As Zenith Bank Maintains Industry Leadership 

Zenith Bank Plc under Ebenezer Onyeagwu has maintained a positive rating as can be seen from the numerous awards and global recognitions the bank continues to attract, writes Oluchi Chibuzor

As a reflection of its strength, Zenith Bank Plc was recently ranked as the number one bank in Nigeria by tier-1 capital in the 2022 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking published by The Banker Magazine.

In the award which was for the 13th consecutive year, the bank retained its position as the number one tier-1 bank in Nigeria with a tier-1 capital of $2.75 billion, emerging as the 460th bank globally.

The ranking, which was published in the July 2022 edition of The Banker Magazine of the Financial Times Group, United Kingdom, was based on the 2021 year-end Tier-1 capital of banks globally.

Tier 1 capital describes capital adequacy which is the core measure of a bank’s financial strength from a regulator’s point of view.

According to the ranking, tier 1 capital, as defined by the latest Bank for International Settlements (BIS) guidelines, includes loss-absorbing capital, i.e. common stock, disclosed reserves, retained earnings and minority interests in the equity of subsidiaries that are less than wholly owned.

Prior to that, Zenith Bank had also emerged as the Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria, at the World Finance Banking Awards 2022, as it retained the award for a second consecutive year. The bank was also named as the Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards 2022. The awards, which were presented to the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Ebenener Onyeagwu at the London Stock Exchange, were in recognition of the bank’s ability to embrace digital transformation and best-in-class sustainability and corporate governance practices, leading to a stellar business performance in a difficult economic climate

Also, Zenith Bank’s financial performance for the year was underpinned by double-digit growth of 10 per cent in gross earnings, with an improved market share in both retail and corporate sectors despite a very challenging macroeconomic environment aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Despite the very challenging macroeconomic environment brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a significant deleterious impact on businesses globally, Onyeagwu, who leads the bank has demonstrated that he has a midas touch considering the strong financial performance the bank continues to churn out. Rated on key parameters such as asset quality, profitability and return to investors, Zenith Bank’s track record has been impressive.

Under the leadership of Onyeagwu, the bank has remained a clear market leader, growing its total assets and net income by an annual average of 15.7 per cent and 15.5 per cent, respectively, over the last five years.

Zenith Bank’s track record of excellent performance has continued to earn the brand numerous awards, with this latest accolade coming on the heels of several recognitions, including being recognised as the Best Bank in Nigeria for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria 2021 and 2022 in the World Finance Banking Awards; Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards 2022; Best in Corporate Governance ‘Financial Services’ Africa, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, by the Ethical Boardroom; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation In Retail Banking, Nigeria in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards; and Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards 2020. Also, the Bank emerged as the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in the Banker Magazine Top 500 Banking Brands 2020 and 2021, and the Retail Bank of the year at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI) Awards 2020 and 2021.

Similarly, Zenith Bank was honoured as Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) at the ThisDay Awards 2020 and emerged winner in four categories at the Sustainability, Enterprise, and Responsibility (SERAS) Awards 2021, carting home the awards for “Best Company in Reporting and Transparency”, “Best Company in Infrastructure Development”, “Best Company in Gender Equality and Women Empowerment”, and the coveted “Most Responsible Organisation in Africa. 

The bank places a premium on its core business strategy anchored on people, technology and service, to create value for its numerous clientele.

With a team of dedicated professionals, the bank leverages its robust Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure to provide cutting-edge solutions and products through its network of branches and electronic/digital channels.

Commenting on the 2022 Top 1000 World Banks’ Ranking, Onyeagwu, the Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank said: “This ranking is a testament to our resilience and doggedness as an institution despite economic headwinds and a persistent challenging macroeconomic environment.

“Indeed, being ranked as the number one bank in Nigeria by tier-1 capital for the 13th year in a row underscores our commitment to sustaining the superior performance we are renowned for and creating value for our highly esteemed customers.”

He expressed appreciation to the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, for his guidance and for laying the foundation and building the structures of an enduring and successful institution; the board for the outstanding leadership they provide; the staff, whose drive and commitment sustains the exceptional performance; and the bank’s customers for their unflinching loyalty to the Zenith brand.

