“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.
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