Zenith Bank Plc has emerged the Bank of the Year in Nigeria in the Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards 2020.
The award was announced Wednesday by the Banker Magazine, Financial Times Group, United Kingdom in a virtual ceremony.
Zenith Bank stood out in its ability to deliver returns, gain strategic advantage and serve the market, which are the criteria for the award.
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The Group Managing Director, Zenith Bank Plc., Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu said the award is as a result of the talent and doggedness of the bank’s staff.
“It’s a thing of joy for us in the Zenith Bank to have been recognized by The Banker, Financial Times Group, as the Bank of the Year 2020 in Nigeria. I dedicate this award to our staff for their commitment, doggedness, creativity and very outstanding talents. It is in the talents of our staff that the Bank has continued to build dynamic competencies and capabilities that are driving our business for continued superior performance,” he said.
Mr. Onyeagwu added that the Bank’s growth has been made possible by the prodigy of the Group’s Chairman, Mr. Jim Ovia, who has pioneered the foundational roles and laid the structures that have resulted in the success. He thanked the Board for the deep insights and outstanding leadership they provide, and praised the bank’s teeming customers for their support.
The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards is contested by the world’s leading financial institutions, with winners chosen across Africa, Asia-Pacific, central & eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and Western Europe.
Zenith Bank had earlier in the year won the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria for the third consecutive year, in the Banker Magazine; Top 500 Banking Brands 2020, and the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital. It also won the Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) at the ThisDay Awards 2020.
The Bank had shown why it deserved the awards through its outstanding performance in the year. Zenith Bank was the leading Nigerian bank in the Q3 bankers report with COVID-19 defying Profit Before Tax (PBT).
The Bank had unaudited results of N509 billion, a 4% increase from the N491 billion it recorded in the same period the previous year. Zenith’s Profit Before Tax rose marginally to N177 billion at the end of Q3 2020, representing a 1% growth over the N176 billion posted in the corresponding period in 2019.
Its total deposit closed at N5.2 trillion at the end of Q3 2020, indicating a significant increase from N4.3 trillion it recorded in December last year. Retail also grew by 58% to N1.7 trillion at the end of Q3 2020, up from N1.1 trillion as at December 2019.
The results significantly separate Zenith Bank from other banks and demonstrate the Group’s ability to deliver optimal pricing for its interest-bearing assets and liabilities in a declining yield environment.
The banking sector seems to be the most profitable sector in the land, even with the economy in doldroms, they keep posting intimidating numbers. The level of dysfunction in the economy is dizzying.
You don’t even know whether to praise them or shake your head.
In the meantime, congratulations on the awards.
Well done Zenith Bank! As a long-time shareholder, I hope it reflects in the value of shares I hold in the bank.