Naira Devaluation Boosts Zenith’s Profit With $472 Million Gains
- Lender follows peer Guaranty Trust to post huge forex gains
- Increases provisions almost eight times as credit risk rises
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Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria’s biggest lender by market value, said first-half profit more than doubled after the country’s currency devaluation boosted income.
Africa’s most populous nation allowed its currency to weaken 40% against the dollar in June in reforms aimed at attracting overseas inflows to help revive the struggling economy. While the move boosted the income of banks holding overseas assets, manufacturers with foreign-currency loans have reported losses arising from converting a weak naira to make dollar interest payments.