Also disappointing was the decline in net interest income which came in at N 219 billion down from N 233 billion in same period of last year. 

Net interest income (NIM) was up slightly to N 172.9 billion in Q3 2019 from N 170.6 billion in Q3 of 2018.

Profit before tax rose 3.9% to N 170.6 billion in third quarter from N 164.2 billion in the same period of last year. 

The low dividend yield of GUARANTY is another reason investors will not be excited as the management chooses to keep most of their profit within the bank rather than rewarding its shareholders with buy-backs or dividend hikes. Those are the main reasons why the stock is currently trading around its one year low prices. 

Across the Atlantic, Bank of America also reported its third quarter result today. Now this is a Bank which rewards its shareholders with share buy backs and dividend hikes and returns most of its EPS back to shareholders. That is why its stock price trades near its one year high price. 

Top tier banks in Nigeria likes of GTB need to start giving back to their shareholders and stop being so greedy all the time with shareholders funds. They earn most of their income by relatively passive means such as treasury bills investments, bonds and various charges on transactions which are not appreciated by customers. So why not give some profits back to investors in form of higher dividends and share buy backs. It will boost the stock price because investors will really want to be part of such a growth story rather than watch them keep all the profits for themselves. 

The positive from this result is the increase in shareholders funds of 10.6% to N 636.75 billion. This is because the Bank does not return enough to its shareholders and keeps building its reserve. 

reporting for easykobo.com on Wednesday, October 16 2019 from Lagos, Nigeria