AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Nigerian banks do not publish salaries by grade, so any table of exact naira figures for ET, ABO, BO, SBO, AM, DM and Manager is an estimate, not a disclosed number. What you can verify is the legal floor (₦70,000 a month since July 2024), the statutory deductions from a bank payslip, and the staff-cost notes in each bank's audited annual report.
Why there is no official bank salary table
Unlike the civil service, where pay is set in published structures such as CONPSS, commercial banks set their own pay. Each bank decides its grades, its pay for each grade, and how much of the package is basic salary, housing, transport or other allowances. None of the banks publishes a grade-by-grade salary schedule, and the figures that circulate on blogs and forums usually come from anonymous posts that cannot be traced to a document.
That is why this page does not carry a table of naira salaries per grade. A number we cannot source would be guesswork presented as fact. Instead, it explains the grade ladder, what banks do disclose, and how to judge a figure you are offered or told about.
The grade ladder most banks use
Most Nigerian commercial banks use a similar sequence of officer grades, though the names, the number of steps and the point at which management starts vary by bank. The table below shows the commonly used titles in ascending order.
| Grade | Commonly used title | Typical role (varies by bank) |
|---|---|---|
| ET | Executive Trainee / Graduate Trainee | Entry grade after a graduate programme |
| ABO | Assistant Banking Officer | Junior officer, often first confirmed grade |
| BO | Banking Officer | Officer handling accounts, operations or sales targets |
| SBO | Senior Banking Officer | Senior officer, may supervise a small team |
| AM | Assistant Manager | Junior management |
| DM | Deputy Manager | Middle management |
| M | Manager | Branch, unit or relationship management |
Above Manager sit senior management grades (Senior Manager, Assistant General Manager, Deputy General Manager, General Manager) and executive directors. Some banks also employ sales and operations staff through outsourcing firms on contracts that sit outside this ladder altogether.
What banks do disclose
The best public evidence about bank pay is in the audited annual reports that listed banks publish on their investor relations pages. Look in the notes to the financial statements for:
- Personnel or staff costs: total wages and salaries, pension costs and other staff benefits for the year.
- Number of employees, often split by function or grade group.
- Employees by pay band: many reports group staff by ranges of annual pay, which shows how many people earn in each band without naming grades.
- Directors' remuneration: fees and emoluments of directors, often including the highest-paid director.
Dividing staff costs by staff numbers gives an average cost per employee, which includes pension and benefits and is pulled up by senior pay. It is a rough guide to how generous a bank is overall, not a figure for any one grade. Which notes appear, and how they are split, depends on the bank's report, so open the latest one rather than relying on someone else's summary.
What every bank payslip must respect
Whatever the grade, some rules apply to all employers. They are useful when you are comparing offers.
- Minimum wage
- ₦70,000 a month under the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024, signed 29 July 2024.
- Pension
- At least 18% of monthly emoluments: 10% from the employer and 8% from the employee, under PenCom's rules (PenCom FAQ, 2023).
- PAYE
- Personal income tax on the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 bands, from 0% on the first ₦800,000 a year up to 25% above ₦50 million.
- Deduction limit
- Under section 5(7) of the Labour Act, total deductions from a worker's wages in a month may not exceed one third of that month's wages. Section 91 excludes people in administrative, executive, technical or professional roles from the Act's definition of 'worker', so many bank officers fall outside it.
How to judge a salary figure you are given
- Ask whether it is gross or net, and monthly or annual. Bank offers are often quoted as an annual package.
- Ask for the split: basic, housing, transport, other allowances. Pension is a percentage of your emoluments, so how the package is split can change your pension; ask payroll which items it counts.
- Ask whether you are a direct employee or contract staff. The difference affects job security, benefits and loans.
- Ask what is performance-linked. Bonuses and 13th months are often discretionary; see our guide on whether a 13th-month salary is required by law.
- Compare against the bank's own annual report average, not a forum figure.
For trainee pay in particular, see entry-level bank salary and graduate trainee pay. To estimate your take-home pay from a gross figure, use our guide to PAYE bands for 2026.
Where Pryme fits
If you are moving from one bank to another, your salary account does not have to move with you. A Pryme Personal Account can receive salary like any Naira account, and naira deposits are held by Solid Allianze Microfinance Bank, licensed by the CBN and insured by the NDIC up to the applicable limit.
Questions people ask
How much does an ET earn in a Nigerian bank?
Banks do not publish it. Figures online are unverified estimates. What is certain is that pay cannot be below the ₦70,000 monthly minimum wage, and that pension and PAYE come off the gross.
What is the hierarchy of bank staff in Nigeria?
Commonly ET, ABO, BO, SBO, AM, DM and Manager, then senior management grades and executive directors. Names and steps vary by bank.
Where can I see how much a Nigerian bank pays its staff?
In the notes to its audited annual report, under staff or personnel costs, number of employees and, often, employees grouped by pay band.
Do contract staff in banks earn the same as permanent staff?
Usually not, and they are often employed by an outsourcing firm rather than the bank. Ask who your employer is and what benefits apply before you accept.
Sources
- PaySpace: Nigeria National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act 2024 · accessed Oct 2026
- Labour Act, Cap L1, Laws of the Federation 2004 (PLAC copy) · accessed Oct 2026
- PenCom: Frequently Asked Questions, 2023 edition · accessed Oct 2026
- BusinessDay: Nigeria Tax Act 2025 personal income tax explainer (12 Jan 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.