Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London

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Topic: Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London (Read 2656 views)

naijafresh (m)

Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London

« on: April 03, 2007, 02:21 PM »

This is good news for UK based Nigerians
Does anyone know where their branch is located and whether they have actually opened for business

I hope they don't end up like FBN Bank UK (first Bank) who are simply a bureau de change with little else to offer

Source: Businessday

LondonCool (m)

Re: Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London

« #1 on: April 03, 2007, 05:50 PM »

Quote from: naijafresh on April 03, 2007, 02:21 PM

I hope they don't end up like FBN Bank UK (first Bank) who a re simply a bereau de change with little else to offer

Source: Businessday

I take exception to your comment. I worked with First Bank Plc London Branch and was there during the transition towards becoming a fully UK licensed FSA approved bank-under the name FBN Bank (UK) Ltd. The Bank is not a Bureau de change, it is a big player in the Trade Finance /Corporate Banking sector in Europe and Asia and West Africa and recently had a Syndicated Loan facility of $28 million arranged by Standard Bank and 8 others over subscribed-underlining a stong confidence of international investors-not the kind of business Bureau de change operators would indulge in

The Bank also assists UK based Nigerians to open Domiciliary, Current & Savings a/c in any First Bank branch of their choice; they facilitate payment of School fee's on behalf of Nigerian parents ,remittance of UK State pensions to Nigerians back home and offer a wide range of Mortgage services for Nigerians wishing to climb the property ladder in UK. The Bank happens to be an expert in Trade Finance transactions involving Oil & Gas and acts as Intermediary's on behalf of many reputable Banks worldwide. I used to be in charge of Global Custody/Money market transactions and I know the range of deals,transactions and profit being made while I was there. Its quite easy to bad mouth the Bank from the outside, but its good to be objective with remarks.The Bank made a profit of £3.6m in its 3rd year of business with 32 staff-and is moving even stronger.

I have handled and managed so many accounts of UK based Nigerian customers and must admit that lots of Nigerians are doing well and making good money for themselves through their various business endeavours in the UK. You stated that the bank has little else to offer, what exactly were you looking for on their banking menu ?

In view of the banks many corporate responsibility they sponsors the London Nigerian Rugby Football Club (LNRFC) which is proactively promoting mini rugby in West London through its Youth Development Project.

I doubt if you have ever been to the Bank in London that entitled you to make such a scathing remark. If at all you went to the bank to send money home to your loved one's you may want to call it a Bureau de change, but the person who went there to secure a muliti-million Dollar Irrevocable Letter of Credit to finance his Business would find your comment quite appalling. Without mentioning names, more than 2/3 of the banks in Nigeria have an account with FBN Bank UK Ltd who normally act as their UK correspondent for Trade Finance/FOREX and Global payment transactions. Get your facts right.

naijafresh (m)

Re: Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London

« #2 on: April 03, 2007, 06:36 PM »

@Londoncool

I see my remarks have led to a heated outburst
I will take your advise state my facts and be objective without causing offence i hope

Most people who patronise banks do not want to carry out multimillion dollar transactions all the time. Nor do they want to deal in Oil and Gas and the likes of what you mentioned, that is the premise of a few privileged, or smart or well connected people

HSBC, RBoS and the Barclays group made their name by looking after the pennies, the 'small fry' and then consolidating the gains over the years by acquisitions and mergers etc
You as a Banker will know this.
No Bank started big except i suppose only in Nigeria where one politician can steal enough money to open his own bank

You never know who you are dealing with. A good impression always lasts and a good word will go a long way on helping any mans business

The Nigerian banking mentality that "we are a big bank and we haven't got time for small players like you" applies to FBN (UK) too,

I say this because my friends father went to FBN UK to open a bank account, the snobbish attitude of the staff put him off

I actually directed him there as he wanted to use a bank that has a presence in Nigeria and would help him manage his affairs with First Bank in Nigeria. He was told that they have nothing to do with First Bank Nigeria and are a separate business entity Huh

The general impression he got was that he did not have enough money to open an account there. Did he have to bounce in with a suitcase full of stolen Nigerian petrodollars before they catered to him?