Also commenting on the World Finance Banking Awards 2022 and World Finance Corporate Governance awards, Onyeagwu said: “These awards reflect our strong business fundamentals, resilience and ability to adapt to the ever-changing dynamics of the market through our innovative solutions, as well as our commitment to global best practices.

“As a member and signatory to various domestic and international sustainability frameworks including the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria Sustainable Banking Principles, we continue to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by creating value for our shareholders, customers, clients, investors, communities and the environment through our practices, operations and investments.”

Promoting Non-oil Exports through Zenith Bank Int’l Trade Seminar

In addition, Zenith Bank has remained committed to promoting the non-oil export sector in Nigeria by identifying emerging opportunities which help stimulate non-oil exports and develop robust financial products and incentives for operators in the sector.

It restated its commitment to the sector when it brought stakeholders together at its seventh annual edition of the Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar with the theme: “Unlocking Opportunities in Nigeria’s Non-Oil Export Business,” which held recently in Lagos. Stakeholders at the seminar unanimously called for support of Nigeria’s non-oil export sector at the

The bank launched the non-oil export seminar in 2017, as an initiative to deepen the discourse on promoting the non-oil export business in Nigeria.

In his welcome address, Onyeagwu, said the annual Zenith Bank Trade Seminar serves as a veritable platform to deepen the conversation on promoting non-oil export in Nigeria, bringing together non-oil export practitioners and relevant government agencies to interact and explore the opportunities and proffer solutions to the challenges of non-oil export in the country.

Speaking on the origin of the Zenith Bank Annual International Trade Seminar, Onyeagwu said the commodity price slump of 2014-2016 was a watershed moment.

According to him, “when crude oil prices plummeted from $114.55 per barrel in June 2014 to $28.76 in January 2016, with an attendant effect on the availability of foreign exchange, it was time to look towards the non-oil export sector for a more sustainable source of foreign exchange that is not susceptible to external shocks and price volatility.”

Highlighting some of the salient outcomes of the past six Zenith Bank Annual International Trade Seminar editions, Onyeagwu noted that previous editions’ outcomes have found expression and influenced policy initiatives.

For instance, “the extension of the period of repatriation of non-oil export proceeds from 90 days to 180 days and the policy mandating shippers not to carry export without a Nigeria Export Proceeds (NXP) Form Number were recommendations from previous seminars.

“Also, the need to incentivise exporters to repatriate their export proceeds through the official channels and the recommendation to create export terminals across various export hubs in the country were also from past seminars. “Also, previous editions recommended having Export Desks in commercial banks, which has now been instituted.”

He also stated that Zenith Bank has trained over 100 exporters through its ‘Zero to Hero’ programmes which provide a platform for grooming and exposing beginners to become strong exporters by providing training on documentation, product sourcing, access to market and financing. He noted that Zenith Bank would continue the advocacy of promoting non-oil export.

In his goodwill message, Ovia called for a concerted effort towards diversifying Nigeria’s export base through the promotion of non-oil exports.

Highlighting the importance of non-oil export to the nation’s economy, Ovia pointed out that Nigeria exported cocoa and several other non-oil products for years before oil was discovered.

He cited the example of the 25-storey Cocoa House in Ibadan, which was built with proceeds from cocoa exports. He pointed out that many countries in the world, such as Japan and China have been successful because they are doing a great deal of innovation, production and manufacturing of goods and services.

According to him, Nigeria should also look at promoting the nation’s non-oil export sector through technology to create technological giants like Apple, Tesla, and Google. “And we already have technology companies in this mould in Nigeria, such as Flutterwave, which has a valuation of $3 billion, making it more valuable than some banks in Nigeria,” he said.

Speaking further on the enormous potential in Nigeria’s non-oil sector, Ovia highlighted the phenomenal growth of Nigeria’s emerging financial technology (Fintech) companies such as Flutherwave, OPay, Interswitch, Kuda and Paystack, with market valuations of $3 billion, $2 billion, $1 billion, $500 million, $200 million, respectively. According to him, this underscores the enormous opportunity in the Fintech space.

He also noted that the most capitalised companies in the world, such as Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Tesla, Visa, etc., are not oil companies but are in the technological innovation space.

Clearly, as a bank driven by innovation, it is expected that Zenith Bank would continue to win more laurels and deliver superior services to its customers and value to shareholders.