Zenith Bank Staff Salary Controversy

from the information available to me, Zenith bank management did not slash staff slaries,slaries was restructured to allowing productivity to be measured and rewarded justfully. Remember konye no true great institution can actully grow without a rewarding systems put in place.

Konye, I thought you got all wrong, if you really are a Zenith staff, one of your primary responsibilities is to protect the confidentiality of Zenith bank. I think you do not really merit to be a staff. Moreover you joined Zenith this December and are yet to receive your first salary. I think you should just keep quiet and be reasonable. Zenith remains the biggest bank in Nigeria if not in Africa.     

No be Naija again?

As far as Fraud is concerned, Nigerians will always find a way to use their Genius to "thief thief". It's a major problem. So many of the Technological Innovations that we have copied from the Developed countries were not designed for our society.

I suggest we get our act right and use our resources judiciously.

As for me, I fully understand the plight of fraudsters. I don't believe in it. However I have seen where the Nigerian system has frustrated many young people. And since they have a choice, they have chosen fraud.

Especially where our leaders themselves are fraudulent. Setting the "necessary" example.

Thank God for free will.

Thanks Olushola for putting this Finecat dude in line

if the funds Nigerian banks were obtaining from outside were more costly than the interest rates they can charge locally why would they do it? 

would you buy something at $5 to sell it at $2?

Secondly from the more astute posters on this thread, I've learnt that the salaries were increased almost 100% just a few months back and due to lower productivity (whatever the cause) the salary scale has been restructured and more money designated as performance salary.

I don't see that as a pay cut, simply work as hard as you should and you'll get your money.

These kinds of mercenary workers ONLY concerned about their paychecks or what they get from the company is the bane of organizations in Nigeria.

@ Guardian

there are glitches during the installation of any new software system, just two months ago, the entire Air Canada ticketing and booking system went down for almost 2 days causing everything to be done manually - or was that a case of a 'low cost naija company with the slobs at Zenith' again?

Your bias in this matter is highly obvious - you've concluded that it is the incompetence of the workers that caused the glitch, based on only your experience. Stuff happens mate, changeovers are not always smooth even with the best hands on deck.

and ohthanks for informing us you worked with Temenos, I guess we should all bow and kiss your feet now eh? 

Beware of mercenary workersthey'll sell Zenith bank to the competition if it means they'll get 1,000 naira more on their next paycheck.

For a bank as big as Zenith, I think the staff and mgt should be commended for making such an attempt. If other banks have tried doing what we did, I am not certain they will still be in the competitive market today. Imagine the resources deployed to achieve this feat and somebody is out there talking rubbish. Have you ever heard that Zenith bank did massive sack? At least we know of several Nigerian banks who did this in the past and nobody is talking about it. Zenith should be highly commended.

Yours,  

@Bashali20

Zenith is like a pack of unstable cards that will soon crumble. I heard from a reliable source that the Govt. and EFCC is seriously looking at Zenith and some other banks. Bankers are about to be put in their place. Watch what will happen in few months time. I'm so lucky i withdrew my money from oceanic. I had $12000.00 with those idiots until i got suspicious. And if you are buying these banks shares like i said before: GOODLUCK TO YOU !

keep spreading your fallacies Finecatyou are entitled to your 'reliable sources'.seeing visions after smoking hash is bad for ya mate

Zenith is a strong and resilient institution, there might have been some hitches with the software implementation, and a rethink of how to use this salary increase to further increase worker productivitybut they are temporary issues in my view.

All the doomsday predictions over a simple restructuring of salary?? Beware of mercenary workers!

With all these talks and attacks against one bank, it obvious that Zenith Bank is really a giant in the banking industry.wow!!! What a Bank, wow again!!

@Debosky

Check out this article. And this is not the source i'm talking about, i was well invested in some banks in Nigeria as of last year and i know some of the movers and shakers in some banks There is a lot of insider trading going on in Nigeria banks and some of their own top management are jittery about imminent distress in the banking sector. You can make yourself feel happy all you want, but i know the reality will hit you in the nose very soon. A word is enough for the wise.


