Microfinance banks rarely make headlines for their balance sheets. Alert MFB is an exception this week, and the numbers explain why.
Two rating agencies upgraded the lender at once. Agusto & Co. moved its long-term rating to Bbb- from Bb+, and DataPro lifted it to A- from BBB+, both with stable outlooks. Upgrades from two independent shops in the same window tend to follow hard evidence rather than momentum, and the evidence here is a balance sheet that changed shape in a single year.
The growth, in ratios
Total assets rose from ₦12 billion in 2024 to ₦28.8 billion in 2025, a 2.4-times jump. Deposits went from ₦5.94 billion to ₦15.55 billion, up about 162%. Shareholders' funds climbed from ₦1.37 billion to ₦5.57 billion, roughly four times larger. Profit before tax nearly doubled, from ₦199 million to ₦384.3 million.
Fast growth usually strains a small lender's buffers. That is not what the ratios show. Capital adequacy stands at 25%, two and a half times the 10% regulatory floor. The liquidity ratio is 47.9% against a 20% minimum. Non-performing loans sit at 4.8% of a ₦21.4 billion gross loan book, a respectable figure for a segment where double-digit bad-loan ratios are not unusual.
Why it matters: Nigeria's microfinance sector is heading into a recapitalisation era, and lenders that can show capital, liquidity and asset quality improving together are the ones best placed to raise money and expand beyond their home markets.
Figures are as reported at the time of writing. STATART news is written by Frank Brother (Markets), Christina Amgbari (Insights) and Ebipadei Joseph (Lifestyle), and checked before publication.