ZENITH Bank Plc has reported an actual loss of N376 million to fraud and forgeries in the six months ended June 30, 2026, raising questions about the effectiveness of its fraud-prevention measures after 171 fraud cases were recorded during the period.
News Point Nigeria reports that the disclosure, contained in the bank’s second-quarter financial statement posted on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) platform on Tuesday, comes alongside thousands of customer complaints received by the lender during the first half of the year.
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The bank said a total of 171 fraud cases were reported during the period, resulting in an actual loss of N376 million. However, the financial statement did not establish that security lapses directly caused the reported losses.
The report also showed that the bank received no fewer than 7,914 customer complaints and had resolved about 6,780 of them as of June 30.
It said the number of complaints received exceeded the 7,599 recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, while the number of complaints reportedly resolved stood at 8,503 during the same period last year.
The report further disclosed that claims arising from the complaints amounted to N67.2 billion, lower than the N92.77 billion claimed during the corresponding period of 2025.
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On its compliance with regulatory requirements, the bank said it had continued to submit monthly returns on fraud and forgeries to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“The bank has complied with the requirement to render monthly returns on fraud and forgeries to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in accordance with Section 24 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 and relevant circulars and guidelines issued by the (CBN).
“During the period, a total of 171 fraud cases were reported, which resulted in actual loss of N376 million to the bank,” the report stated.
Despite the fraud losses, Zenith Bank recorded a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N637.6 billion during the period under review, compared with N625.6 billion reported in June 2025.
However, the report said the bank’s gross earnings declined from N2.5 billion in 2025 to N1.899 billion during the period under review.
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Its Profit After Tax (PAT) also fell from N532 billion to N430.7 billion.
The bank further recorded a tax expense of N206.8 billion for the six-month period ended June 30, compared with N93 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2025.
