technology, Zenith Bank Plc, has broken all barriers to become not just
Nigeria’s leading Bank but one of Africa’s leading banking institutions.
ZENITH BANK: SUSTAINING MARKET DOMINANCE
Zenith Bank Plc has in 29 years grown to become the biggest Tier-1 bank
and one of the most profitable banks in Nigeria. The bank has greatly
impacted banking in Nigeria, literally lifting the sector from the era
of over-conservatism to one of dynamism, characterized by a culture of
excellence and global best practices. This was achieved through the
power of vision, skillful union of banking expertise and cutting-edge
technology with which it met and anticipated the varied and changing
appetites of its existing and potential customers.
The bank is a clear leader in the digital space with several firsts in
the deployment of innovative products, solutions and an assortment of
alternative channels that ensure convenience, speed and safety of
transactions. The bank has shaped and continues to influence certain
critical aspects of development in Nigeria, and has a knack for setting
the pace and raising benchmarks especially in the deployment of
information and communication technology (ICT) in the nation’s financial
industry.
History
Founded by Jim Ovia (CON), Zenith Bank Plc was established in May 1990
and commenced operations in July of the same year as a commercial bank.
The Bank became a public limited company on June 17, 2004, and was
listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on October 21, 2004,
following a highly successful Initial Public Offering (IPO).
Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, Zenith Bank Plc has over 500 branches
and business offices in prime commercial centres in all states of the
federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The bank has since
inception grown astronomically to become one of the leading financial
institutions in Africa. Zenith Bank Plc currently ranks as the 6th
biggest bank in the continent and has a shareholder base of about one
million. The Bank grew its shareholder’s fund from ₦20million in 1990 to
₦815billion as at year end 2018. Today, the Bank continues to thrive on
the strong values, brand equity, corporate culture of professionalism
and service excellence which are the foundations upon which the bank was
built.
In a strategic expansionary move, the Bank was licensed by the Financial
Services Authority (FSA) of the United Kingdom to establish Zenith Bank
(UK) Limited as the UK subsidiary of the bank. The bank’s shares are
freely traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) following a listing of
$850 million worth of its shares at $6.80 each in a major step at
improving liquidity in the stock through Global Depository Receipts
(GDR). The bank also has presence in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and the
Gambia, with representative offices in South Africa and The People’s
Republic of China. In another strategic move that is targeted at the
Asian and Middle-Eastern markets, Zenith Bank UK opened a subsidiary in
Dubai on January 30, 2016.
Zenith Bank’s management team is made up of seasoned professionals led
by Mr Peter Amangbo, the Group Managing Director and CEO, who has been
on the board for over a decade. He took over the reins in July 2014 from
Mr Godwin Emefiele, who was appointed the Governor of the Central Bank
of Nigeria (CBN). He is handing over in June 2019 to another egg-head
and Oxford University trained Financial expert, Ebenezer Onyeagwu.
Having been honed by its founder, Mr Jim Ovia, successive leaderships of
the bank drew upon its superior people, excellent service culture and
continuous deployment of state-of-the-art technology to keep the
institution at the forefront of Nigeria’s banking industry. The
seamless transition at the bank is clear evidence of a well-planned
institution and is consistent with the bank’s tradition and succession
strategy of grooming leaders from within.
In its 29-year existence, Zenith bank has demonstrated rare resilience
and has witnessed exponential growth in virtually all areas. Today,
Zenith is undoubtedly one of Nigeria’s strongest financial institutions
and one of the country’s largest banks by market capitalization,
shareholders fund and profitability. The bank’s growth momentum has
increased over time and impacted positively on its standing as a market
leader.
Clearly, Zenith Bank continues to make remarkable success on the
sustainability agenda which is at the heart of its strategic and
business models. As a result, the bank is better positioned to continue
on its growth trajectory and its desire to be a vital part of people’s
lives and businesses through its excellent service delivery, superior
asset quality, strong capital base, professionalism and corporate
governance which have provided the grounds for consistent high returns
to stakeholders. The bank maintains sound risk management and corporate
governance culture in line with global best practices. The bank’s
liquidity profile remains very strong and its risk management practices
give assurance that the profile will be sustained on the short-run and
improved upon over time.
