Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Chief Executive Officer, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, Segun Agbaje, says the group is no longer worried about competition from fintech firms, pointing to the strong performance of its digital payments arm, HabariPay.
Agbaje made the comments during an interview with Nairametrics CEO Ugo Obi-Chukwu on the sidelines of GTCO’s Annual General Meeting in Lagos.
He said GTCO initially viewed fintech growth as a serious disruption threat but responded by building its own competitive digital platform.
“Everybody was really nervous about fintech, so we built our own speed boat. That’s Habari,” Agbaje said.
“Habari is competing very, very effectively and it means we are not scared about the threat of fintechs any longer. We have a very strong engine to compete with them.”
Agbaje noted that 2025 was a strong year for the group, adding that earnings quality remained solid and supported dividend payouts to shareholders.
“For us, it’s been a really good year. 2025 quality of earnings was really good,” he said.
He added that GTCO had strengthened its position despite earlier market skepticism about its stock performance.
“I remember we were trying to get people to buy this stock at 44 Naira… I think what has happened is vindication for us,” he said.
According to him, GTCO’s non-banking subsidiaries are becoming increasingly central to its earnings structure, with fintech, asset management, and pensions leading the way.
HabariPay emerged as the top performer among these businesses, posting a profit of N9.7 billion in 2025.
Guaranty Trust Fund Managers recorded N9 billion profit, while Guaranty Trust Pension Managers posted N1.7 billion.
Agbaje also said GTCO’s international operations contributed 27% of group profit, with Nigeria accounting for 73%, and highlighted Ghana as a strong-performing market.
“We’re diversifying the earnings from outside of Nigeria, but Nigeria is still the mothership,” he said.
He described the group’s subsidiaries as tightly integrated parts of a wider financial ecosystem anchored by GTBank.
“These are our little babies and it’s working perfectly for us,” he said.
HabariPay’s performance reflected rapid growth, with profit after tax rising 155% year-on-year to N9.7 billion, driven by strong increases in operating income.
Despite higher operating costs due to expansion, the fintech unit maintained efficiency and recorded no loan impairment charges.
The performance underscores GTCO’s growing push into digital finance as it deepens its ecosystem strategy.
