Four of Nigeria’s biggest banks paid and hired more in 2025.
Access Holdings, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Zenith Bank, and Wema Bank grew their workforce by 12.75% to 33,675 employees, while total wages and salaries rose 27.49% to ₦1.05 trillion ($769.09 million), an analysis of their audited financial statements shows.
These banks collectively made ₦2.36 trillion ($1.73 billion) as profit for 2025.
The data shows that workers in the mid-to-upper income bracket, with 13,790 employees, the largest group, earned at least ₦718,125 monthly ($526) or ₦8.62 million ($6,314) annually.
These figures exclude other staff-related costs such as medical expenses, productivity incentives, and professional subscriptions, which continue to rise across the industry.
The increase in salaries reflects mounting economic pressure on banks to retain talent in an inflationary environment, where rising living costs are eroding real wages, and migration is shrinking the skilled labour pool, forcing employers to offer more competitive pay.
Beyond economic pressures, banks are contending with a steady outflow of skilled workers to fast-growing fintechs that are increasingly competing for the same talent pool.
Moniepoint, the Nigerian fintech unicorn, has aggressively hired top talent from Access Bank and Stanbic IBTC since 2023, as it deepened its compliance and risk management desk in light of tightened regulatory oversight.
Most notable hires include Michael Afolabi, former acting Chief Information Security and Data Protection Officer at Oxygen X, Access Bank’s digital lending subsidiary, and Bayo Olujobi, a former Stanbic IBTC executive now serving as CFO.
TechCabal reported that at least 19 employees left Access Bank for Moniepoint over two years; six Stanbic IBTC employees also switched to the fintech.
This reflects a broader change in the financial services sector, where fintechs operating with leaner structures can offer competitive salaries, faster career progression, and more flexible work environments.
The aforementioned banks also spent a combined ₦49.25 billion ($36.07 million) on pensions and defined contributions, up 15.48% from the previous year.
Access Holdings leads wage bill
Access Holdings, the parent company of Nigeria’s biggest bank by assets, reported the highest staff costs among the four lenders, with wages and salaries rising 28.57% to ₦459.79 billion ($336.78 million), according to its financial statements.
The group said its higher personnel costs were driven by its expanded operating footprint. It increased spending on its restricted share performance plan by 625.2% to ₦20.23 billion ($14.82 million).
Under the scheme, employees receive shares tied to performance, vesting over three to seven years depending on the subsidiary.
In November 2025, the bank announced share vesting for 689 employees, according to a regulatory filing.
Its workforce grew by 11.42% to 9,960, with managerial staff accounting for 81.34%.
Salary distribution shows a wide spread. 2,531 of the group’s staff earn between ₦624,083 ($457.12) and ₦730,000 ($534.70)/month. 2,036 earn between ₦946,667 ($693.40) and ₦1.25 million ($915.58)/month.
48 employees are in the lowest band of ₦75,000 ($54.94) to ₦165,833 ($121.47) monthly. 764 employees are in its highest salary band of above ₦3.78 million ($2,768.72) monthly.
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Toggle to “Headcount” and the hierarchy collapses. The data reveals a massive concentration: 74.4% of the entire workforce fits into just three distinct middle-to-upper salary bands, creating a dense “fat middle” beneath the executive suite.
Source: Access Holdings 2025 Audited Financial Statements, Note 14.
Visualization by TechCabal.
UBA, on the other hand, grew its staff strength by 16.07% to 10,821, with 98.54% classified as non-management staff.
Wages and salaries increased by 20.74% to ₦359.33 billion ($263.19 million). Over 5,008 employees earn above ₦750,000 ($549.35) monthly, while 924 earn between ₦25,000 ($18.31) and ₦166,667 ($122.08) monthly.
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Toggle to “Headcount” to see the true shape of UBA’s workforce. Unlike a traditional pyramid, 76.5% of the staff (8,275 employees) are densely concentrated in just the top two tiers. The middle bands are virtually empty, leaving a stark gap before a slight bump at the entry-level (₦300k – ₦2.0M).
Source: UBA 2025 Audited Financial Statements (Note 43: Compensation to Employees and Directors).
Visualization by TechCabal.
Wema Bank recorded the fastest growth in staff costs among the four banks, with wages and salaries rising 59.15% to ₦53.86 billion ($39.45 million).
Its workforce increased by 6.92% to 2,504 employees, with non-management staff accounting for 98.68%. 723 employees earn above ₦642,500 ($470.61) monthly.
196 employees are on the bank’s lowest salary band and earn between ₦124,167 ($90.95) and ₦208,333 ($152.59) monthly.
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Toggle to “Headcount” to reveal Wema’s three-pillar strategy. While 28.9% of staff sit in the top band (>₦7.71M), an incredibly dense 41% of the workforce forms a solid core earning between ₦3.99M and ₦5.39M. This reflects an aggressive play to defend their critical mid-level talent against fintech poaching.
Source: Wema Bank 2025 Audited Financial Statements (Personnel expenses).
Visualization by TechCabal.
Zenith Bank increased wages and salaries by 31.51% to ₦181.07 billion ($132.63 million), while other staff-related expenses jumped 80.19% to ₦99.69 billion ($73.02 million).
These additional costs include productivity incentives, medical expenses, and professional subscriptions, highlighting the rising cost of retaining skilled talent.
Staff strength rose by 12.15% to 10,397, with most employees concentrated in the ₦750,000 ($549.35)-and-above salary range. 98.17% are in non-management.
5,528 of the bank’s employees earn above ₦750,000 ($549.35) monthly. 3,177 earn between ₦333,333 ($244.16) and ₦500,000 ($366.23) monthly. 37 employees earn between ₦666,667 ($488.311) and ₦750,000 ($549.35) monthly. 89 earn between ₦25,000 ($18.31) and ₦166,667 ($122.08) monthly.
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Toggle to “Headcount” to reveal a distinctly bipolar workforce. Unlike UBA’s “fat middle,” Zenith is incredibly top-heavy—53.1% of the staff (5,528 people) sit in the highest reported tier (Above ₦9.0M). The second-largest cluster (3,177 people) sits much lower down the ladder in the ₦4.0M–₦6.0M band, leaving a remarkably hollow gap at the bottom and upper-middle levels.
Source: Zenith Bank 2025 Audited Financial Statements.
Visualization by TechCabal.
Outsourcing remains entrenched
Spending on outsourced and contract staff rose by 9.42% to ₦222.82 billion ($163.21 million) in 2025.
These workers, often deployed as tellers and customer service representatives, form a critical part of the Nigerian banking workforce and are usually the first point of contact between the bank and its customers.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, contract staff accounted for 42.75% of the 90,455 banking sector workforce in 2021. Industry estimates suggest banks can cut labour costs by up to 40% through outsourcing, according to the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association.
The rising wage bill in the financial services sector reveals that talent is becoming one of the most expensive and contested resources in the sector. As banks and fintechs compete for the same workers, the cost of keeping staff is likely to remain high, with implications for profitability and service delivery.
Note: exchange rate used: ₦1,365.25/$