The minimum opening balance of £5000 is small change to him but he took his money elsewhere because of the hassle they gave him. The man he dealt with wasn't even Nigerian otherwise i would have eexcusedhis arrogance and perhaps ignorance

May be he was having a bad day when my friends Dad went there but does this excuse bad manners?

I am sure if they improve their customer services they will make a lot more than the £3.6 profit you mention. Hardly megabucks in the Banking industry in the UK but i admit it is still a profit so they must be doing something right
I would rather have my mortgage with a Nigerian bank than the Imperialist Banks here that help hide stolen money from Africa (Another story all together)

I have used FBN UK and yes mainly as a bureau de change to send money to First Bank Nigeria
They do not offer any services that can not be obtained with sometimes with better quality elsewhere, dom accounts, internet banking, correspondent banking you name it most banks offer it. Its quality of service that counts

The Nigerian Banking industry needs to wake up if they want to compete internationally
First Bank and other Nigerian banks should not rest on their laurels because they now have an international office and continue to work towards excellence instead of behaving like a typical first generation bank

So Londoncool my comments are made out of personal experience

So for Zenith Bank too, the jury is out the customer is always right!

LondonCool (m)

Re: Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London

« #3 on: April 03, 2007, 09:16 PM »

Naijafresh,

As per your personal experience-that was just limited to remitting money to Nigeria. Your Uncle's experience , was second-hand experience. What was the snobbish attitude of the staff that put him off ? The Bank is not a branch of First Bank in Nigeria; however ,they assist to transfer funds to First Bank accounts or open Accounts on behalf of First Bank in Nigeria. In 2002,when they were a branch they operated differently.Most Nigerian bad banking practice was commonplace and lots of kobo-kobo accounts were being opened. Upon receiving UK licence a new management took over with a new ethos with no more preferential treatment (man-know-man) to customers or Nigerian Directors, and a review of customer accounts was done,hence the £5000 minimum balancee requirement.

You mentioned that FBN Bank were simply a bureau de change with little else to offer. I mentioned what they had to offer and you stated that it wasnt any different from what other banks had to offer. Tell me the truth, havent you ever been snobbed in a UK bank by any staff or a Personal Banker before (especially when they tell you that the "Computer says NO" -ala Little Britain-to your loan application)? It happens everyday.

I know its painful when you get snobbed by a white staff in a so-called Nigerian Bank. I'll advise you to tell your Uncle to meet or call the CEO Mr Peter Hinson on 020 7920 4920 and explain his experience and displeasure to him.I'm sure he'll be very unhappy about what happened.

Actually, the Bank decided to operate like a Private bank dealing mainly with High-Networth clients and big Corporate players-(as they rake in the profits) hence, the perceived snobbish behaviour (which I don't condone).

naijafresh (m)

Re: Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London

« #4 on: April 04, 2007, 07:57 AM »

@Londoncool

Thanks for enlightening me. I will pass on the tel no to my friends dad if he is still interested.
My money took 3 days to get to Nigeria which is very good, i have no complaints about that

I actually haven't been turned down or snobbed by any bank in the UK, (1) because i know the points system behind applying for loans (2) I don't ask for unrealistic loans with dodgy information and claim that i have been discriminated against by the white man in the bank

The comment about him being snobbed by a white man was not made in the context of him being white but that he, dealing with Nigerians daily should know that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

I'll ask him to take his Bentley Continental and park on the double yellows outside the bank next time ( i am more than happy to chauffeur him there too

)

If its private banking only and no "kobo kobo" accounts they should make that clear by calling themselves a private banking facility
I suggest a one to one meeting to discuss requirements would be better, rather than asking someone as soon as he walks in whether he has up to £5000 to open the account in such a rough manner

On a personal note, I was called up by Amex to arrange a meeting to discuss opening a private banking account out of the blue, i turned the invitation down, because i am not in that league yet and it wont be value for money right now. Thats aggressive marketing with insight, if Amex account managers see me face to face they would pprobably cancel all my cards

I can call someone an idiot and make him smile and call the next man an idiot and get him angry it all depends on attitude and demeanour. Anyway from what you say one man does not make a bank so i will put that down to a bad coffee day

Anyway lets not make this a thread for personal spats and the like, I am pleased to note that First Bank is not what I thought it was but you can see first impressions do count

For those who might be reading check out the previous thread

FBN UK assist in opening First bank accounts in Nigeria, Domiciliary accounts, foreign currency transactions and also UK mortgages, plus lots more

As a passing shot you have an ex employees bias anyway

Have a nice day

Obamedo

Re: Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London

« #5 on: April 04, 2007, 09:20 AM »

@all

Does anyone know the london address of FBN UK?

