Jaiz Bank Grows Balance Sheet to N278bn

James Emejo in Abuja

A decade into pioneering non-interest banking operations in the country, Jaiz Bank Plc, said it has recorded modest improvement in its balance sheet size from N12 billion in 2012 to N278 billion in 2020, consisting total assets and contingents.

The bank also grew all other key performance indices exponentially over the years.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive, Jaiz Bank, Mr. Hassan Usman while thanking Allaah, likened the journey to a roller coaster, marked by ups and downs.

But he said after the take-off, “momentum is gradually gathered and stopping the coaster becomes not an option, the wisest thing to do is making every jerk and movement worthwhile and impactful”.

He said, “The journey was much like a roller coaster – you experience some degree of fear at the onset, but subsequently excitement takes over when the carriage takes off and you feel that euphoria of defying the odds of gravity.”

Usman added that despite paying the huge costs associated with pioneering Islamic banking practice, the bank was able to break even within the first three years of operation, which was unprecedented at the time.

He said through its unique value proposition, the financial institution within a decade, made remarkable impact in empowering women, driving financial inclusion and supporting various strata of businesses in the real sector of the economy, including agriculture, real estate, construction, oil and gas, general commerce among others.

He said within review period, the bank was rated by the Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA), assigning it an investment grade rating of BBB.

He added that the bank recently got an upgrade from both Agusto and GCR to BBB and BBB- respectively with stable outlook as well as a positive rating by Fitch.

The bank also gained international recognition by winning the Most Improved Islamic Bank award for 2020 and 2021 consecutively from the Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA), among other accolades.

The Jaiz Bank boss pointed out that within a decade of opeeations, “We lived every moment, learning from each mistake, supporting our customers through thick and thin while pressing on – despite the absence of essential non-interest banking enablers – to pioneer a nascent sub-sector that is now bourgeoning with players and accolades.”

He said: “Today, our Bank officially clocks ten years since it first opened its doors to customers on the 6th of January 2012. We are happy to pioneer an industry that was not there; creating confidence for other people to come in; and we believe that we’ve done that very well.

“The year 2022 is special to us as it marks a decade of progress in our Islamic banking journey and I am extremely fulfilled for the opportunity of leading the team for a larger part of the journey. From a very humble beginning in 2012, the Bank has successfully developed a remarkable brand that is iconic both locally and internationally.”

Usman, stressed that the bank remained true to its vision of building the second largest non-interest bank in Sub-Saharan Africa in just 10 years.

He said the bank was further committed to leveraging on its market acceptance to continue to innovate in order to consistently deliver superior customer experience in the dynamic business environment, hence maintaining its clear leadership in the non-interest banking space.