Nigeria, May 15 -- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) set a record high for the benchmark interest rate in the first three months of 2024, which caused the earnings of some of the country's largest banks to more than triple.

This represents a shift from the past when the depreciation of the naira brought the banks enormous gains in foreign cash and enhanced their profits.

BusinessDay examined the most recent financial filings of eight banks and found that, compared to the same period last year, their combined after-tax profit increased by 264.5 percent to N1.13 trillion in Q1.

.Zenith, FCMB, and GTCO lead in terms of profit increase.

Zenith Bank Plc, Access Holdings Plc, FCMB Group Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Fidelity Plc, Guaranty...