Greenwich Merchant Bank Ratings Affirmed at BBB+/A2, GCR Revises Outlook
GCR Ratings (GCR) has affirmed Greenwich Merchant Bank Limited’s national scale long- and short-term issuer ratings of BBB+(NG) and A2(NG), respectively, with the outlook revised to positive from Stable.
According to GCR, Greenwich MB’s ratings reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the newly incorporated Greenwich Holdings Limited, a non-operating entity that houses four subsidiaries: the bank, Greenwich Securities Limited, Greenwich Asset Management Limited, and the newly incorporated Greenwich Capital Market Limited.
The rating note acknowledged Greenwich MB as the core operating entity within the group, accounting for 94% of both total assets and revenue as of 31 December 2025.
While the ratings have been assigned exclusively to Greenwich MB, GCR said the analytical assessments are based on the broader business and financial profile of the group.
The positive outlook reflects the view that the recently established holding company structure and the planned transition to a regional commercial bank could support operational scale expansion and diversification over the outlook horizon.
GCR said the ratings also balance Greenwich MB’s strong capitalisation, sound risk position, stable funding structure and adequate liquidity against its modest competitive position.
The ratings agency sees Greenwich as an evolving financial services group with merchant banking, asset management, securities trading and capital market businesses.
The rating note disclosed that the Merchant bank’s total assets grew by 78.2% in December 2025, underpinned by growth in the loan book and investment securities.
Nonetheless, its scale remains moderate, with less than 1.0% of the Nigerian banking sector’s total assets as of 31 December 2025.
Looking ahead, its planned transition to a regional commercial bank, together with retail penetration strategies, could support broader product offering, geographic expansion and earnings diversification over the rating horizon.
Greenwich MB’s capitalisation remains strong and is a positive rating factor, driven by additional capital injections to fully comply with the new minimum capital requirement.
As a result, the GCR core capital ratio improved to 64.3% as of 31 December 2025 from 50.8% in 2025.
Over the next 12-18 months, analysts said they expect the ratio to remain above 35.0%, supported by internal capital generation, despite anticipated loan book growth.
The bank’s risk profile remains a positive rating factor, supported by sustained zero non-performing loans and a credit loss ratio of 0.1%, which is better than the industry average.
However, obligor and sector concentration remain elevated, with 16 obligors accounting for 100% of gross loans, while 81.1% of the loan book was concentrated in the oil and gas sector as of 31 December 2025, up from 36.3% on 31 December 2024.
GCR said the increase in oil and gas exposure is mainly attributable to higher single-obligor limits following recapitalisation.
These obligors are large corporates, and the entire loan book is local currency-denominated, eliminating foreign currency risk. Ratings analysts expect the risk profile to sustain at similar levels over the outlook period.
Funding and liquidity assessment is positive to the rating, underscoring the bank’s stable funding structure and sufficient liquidity.
Greenwich MB’s customer deposits grew by 101.5% to NGN160.6 billion (USD111.8 million) as of 31 December 2025, the bulk of which are term deposits from large corporates.
As such, the term deposits account for a higher 89.9% of customer deposits, up from 88.5% in 2024, resulting in an increased cost of funds to 19.7%.
The bank’s top 20 depositors accounted for 26.1% of total deposits in December 2025 as against 50.1% in 2024, reflecting a more diversified deposit pool.
Ratings analysts saw the Merchant Bank’s liquidity as sound, with GCR liquid assets coverage of customer deposits registering 94.5% in December 2025 from 96.3% in 2024. GCR expects the funding and liquidity to remain strong over the next 12-18 months.
The positive outlook reflects the view that the recently established holding company structure and the planned transition to a regional commercial bank could support operational scale expansion and greater diversification over the outlook horizon. Analysts said they expect GCR CAR to be sustained above 35% while maintaining sound asset quality metrics. #Greenwich Merchant Bank Ratings Affirmed at BBB+/A2, GCR Revises Outlook#