Strategic Direction
Zenith Bank has clearly distinguished itself in the industry through
superior service quality, unique customer experience and sound financial
indices. People and talent are two equalizers in the bank’s value chain
and the institution has leveraged these to create innovative solutions
that often exceed customers’ expectations. The bank’s commitment to
create, build and nurture value amongst its stakeholders is further
enhanced by its sound credit risk model and operational risk management
system.
The Vision:
“To become the leading Nigerian, technology-driven, global financial
institution, providing a distinctively unique range of financial
services”
The Mission:
“To build the Zenith brand into a reputable international financial
institution recognized for innovation, superior performance and creating
premium value for all stakeholders”.
Core Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Excellence, Best corporate
governance, Commitment, Transparency and Service”
Corporate Social Responsibility
Zenith Bank Plc has made tremendous progress in its vision to entrench
sustainability principles into its business operations, including
product offerings, credit and loan administration, vendors’ relations,
and employee management.
For Zenith Bank, having a workforce that is increasingly aware and
passionate about the wellbeing of the physical environment and the
less-privileged in the society is the natural first step towards
achieving our overall sustainability objectives.
Zenith Bank remains the biggest corporate social responsibility (CSR)
spender in the Nigerian financial services industry. Its sustainability
and CSR initiatives are hinged on the belief that today’s business
performance is not all about the financial numbers – we believe that
institutions’ social investments, contributions to inclusive economic
growth and development as well as improvements in the condition of the
physical environment, all constitute the balanced scorecard.
In clear demonstration of its commitment to the ideals and tenets of
corporate sustainability and responsibility principles, hinged on the
triple bottom line of people, planet and profit, the bank regularly make
donations towards the setting up of ultramodern ICT centres in several
educational institutions across the country. It also supports various
developmental projects and healthcare delivery causes across the
country, including the provision of disaster relief materials and
personal care consumables to victims of flood in several states of the
federation as well as educational and skills empowerment for internally
displaced children in North-East Nigeria.
The bank equally contributes to the development of sports in Nigeria
through its sponsorship of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the
Zenith Women Basketball League (for 14 years running), and the Zenith
Bank Delta Principals’ Cup, to name a few.
At Zenith Bank, we remain committed to furthering the economic, cultural
and social development of host communities, particularly through
community-based initiatives and philanthropy. As a good corporate
citizen, we continue to deliver projects that have long-term social and
economic benefits for the communities because we believe that our
business is only as strong as the communities in which we operate.
We make every effort to understand the needs of the communities and how
to address them. Through robust Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
programmes and strategic partnerships, we ensure that we create value
and improve the quality of life in communities where we do business.
Health and well-being remain one of our main focus for CSR. We partner
with the global and domestic stakeholders in the health sector to
achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 which is focused on
ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages.
Awards and Certifications
Zenith Bank’s impressive growth pattern and performances over the years
have earned the bank excellent ratings, recognition and endorsements
from local and international agencies and institutions including:
• Best Corporate Governance 2015 – International Finance Magazine
• Best Commercial Bank 2015 – International Finance Magazine
• Biggest Bank in Nigeria by tier-1 capital 2013, 2014, and 2015 – The
Banker Magazine
• Best Customer Service Bank Nigeria 2015 – Global Banking and Finance
• Best Corporate Governance Bank Nigeria 2015 – Global Banking and
Finance
• Best Bank in Nigeria 2012 – Global Banking and Finance
• Best Bank in Corporate Governance 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018 –
World Finance
• Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria 2013, 2014 and 2016 – World Finance
• Most Customer-Focused Bank in Nigeria 2014, 2015 and 2016- KPMG
• Best Customer Service Bank 2017 – BusinessDay Awards
• Bank of the Year 2017, 2018 – BusinessDay Awards
• Best Institution in Sustainability Reporting in Africa 2017, 2018 –
SERAS Awards
The bank was in 2015 awarded three certifications by the British
Standards Institution (BSI) including:
• Information Security Management System ISO/IEC 27001:2013
• IT Service Management System ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011, and
• Business Continuity Management System, ISO 22301:2012.
This is a vivid attestation of the bank’s continual commitment to offer
its customers and stakeholders enhanced satisfaction in a creative and
secure environment.
Pontblanknews.com is therefore pleased to present Bank of the Year Award
to Zenith Bank Plc for bringing global best practices in banking in
Nigeria and setting the pace in information technology in the financial
sector. The Award will be presented to Zenith Bank in New York at a date
to be announced soon.