Banks: The beaming of red eyes from all angles
By Enitar Ugwu

IN Nigeria, as in all parts of the world, when the word bank is dropped, money, lots of it, readily comes to mind.

This is because a bank is about the only house where money is the sole occupant.

Investors, governments, con men and armed bandits are all interested in the happenings inside the bank.

For another reason, banks' activities in most cases dictate the direction of a country's economy.

In Nigeria, since the conclusion of the first phase of the consolidation exercise, things have been on the upbeat, with the belief that with N25 billion or more in their kitty, the banking public can go to sleep with their eyes closed.

The closing of eyes is an essential exercise for the Nigerian banking populace judging by the past occurrences of banks collapse in the nation's financial system.

Even though the financial regulatory are putting all energy to forestall any lapse that might lead to another round of bank's distress, recent happenings in the system in some banks have started to raise concern.

Presidential probe in the offing

As exclusively reported by The Guardian on Monday, the Presidency is currently being in inundated with patrons from investors on the conducts of banks.

Not only are their corporate governance credentials being called to question, posers are being raised on the personal conducts of some of executives.

Information at the disposal of The Guardian shows that their petitions were woven around banks' involvement in unethical practices such as

    * laundering of money for public officers;

    * involvement in round tripping;

    * buying of private jets by banks' big wigs;

    * accessing of bank loans for share buying.

      According to Presidency sources, the life style of bank executives has compelled shareholders to inundate the government with complaints and questions on what regulatory authorities are doing to verify whether some of the funds are from the executives private funds or shareholders deposits.

      If shareholders' funds had been used, with whose approval?

      Some of the banks are saying that the private jets are not their private property.

      One, for instance, informed The Guardian that the private jet is the property of his bank's asset management company.

      However, what is not clear is whether their acquisition had the approval of the banks' shareholders.

      Even at that, the cost of the jets and mode of buying are unclear. Even the operational style of some of the banks has reportedly drawn the ire of the National Economic Intelligence (NEI) in addition to their handling of military pension fund.

      The President is said to have referred the cases to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

      It was also gather that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) may be asked to look into some of these allegations such as bank' involvement in money laundering for governors.

      The CBN and other financial regulatory authorities such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) may also have been asked to look at bank's share purchases with a view to unravelling how some of their directors came about the huge funds they used in buying those shares.

      This scam has allegedly became rampant at this latter stage fund raising from the capital market by banks, owing to the CBN's resolve to slow down on funds verification exercise.

      Only last week, the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) in Kaduna raised eyebrow over the frequent high rating of banks in the country by some local and international organisations.

      The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, NDIC, Mr. Ganiyu Ogunleye, who debunked the ratings of the banks, pointed out that they did not correspond with the indices in the possession of NDIC.

      He wondered where the banks and the organisation conferring the high ratings obtained their statistics.

      Ogunleye noted that it had become a phenomenon for the banks to award themselves such titles as "the biggest", "the most consolidated", "the one with the largest shareholders funds" etc, pointing out that competition for size is becoming worrisome.

      He expressed dismay that in spite of the challenges posed by post-consolidation regime in the banking sector, Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of banks had not yet realised the consequences of the targets allocated to them.

      He said NDIC would want the CEOs to run the banking businesses in a safe and sound manner.

      "Value creation has to go with the interest of shareholders and depositors," he warned.

      He went ahead to draw a parallel between Nigerian banks and the City Bank of the United States, noting that the size of the bank had over 40 examiners but when the CEO was not measuring up to the expectations, he was asked to step aside

      Parliamentary outrage

      Also members of the House of Representative last week ordered a probe into the activities of banks over what they described as fraudulent practices within the banking sector.

      They said banks were feeding fat on Nigerians by holding on to oversubscribed funds longer that six months, "round-tripping" with people money and going to the capital market every six months to raise money, when they were not adding to the growth of the real sector.

      In a motion brought on the floor under matters of urgent national importance by the Chairman, House Committee on Market, Mr. Ahmed Wadada, from Nasarawa State, claimed that banks exploited Nigerians to the detriment of the nation's economy.

