Tokunbo Olajide
Nigeria’s
financial
powerhouse, Zenith Bank
plc, is rated Africa’s best
Zenith Bank plc has added to
its list of honours. The bank
has been adjudged the Best
Commercial Bank – Africa,
2012, by reputable awards
group, Capital Finance
International, CFI. The CFI
awards recognise value-
adding individuals and
organisations, including
smaller companies that
might otherwise go
unnoticed on the
international stage. The
awards’ panel said Zenith
earned the honour because
it worked to the benefit of all
stakeholders.
“Good commercial banks are
a cornerstone of any
economy and we are
delighted after much
deliberation to announce
Zenith Bank as the Best
Commercial Bank Africa,”
remarked the judges. “To
our mind good banking is
about finding and
maintaining the right
balance between all the
stakeholders’ interests,” the
panel added. CFI noted that
under the leadership of
Zenith Bank’s former CEO
and founder, Jim Ovia, the
bank created strong
foundations with a broad
shareholder base, high levels
of capitalisation and very
strong corporate
governance.
It also acknowledged the
acumen of current Group
Managing Director and CEO,
Godwin Emefiele, and his
team to have continued to
build on the foundations left
behind by Ovia.
According to CFI, Zenith
Bank’s commitment to all of
its stakeholders enables it to
provide the highest level of
services. “There has been
substantial investment in
staff development, creating a
team that we feel will
continue to work to the very
highest standards and bring
ever increasing standards of
banking to clients and
results to investors, while
through the bank’s CSR
policy, Zenith Bank ensures it
is also playing its part in
society as whole,” added the
panel.
Zenith Bank has built a
reputable local bank into an
international financial
institution that is recognised
for innovation, superior
customer service and
performance, while creating
premium value for all
stakeholders. The bank is
also easily associated with
the qualities of solid financial
performance, stable and
dedicated management,
highly-skilled personnel,
leadership in the use of ICT,
strategic distribution
channels and good asset
quality.
After Ovia handed the reins
to him in August 2010,
Emefiele has employed his
decade-long experience on
the Zenith board to maintain
the bank’s exceptional
performance, which stems
from its experienced
leadership, professionalism
and vision of the
management and staff. The
operating results of the
bank, since it went public in
2004, indicate impressive
performance in all
parameters. Total assets
grew from $1.25bn in 2004
to $14.19bn in Q3 2011,
representing a growth of
1,039 per cent. Within the
same period, total deposits
also rose by 1,079 per cent
from $845m to $9.97bn, as
at September 2011.
Zenith Bank’s liquidity profile
remains very strong, being a
consistent net placer of
funds in the interbank
market, and its risk
management practices give
assurance that this profile
will be maintained. The bank
has in place a sound and
robust liquidity risk
management framework,
which ensures it maintains
sufficient liquidity, including
a cushion of unencumbered,
high-quality liquid assets at
all times. When in 2009, the
Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN,
conducted a special audit to
ascertain the stability of the
banking sector in the
country, Zenith Bank was
among 14 banks given a
clean bill of health.
The bank has maintained
good ratings from both local
and international rating
agencies, and its leading
market position in all key
performance indices
confirms these ratings. In
2011, Standard & Poor’s
reaffirmed the bank’s ratings
at B+/stable/B – the highest
rating awarded any Nigerian
bank, and in line with the
country’s risk rating. In a
2012 survey conducted by
The Banker, an authoritative
publication of the Financial
Times of London, Zenith
Bank was adjudged the
largest bank in Nigeria and
the seventh largest in Africa,
on the basis of Tier-1 capital.
Also this year, Forbes ranked
Zenith the largest listed bank
in Nigeria and the third
largest listed bank in West
Africa.
The bank has also
consistently put in place a
robust system of corporate
governance, bearing in mind
the key elements of honesty,
trust, integrity, openness
and accountability as well as
commitment to the
organisation’s goals. This
year, World Finance voted
the bank as Best Nigerian
Bank in Corporate
Governance. In
demonstration of its
commitment to strong
corporate governance and
transparency, the bank
adopts a robust public
disclosure policy, so as to
forestall incidences of abuse
as insider trading.
Incorporated in 1990 as a
Limited Liability Company,
Zenith Bank transformed
into a Public Liability
Company, in 2004, following
a hugely successful initial
public offering, IPO. One of
the most capitalised
companies on the Nigerian
Stock Exchange, NSE, the
bank boasts over 700,000
shareholders and total
assets of N2.47trn, as of
second quarter of 2012.
Zenith’s main delivery
channels are its 357 local
and foreign subsidiaries and
business offices. Its foreign
subsidiaries and
representative offices are:
Zenith Bank (Ghana) Limited;
Zenith Bank (UK) Limited;
Zenith Bank (Sierra Leone)
Limited; Zenith Bank
(Gambia) Limited; Zenith
Bank (South Africa)
Representative Office; and
Zenith Bank (China)
Representative Office. The
foreign outposts were borne
out of a long-term strategy
of building Zenith Bank into
an international financial
franchise.