Nigeria's GTbank profit before tax rises 8.7 pct to 150 bln naira in Q3

Nigeria's top tier 1 bank, Guaranty Trust Bank has posted a profit before tax of 150.03 billion naira for the third quarter of the year, ended Sept. 30, about 8.72 percent higher than the figure posted the same period of last year.
The bank profit after tax rose 7.25 percent to 125.57 billion naira in the same period, compared with 117.08 billion naira in the corresponding period last year.
The bank said in its financial results published on Thursday, its interest income surged to 248.270 billion naira from 181.91 billion posted the previous year, while total assets increased to 3.21 trillion naira from 3.12 trillion naira reported at the end the third quarter of last year.
GTBank loans and advances to customers dropped to 174.86 billion naira in the period from 178.07 billion naira, representing about two percent drop.