      He pleaded with the House to mandate an investigation into the activities of banks in the country and also take actions to suspend operations of banks that were involved in sharp practices.

      He said, "we all know what happened during the recent bank consolidation by the Central Bank. We are aware how banks ran frantically to raise money to meet the N25 billion recapitalisation. They tell us that they are strong banks, but we saw the deception that took place.

      "We notice that instead of banks to give out money for the development of the real sector, they are busy circulating shareholder's money by way of round tripping, among themselves.

      "All these banks, even when their shares have been oversubscribed. Hold on to this money longer than the stipulated three months. They deprive Nigerians of their money and instead make profit with it.

      "The banks have become importers and exporters declaring unproven profits and using depositors' money to make profit (for themselves) instead of the depositors. This situation is unethical, unacceptable and fraudulent".

      During contributions by members, Mr. Igo Aguma from Rivers State said, "what the banks are doing is 419".

      "They are obtaining money from Nigerians by false pretence. We should never allow this to continue because they are unfair to us, to the economy and for our image".

      Other contributors were Sani Abdul, Ahmed Salik and Emmanuel Bello, among others.

      Only Mr. Positive Ihiabe from Kogi spoke against the motion mandating the House Committees on Capital Market and Banking and Currency to conduct an investigation into the matter and report back one month after the house resumes from its Christmas break.

      He also mandated the joint committee to invite SEC, the NDIC, all the banks involved and other stakeholders during the investigative hearing.

      The lawmakers ordered that all share certificates should be issued to their owners within three months from the day of close of public offers and that banks should refund, with interest, all monies deposited for shares not issued after six months.

      Also, the House of Representatives passed a motion mandating the House Committee on Finance to Conduct a holistic investigation into the non-remittance of revenues by certain government agencies and parastatals into the federation account.

      Yet another rich ranking

      According to reports, 24 banks operating in the country earned a total of N605.17 billion in 2006. Eli Business Support Services Limited which ranked the performance of the banking industry in 2006, has revealed statistics made available by the company in Abuja on Tuesday last week showed that three banks accounted for N244.45 billion, more than 30 per cent of the total earning of the banks in 2006. While United Bank for Africa earned the top position with N90.44 billion, First Bank followed with N67.44 billion respectively.

      Others that make the top 10 bracket include Zenith Bank, N58.22 billion; Oceanic Bank N44.68 billion; Guaranty Trust Bank N33.61 billion; Intercontinental Bank N30.64 billion; Skye Bank N21.05 billion; Ecobank, N17.25 billion, and Equatorial Trust Bank, N17.13 billion.

      The first 10 banks accounted for N446.93 billion, more than 70 per cent of the total earning in the industry.

      In terms of profitability, the 24 banks that were ranked made a profit before tax of N138.85 billion in 2006. All the banks excluding Wema Bank and First Inland Bank made profit in the year under review.

      First Bank topped the list in PBT with an earning of N21.83 billion, followed by Zenith Bank and Union Bank with N15.15 billion and N13.53 billion respectively.

      The first 10 banks accounted for N118 billion, more than 85 per cent of the profit made in industry within the year. These include UBA, Oceanic Bank, Intercontinental Bank, GTBank, Standard Chartered Bank and IBTC Chartered Bank.

      In terms of deposits, UBA topped the list with N776.13 billion, followed by First Bank and Union Bank respectively. In loans, Zenith led with N199.7 billion followed by First Bank and Intercontinental Bank.

      In total assets, UBA also topped the list with N884.13 billion, followed by Union Bank and First Bank with N667.76 billion and N614.84 billion respectively.

      Union Bank with N100 billion topped the list in terms of shareholders fund followed by Zenith Bank and First Bank with N93.8 billion and 62.29 billion respectively.

      The Managing Director of Eli Business Support Services Limited, Mr. Moses Obisesan, explained that Spring Bank was left out of the ranking because it had not published its result for the 2006 accounting year as at October 31.

