GCR Assigns Premium Trust Bank A-/ A2 Ratings with Stable Outlook
African-focused ratings agency GCR has assigned Premium Trust Bank Limited national scale long and short-term issuer ratings of A-(NG) and A2 (NG) respectively, with a Stable Outlook.
In its rating note, GCR explained that the ratings assigned to Premium Trust Bank Limited is anchored by its robust capitalisation metrics, underpinned by the successful equity injection.
GCR said the ratings also balance the bank’s adequate liquidity and sound risk position against a modest competitive position, reflected in its franchise strength and operational scale.
Premium Trust Bank Limited is a relatively new commercial bank in Nigeria, with a limited track record of less than four years.
Ratings analysts acknowledged that the bank’s operations continue to evolve, driven by its phygital banking strategy, which integrates digital solutions with an expanding physical branch network to serve a broad customer base, promote financial inclusion and deepen retail penetration.
This strategy, coupled with other initiatives, supported the increase in its customer base, deposits mobilisation capacity and operating revenue over the review period, GCR said.
Ratings analysts highlighted that the bank’s profitability and operational efficiency metrics compare favourably with peers, recording a return on assets and cost-to-income ratio of 9.9% and 28.3%, respectively as of 31 August 2025 versus 3.8% and 41.8% respectively in 2024.
However, the bank’s competitive position assessment remains constrained by its limited franchise strength and limited operational scale, as reflected by its market share of less than 1% of the Nigerian banking sector resources.
Looking ahead, GCR Ratings analysts said the continued execution of its strategic initiatives could enhance its value proposition, market positioning and earnings generation capacity over the short to medium term.
The ratings note also highlighted that the Premium Trust’s capitalisation assessment is a major ratings strength, supported by the bank’s substantial capital base.
Its shareholders’ funds increased considerably to NGN330.5 billion from NGN71.3 billion as of 31 December 2024. The bank’s capital position surged following the additional equity injection of NGN178.7 billion via a rights issue and private placement.
The capital addition was influenced by the need to comply with the new capital requirement of NGN200 billion for Nigerian national banks.
Consequently, the GCR core capital ratio strengthened to 67.8% as of 31 August 2025 from 21.1% in 2024 and fits within the strong range of GCR’s capital assessment.
Over the next 12-18 months, ratings analysts expect the GCR core capital ratio to be sustained above 35%, balancing the bank’s capital levels and strong earnings accretion against its planned expansion in loan portfolio and operational scale.
Premium Trust Bank’s risk position is neutral to the rating, according to GCR.
Ratings analysts said though the bank demonstrates a sound risk management framework, the relatively early stage of its operations suggests that certain risks may not yet have fully crystallised.
The asset quality metrics remain sound, with the non-performing loans (NPL) and credit loss ratios registering at a moderate 0.1% and 1.2% respectively as of 31 August 2025.
“We also considered the counterparty concentration risk to be somewhat high, with the single and twenty largest obligors accounting for 5.5% and 55.4% of gross loans respectively as of 31 August 2025”
This was an increase from previous record of 3.4% and 53.2% in financial year 2024.
Foreign currency (FCY) risk is minimal for Premium Trust Bank, according to the rating note. The bank’s FCY loans representing 3.8% of the loan portfolio as of 31 August 2025.
Ratings analysts explained that the inherent foreign exchange risk on these loans is mitigated through natural hedges.
Looking ahead, GCR ratings analysts said they expect the asset quality metrics to be sustained at a sound range, although it remains highly vulnerable to the fragile macroeconomic environment, particularly on some of its retail and small and medium enterprises (SME) loans.
“We assessed funding and liquidity as a positive ratings factor, underscoring PTB’s stable funding structure and sufficiently liquid balance sheet.” GCR said the bank is largely funded by borrowings, which represented 58.8% of the funding base as of 31 August 2025, significantly higher than 49.3% reported in 2024.
These borrowings comprise repurchase (repo) transactions that are fully collateralised by underlying government securities, analysts said.
The bank’s funding base is further complemented by customer deposits, which registered at NGN427.4 billion as of 31 August 2025, supported by a retail deposit mobilisation strategy, leveraging digital channels and partnerships.
As a result, current and savings account (CASA) deposits accounted for a considerable 92.1% of customer deposits as of 31 August 2025, which translated to a relatively low cost of funds of 3.8% as of the same date.
Additionally, ratings analysts said they considered the deposit book to be fairly diversified, with the single and twenty largest depositors accounting for 7.7% and 46.7%, respectively, as of 31 August 2025.
Premium Trust Bank’s liquidity position is noted to be adequate, which is further enhanced by additional capital injected. As a result, the GCR liquid assets coverage of customer deposits registered at a higher 75.8% as of 31 August 2025 from 55.7% in 2024.
Similarly, the regulatory liquidity ratio registered 45.8% as of 31 December 2024, compared to the regulatory minimum of 30%.
“The Stable Outlook reflects our expectation that PTB’s business profile will be enhanced by the continued implementation of its strategic plans to drive operational scale expansion over the rating horizon.
“The bank’s capitalisation is expected to remain solid, with the GCR core capital ratio registering above 35% over the next 12-18 months.
“Asset quality metrics are expected to remain sound, supported by the bank’s rigorous credit approval process. Also, we expect the bank to maintain an adequate liquidity position”, GCR stated. AXA Mansard Jumps by 12% as Investors Bet on Earnings Outlook
