Banks Rake in Trillions While Customers Suffer: Unresolved Complaints, Hidden Charges Spark Outrage

Despite widespread customer dissatisfaction and unresolved complaints, six major banks in Nigeria posted a staggering ₦3.41 trillion in profit after tax for 2024—a 62.38% increase from ₦2.1 trillion recorded in 2023. This massive financial gain comes at a time when Nigerians are grappling with economic hardship, prompting accusations that banks are prioritizing profit over customer welfare.

According to the banks’ audited financial reports on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) platform, all six—Zenith Bank, GTBank, UBA, Fidelity Bank, Stanbic IBTC, and Wema Bank—recorded significant growth in gross earnings and profit before tax, which jumped to ₦4.1 trillion, a 42.7% rise from the previous year.

Customers’ Complaints Ignored as Banks Soar in Profits

While bank executives celebrate record-breaking profits, customers are left frustrated with unresolved transaction issues. Data from the financial reports reveal a disturbing trend of customer complaints being swept under the rug:

• GTCO received 941,241 complaints, resolving only 935,081, leaving 7,998 cases unresolved.
• UBA had 3,210,708 complaints, but 1,120,907 remain unsettled.
• Zenith Bank recorded 203,787 complaints, resolving 202,384, leaving 1,403 unresolved.
• Wema Bank faced 783,461 complaints, resolving 780,063, but 11,372 remain pending.

Several customers have accused banks of withholding funds from failed transactions for months without resolution. Mrs. Catherine Itoha, a GTCO customer, claimed she has been waiting for over 11 months for the reversal of over ₦20,000 lost in failed PoS transactions.

“I visited the bank, filled forms, and spoke to their staff personally, but nothing has been done since last year,” she lamented.

Are Banks Exploiting Customers with Hidden Charges?

Beyond transaction failures, customers also face a barrage of excessive and questionable bank charges. Financial experts have accused banks of illegally inflating fees to boost their earnings, leaving customers to bear the brunt of their increasing profits.

Former President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Mr. Okechukwu Unegbu, called out banks for exploiting customers through hidden charges:

“Banks charge all sorts of fees, even illegal ones, and when customers complain, they ignore them because the amounts seem small. But if they deduct ₦50 from 1,000 customers, imagine the profit they make.”

He urged customers to stop being “docile” and take legal action against banks that overcharge them.

CBN Under Fire for Failing to Regulate Banks

Financial experts are now calling on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to step up its regulatory oversight to protect customers.

Prof. Uche Uwaleke, President of the Capital Market Academics of Nigeria, criticized the CBN’s failure to regulate banking charges:

“Each time the policy rate is increased, banks are quick to hike lending rates, but they do not raise savings rates in proportion. The CBN must intervene to protect customers from unfair charges and ensure that banks do not take advantage of the economic crisis to exploit Nigerians.”

Similarly, Mr. Augustine Ode, a Zenith Bank customer, called on the CBN to investigate banks that are defrauding customers while posting massive profits.

As banks continue to post record-breaking profits amid unresolved complaints and hidden charges, the question remains: Are Nigerian banks prioritizing financial gain over customer trust and service delivery?