For those who currently hold an account with them what is the procedure for obtaining a mortgage on a UK property
Are they competitive compared to other UK banks

Thanks

Dis Guy

Re: Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London

« #6 on: April 21, 2007, 10:39 PM »

their address is only available to governors, ministers and co Wink

we pepper sellers are not to know

Zenith Bank (UK) Limited
39 Corhhill
London EC3V 3NU
Tel: +44 (0)20 7105 3950
Fax: +44 (0)20 7105 3999
email: info@zenith-bank.co.uk

www.zenith-bank.co.uk is under contruction - can you imagine- naija style

segunsteve

Re: Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London

« #7 on: April 07, 2008, 12:31 PM »

zenith bank wellcome

But where are you based in uk and how will the account be operated

brownbonno (m)

Re: Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London

« #8 on: April 07, 2008, 09:52 PM »

http://www.zenith-bank.co.uk/

Zenith Bank (UK) Limited offers only wholesale banking products and services to corporate and institutional clients and does not offer banking products and services to individuals.

Wasi

Re: Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London

« #9 on: April 07, 2008, 10:52 PM »

Guys - lets keep encouraging our country fellow-men and women in any good things they are doing and stop criticising ourselves cause all other ethnics, whether being White, Chinese, Asian or Jamaican’s, they are already constantly remanding us how underachiever we are as a nation even though majority of us Nigerians want to fit into their society they will constant remand you that you are not part of them, so the best thing to do now is to continue to support and encourage Nigerian’s in all what they are doing to better our image in the global market because as soon as we are recognize as a major mover in this part of the world, we will start to be trusted and taken more seriously, which I believe we all pray for especially for our future generation even if not in our generation…….as the saying goes “whatever you loose in this world will be loose in heaven" so the more we encourage ourselves, the more will have self believes, beside, Rome was not build in a day.

NB - I will definitely pay Zenith Bank a visit, and as for londoncool's facts and encouraging words, continue to stand for what you believe in,

Thanks,

Wasi

Re: Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London

« #10 on: April 12, 2008, 12:32 PM »

Dis Guy - f.y.i, zenith bank website is now in operation,

4 Play (m)

Re: Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London

« #11 on: April 13, 2008, 02:46 AM »

Has anyone read this UK article:Can you trust First Bank of Nigeria?

Quote

Nigerian bank may not be the first to spring to mind when looking for a safe and profitable home for your money, but UK savers should be advised to take note.

The UK subsidiary of First Bank of Nigeria has been offering a suite of table-topping savings accounts since July of last year and – following pressure from This is Money – has pledged to make them more attractive by adding rate guarantees.

However savers may still be deterred by the association with a nation whose banking and political systems have been widely deemed corrupt.

First Bank's rates compare favourably to the best in the industry but, performance aside, would you be wise to deposit your money with it?

Although the subsidiary, FBN Bank, has been established in the UK for five years, it mainly managed money for businesses and wealthy individuals until last July. That's when it launched an online savings arm FirstSave, offering an easy-access savings account and fixed-rate bond accounts, in an effort to break into the UK savings market.

LondonCool (m)

Re: Zenith Bank Begins Operation In London

« #12 on: April 13, 2008, 03:32 PM »

Quote from: 4 Play on April 13, 2008, 02:46 AM

Has anyone read this UK article:Can you trust First Bank of Nigeria?

I have read the article

Starting A Mutual Fund In Nigeria The Naira Is Gaining Back Its Value? UBA Charges COT On Savings Accounts: Be Warned! Page 2

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