Nigeria, March 28 -- Zenith Bank posted a net profit growth of 52.6 per cent last year, taking its bottom line to a record N1 trillion, according to the newly issued audited earnings report of the big lender.

The corporate result of the financial institution came out strong amid sharp hikes in Nigeria's monetary policy rate last year, which beefed up the benchmark borrowing rate by as much as 8.75 per cent, in turn allowing banks to charge much more for loans.

Interest income for Zenith Bank accelerated more than twofold to N2.7 trillion, alone accounting for 68.5 per cent of its revenue for the year. Gross earnings climbed to N4 trillion from N2.1 trillion.

Net interest income, a gauge of the difference between the interest earned by ...