GTCO's side businesses grew profit 70%. What that means for you

The three non-bank companies owned by Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) earned a combined ₦23.88bn before tax in the nine months to 30 September 2026. A year earlier the figure was ₦14.08bn. That is a rise of 70%, according to GTCO's financial statements.

The group's overall profit went the other way. Its pre-tax profit slipped to ₦879.90bn from ₦900.80bn. So the small businesses grew while the big one shrank a little. This explainer covers what these businesses do, what the numbers say and what they do not say.

What is GTCO, and what are its non-bank subsidiaries?

GTCO is the holding company that sits above Guaranty Trust Bank and other businesses. A holding company owns other companies, which are called subsidiaries. Most people know the group for the bank. The three subsidiaries in this story do not take deposits and lend like a bank does.

• HabariPay is the payments business. Payments companies earn money by moving money for customers and businesses.
• Guaranty Trust Fund Managers runs investment funds. Customers put money in, and the company invests it for them and charges for the work.
• Guaranty Trust Pension Fund Administrator manages retirement savings for workers who hold pension accounts.

How much did each one earn?

Profit before tax is what a company has left after paying its costs, but before the tax bill. Here is the split for the nine months, compared with the same period of 2025.

• HabariPay: ₦11.23bn, up 72% from ₦6.53bn.
• Fund Managers: ₦11.24bn, up 82% from ₦6.17bn.
• Pension administrator: ₦1.41bn, up 3% from ₦1.37bn.

After tax, the combined profit was ₦22.39bn, up about 60% from ₦13.97bn. The after-tax rise is smaller than the pre-tax rise. The main reason is visible in the Fund Managers numbers, covered below.

Why did HabariPay do so well?

The filings show two things. HabariPay's operating income, the money it earned from its business, rose 47% to ₦13.88bn from ₦9.43bn. Its operating expenses, the cost of running the business, fell about 9% to ₦2.64bn from ₦2.89bn.

More income and lower costs together push profit up fast. Working it out ourselves (derived): in 9M 2026, costs took about ₦19 of every ₦100 of income (2.64 ÷ 13.88). About ₦81 was left as profit.

The company recorded no tax charge in either period, so its after-tax profit equals its pre-tax profit of ₦11.23bn. The source does not say why there was no tax charge. HabariPay's balance sheet is small: total assets of ₦26.75bn, equity of ₦25.61bn and liabilities of ₦1.15bn.

The source also gives no reason for the jump in income. RainingMoney's reading: payments income usually rises when customers and businesses move more money through a platform, but the filing published no explanation and we cannot confirm that here.

What is a fund manager, and why did its assets double?

A fund manager pools money from many people and invests it. The total it looks after is called assets under management, or AUM. Think of it as the size of the pot. A fund manager typically earns fees linked to the size of the pot, so a bigger pot tends to mean more income.

The Fund Managers' AUM rose about 101% to ₦901.30bn at the end of September 2026. It was ₦449.43bn at the end of December 2025. Note the starting point: this is a nine-month change, not a year-on-year one.

Two funds are named as the biggest movers:

• The Guaranty Trust Money Market Fund rose to ₦678.65bn from ₦301.25bn. A money market fund invests in short-term, lower-risk instruments such as treasury bills and bank placements.
• The Guaranty Trust Dollar Fund rose to ₦164.79bn from ₦123.89bn.

Added together (derived), those two funds hold ₦843.44bn of the ₦901.30bn. The source does not say what makes up the remaining ₦57.86bn (derived). It also does not say whether the growth came from new customer money or from investment gains. RainingMoney's reading: the filing published no explanation, so we cannot split the two.

The profit numbers followed the growth. Operating income rose 77% to ₦14.09bn from ₦7.97bn. Operating expenses rose 59% to ₦2.85bn from ₦1.80bn, which is slower than income. Costs took about ₦20 of every ₦100 of income (derived: 2.85 ÷ 14.09).

Why did the tax bill jump at the fund manager?

Fund Managers' tax charge rose to ₦1.50bn from ₦105.98m. That is why its after-tax profit grew 61% to ₦9.74bn, slower than the 82% rise before tax. The source gives no reason for the higher charge. Do not assume it is a permanent level. We do not know that.

What is odd about the fund manager's balance sheet?

The company's total assets were ₦1.50tn at 30 September 2026. That includes ₦1.47tn of customer deposits reported on its balance sheet. Its shareholders' equity, the part that belongs to the owners, was ₦24bn.

These numbers are far larger than the ₦901.30bn of assets under management. The source does not explain how the deposits relate to the funds. A reader should not read the ₦1.47tn as profit or as the company's own money. Customer deposits are money owed to customers. Until the filing's notes are checked, we treat this as a point that is not explained.

How is the pension business doing?

The pension administrator grew the slowest. Profit before tax rose 3% to ₦1.41bn. Operating income rose 9% to ₦3.27bn, but operating expenses rose 15% to ₦1.86bn. Costs took about 57% of income, up from about 54% a year earlier.

That means each extra naira of income left less behind as profit. Yet the retirement money it looks after is growing. Funds under management rose about 32% to ₦198.97bn from ₦151.06bn at the end of December 2025.

Fund II, the largest account class reported, grew to ₦95.80bn from ₦73.05bn. Fund II is one of the pension fund types a worker's savings can sit in. Privately managed approved existing schemes also grew, to ₦62.47bn from ₦49.28bn. The pension business has no tax charge in either period, as the filings show.

How big are these businesses next to the bank?

Still small. The three units' combined pre-tax profit was about 2.7% of the group's ₦879.90bn. That is up from about 1.6% in 9M 2025. You can check this yourself (derived): 23.88 ÷ 879.90 is about 2.7%, and 14.08 ÷ 900.80 is about 1.6%.

So almost all of GTCO's profit still comes from elsewhere in the group. The side businesses are growing their share, but from a low base. A 70% jump on a small number moves the group total by a small amount.

The group's profit before tax fell by ₦20.90bn (derived: 900.80 minus 879.90), about 2.3%. The three units added about ₦9.80bn more than a year ago (derived: 23.88 minus 14.08). Their gain did not offset the group's fall.

What does this mean for my money?

This is a company result, not a recommendation. It does not tell you what to do with your own savings. It does show a few things about where money is moving.

• Money market and dollar funds are attracting large sums. The two named funds hold about ₦843bn between them. That is the money of many customers who have chosen to park savings there.
• Pension savings are growing. The administrator's funds under management rose about 32% in nine months. Your own pension balance may grow differently. It depends on the fund type you hold.
• Payments is becoming a real business line. HabariPay earned ₦11.23bn before tax on ₦13.88bn of income.

Growth in a fund's size does not mean its returns to customers rose. The source gives no return figures for any fund. Nor does a rising profit at the fund manager tell you whether a fund is right for you.

What does this not tell us?

• Why HabariPay's income rose 47%. The filing published no explanation.
• How much of the AUM growth came from new money and how much from investment gains.
• What the remaining ₦57.86bn (derived) of AUM is invested in.
• Why the fund manager's tax charge rose so sharply.
• How the ₦1.47tn of customer deposits relates to the funds.
• Whether the growth will continue in the final quarter of 2026.

What should I watch next?

Look for the full-year results. They will show whether the three units keep growing and whether their share of group profit stays near 2.7%. Check the pension unit's cost ratio, which has moved from about 54% to about 57%. Also watch the Fund Managers' tax charge to see whether it stays near ₦1.50bn.

The headline number is large, and the source numbers support it. Still, these businesses are small next to the bank that carries the group, and the filings leave several questions open.