Recently, the now-defunct Skye bank’s assets and liabilities were sold over to Polaris Bank with little or news or information about the bank being in distress made known to Nigerians prior to the incident. This means that a bank may be at the verge of collapse or impending liquidation and innocent Nigerian customers will know little or nothing about it.

In the light of this, it has become imperative for Nigerians to know the status of a bank before choosing to do business with them. No doubt, all commercial banks in Nigeria are not on the same level. Some of them are doing much better than the others.

Below is a list of the top 5 banks in Nigeria ranked according to asset base, world ranking, consistency and number of years in business.

Zenith

Founded by Jim Ovia in 1990, Zenith bank has since grown astronomically to become one of the leading financial institutions in Africa. Zenith Bank Plc currently ranks as the 6th biggest bank in the continent. It is also the best bank in Nigeria today with total assets of N3.189 Trillion and total consumer deposit amounting to over N2.288 Trillion. Zenith bank has an asset base strong enough to prevent it from folding up.  It also ranks 293rd out of the World’s first 1000 banks.

First Bank

First bank is the pioneer commercial bank in Nigeria. It started operations in 1894 and presently, it has a total asset of  N3.172 Trillion. It also has branches in the United Kindom and several other African countries including Senegal, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Gambia. It is ranked 424th out of the world’s first 1000 banks and the 2nd in Nigeria.

Guaranty Trust Bank

Guaranty Trust Bank is also one of the leading financial institutions in Nigeria. It has a net worth N2.102 Trillion and is ranked 415 out of the world first 1000 banks and the 3rd in Nigeria.

Access Bank

Despite being a young bank as it started operating in 1989, Access bank has over 300 branches in the country already. It has a net worth of N1.9 Trillion. It is ranked 532nd out of the world’s first 1000 banks and the 4th in Nigeria

Diamond

Founded by Pascal Dozie in 1990, Diamond bank is also one of the top commercial banks in Nigeria. It has a total net worth of N1.519 Trillion.