I really think Zenith knows what it's doing. From what i have heard so far, there isn't going to be salary cut but some sort of  salary restructuring so that at the end of the financial year staff could be challenged to work hard towards getting good rating so as to get bountiful profit sharing. That has been a major driving force for the bank. But maybe the bank should have given a month or two notice to enable the staff prepare for the restructuring since some of them may have issued cheques and have made financial commitments. Zenith has done very well for herself i the past years and deserve some cudos.

Beware of mercenary workers?  Is there any other kind of worker in a commercial environment? 

hmmmmmmm,i just think without the management explaining in detail the restructuring of the salary is what brought about this outburst.

now that it's been explained that its just a restructuring the i guess the poster has been pacified.
am wondering if her BM took the time to explain or just flung words at his staff,making them instantly rebellious.

but still that doesnt mean u have to wash your dirty linen in public,u have to be careful because it's dangerous to put this kind of word out,it might ultimately cause a run on the bank,thoguh i think the bank can withstand it.

i do agree with debosky all the way.u are making plenty sense

i think the uproar about banks and shares is about the recent first banks shares.so many peeps borrowed money to buy the shares only to have them returned without interest.because dangote decided to give out interests when they returned monies does not mean another company has to follow suit.different stokes for different folks.but first bank really slashed the shares and it injured a lot of peeps and they kept the funds for sooooooo long toooo.

woteva happened to talking to your financial adviser before investing.
and by the way alll u peeps shouting that banks are going to be in trouble.i guess u should know that the banking industry is already over-regulated.the CBN is always on their backs and there's verification of income every step of the way.and i think there are also external auditors that look into their accounts.so please stop crying foul.theres nothing like imminent distress unless there's massive fraud,which is also impossible because banks are spending so much on IT infrastructure.

somebody was complaining about GTB disabling a third party feature,though i agree they should have informed customers,u should know that fraudsters are tireless peeps and will go any lenght.oceanic bank too had to bring down its internet inter account transfers because of frauds.they have to keep improving and upgrading their systems.
am sure u wouldnt want to do biz with a bank thats suseptible to internet fraud.

and for your info,all the top ten banks are very strong institutions and they are improving by the day.the journey is long and tortuous,one way or the other,they will get there.
and by now u peeps are wondering which bank am working for, my bank is Zenith banks arch enemy , aha your guess is right.

cheers.

@Guardian

I don't take it lightly when you use such words as low cost stupid Nigerian company doing the implementation of T24. Temenos is a swiss company. Infact bankers here would tell you that the systems implemented by Nigerians are done better because they are there with you 24-7 and you can call customer support instatnly. The major problem with our banks is that they all believe the foreign softwares and companies are better, and they would continue having issues.

Just like Ponzi schemes, the early investors make the profits leaving the late arrivals to wail for lost money: this is what would happen with the numerous Zenith IPOs. I still wonder if the CBN knows what they are doing. 3 IPOS in 3 years. Unbelievable, and Soludo has not been sacked.

 Hmmm,  Na wah o! see people dey abuse themselves while Jim Ovia dey make more millions, abi na billions i go say? anyway, it reminds me of the proverb that says, " some people make things happen, others watch things happen, and still yet, some wonder what happened" , what category do you belong to?  Your guess is as good as mine. If you don't like something, quit complaining and get something else doing! ciao!

@ Emeka

a slight correction - they made three public offers or share offersthere can only be one Initial Public Offering (IPO)

I have no holdings/interests in Zenith, but I think I know a little about their organisation to make a few deductions

@ fineuglycat   

Bear Stearns - one of the premier investment banks in the world lost money for the first quarter ever, slashed 1.500 jobs and said the top execs will not get bonuses - does that mean they are going down? Its easy to cite a few negative examples to bolster your point, but companies do restructure to bounce back better than before - Sony and a whole bunch of other examples abound.

at wonderz it is a restructuring, not a cut, why insist on falsehoods? they just received a 90% increase, and it is now being tied to performance, I see nothing untoward about that. A little unpleasant yes, but better for the overall goals of the institution and its workers.