co, has upgraded the ratings of Wema Bank, affirmed the lender’s stable and sustainable financial future.
The agency upgraded the rating of the bank to “A-” from “Bbb+”, reaffirming a stable outlook for the financial institution, a decision underpinned by the bank’s fast-improving business risk profile driven by sustained profitability, improved operating efficiency, good liquidity profile and strong shareholders’ support reflected in its recent successful rights issue exercise.
This would mean that all credit ratings conducted on Wema Bank in 2025 have resulted in a rating upgrade, reflecting unanimity in the national and global projection for a stable and positive projection for its future.
According to Agusto & Co, “Wema Bank’s profitability has showed marked and consistent improvement in the last three years”. Considering Wema Bank’s liquidity profile to be good and referring to the Bank’s ability to refinance as “satisfactory”, Agusto & Co further stated that the contribution of environmental, social and governance issues to Wema Bank’s credit risk is low.
It added: “The Bank continues to contribute positively through credit disbursements to socially impactful sectors such as agriculture, power and energy, education, water supply, transportation and healthcare, which collectively represented about 16 percent of its loan portfolio.
In addition, Wema Bank’s ongoing partnership with the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) and Mastercard to train 50,000 women, alludes to the bank’s commitment to fostering inclusion and supporting community development across Nigeria. In the near term, we anticipate improved profitability supported by business growth from additional capital”.
Hinting at the bank’s long-term aspiration of attaining Tier-1 status, Moruf Oseni, MD/CEO, commended Agusto & Co for what he called another objective assessment, noting that the best was yet to come, for the lender.
“As a bank, we are honoured by the level of trust our customers place in us, the confidence with which our shareholders continue to support the business and the determination with which our employees continue to fuel our growth. It is a privilege we do not take for granted, and I take this opportunity to say, ‘Thank You’. This is the clear result of 80 years of impact, the hard work that has gone into forging this formidable financial institution,” Oseni said.
