Femi Otedola, chairman of First HoldCo, has explained that the group’s sharp profit decline followed a deliberate decision to fully recognise legacy non-performing loans.
He described the move as a necessary reset driven by regulatory pressure and long-term balance-sheet discipline.
In a statement released on X after the bank published its latest financial results, Otedola said First HoldCo absorbed a one-time charge of ₦748 billion to clean up old bad loans rather than defer losses into future periods.
“At First HoldCo we decided to clean house properly. We took a huge one time hit of ₦748bn to admit old bad loans instead of pretending they do not exist. That is why profit looks like it crashed by 92%. Painful headline, but it is a serious long term move.”
He attributed the timing of the decision to regulatory pressure from the Central Bank of Nigeria, noting that banks are now being compelled to stop deferring asset-quality issues.
“Why do this now? Because the @cenbank is pushing banks to stop kicking problems down the road. So First HoldCo basically closed the chapter on messy loans from past years which sends a clear message that borrowing has consequences and it helps rebuild trust.”
Despite the steep profit drop, Otedola stressed that the group’s core earnings strength remained intact, providing the capacity to absorb the write-off without destabilising operations.
“The key point is this: our business itself is STILL strong. It made ₦2.96tn in interest income and ₦1.91tn in net interest income, which gave it the strength to take the clean up and still stay standing.”
Looking ahead, Otedola said the clean-up positions FirstBank Nigeria and the wider holding company for the next phase of regulatory recapitalisation and balance-sheet expansion.
“Now at @FirstBankngr and beyond we go into 2026 lighter, cleaner and better prepared for the recapitalisation era and serious growth.
Bad loans cleared + strong income engine + long term thinking = real value creation.”
