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FIRST BANK: STILL STANDING GIDIGBA 125 YEARS AFTER
BY ALEX OTTI
This week marks the celebration of the 125th anniversary of the existence of the First Bank franchise in Nigeria. This stands the bank out as one of the earliest institutions established in West Africa, and obviously, one of the handful still in existence today. The bank began as the Bank of British West Africa (BBWA) in 1894 and quickly began playing the role of the Central Bank of British West Africa in the absence of a regulator at those medieval times in the sub region. The bank witnessed the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates and the eventual independence of Nigeria in 1960. It was founded by Alfred Lewis Jones, a shipping magnate who imported silver currency into West Africa through Elder Dempster shipping company also owned by him. In 1957, the bank changed its name to Bank of West Africa (BWA). Sequel to Nigeria’s independence in 1960, the bank began to extend more credit to indigenous Nigerians as most of its credit facilities were hitherto concentrated on foreigners living in the erstwhile colony. Standard Bank acquired the Bank of West Africa in 1966 and changed its name to Standard Bank of West Africa. In 1969, Standard Bank of West Africa incorporated its Nigerian operations and its name had to change once again, this time to Standard Bank of Nigeria Ltd (SBN). In 1971, SBN listed its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and placed 13% of its share capital with Nigerian investors. Following the implementation of the indigenisation policy of the then military government soon after the civil war, Standard Chartered Bank reduced its stake in SBN to 38%. This action led to another change in name to First Bank of Nigeria in 1979 as Standard Chartered Bank insisted that since it had lost majority control, the bank should no longer bear its name since by the action, it had failed to be its full fledged subsidiary. This marked a watershed in the history of the bank as more Nigerians were appointed to the board and it began to look and operate more like a Nigerian bank. The bank had subsequently moved from a limited liability company to a publicly quoted company and back to a limited liability company which it presently is. The latest status is in compliance with changes in the regulatory environment in 2012 that required that the group operates as a holding company, with the bank as one of its subsidiaries or spin off other operations not related to banking. That marked the birth of FBN Holdings which presently has the bank and non bank subsidiaries as part of the group.
In 1982, First Bank opened a branch in London and converted same to a full fledged subsidiary, FBN Bank (UK) in 2002. Two years later, in 2004, a representative office in Johannesburg, South Africa, debuted. At the moment, First Bank has subsidiaries or representative offices in France, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Guinea and Senegal. At the last count, First Bank had presence across 10 countries in three continents. It operates from over 750 locations and employs close to 22,000 people. Its has over N3.3trillion in total assets. It also boasts over N2.5trillion in Customer deposits with a tidy 19% Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR). The bank has over 1.3m shareholders and over 14million customers. Before going further, I must, in the full disclosure tradition of this column, declare that I joined First Bank as an Assistant General Manager on April 1, 2001 and left 10 years after, having risen to the position of Executive Director in 2011. I joined as part of the transformation team of the bank set up following a decision to institute comprehensive reforms in the bank. The project, titled, “Century 2, the New Frontier” effected a total change in the way things were done in the bank. Readers will realize, in the course of this essay, that a major part of the resilience and longevity of the bank has to do with its ability to keep pace with changes, not just in the banking ecosystem, but the global environment.
It is pertinent to note that so many institutions and companies disappear after only a few years of existence and therefore, there must be some distinguishing characteristics that have made First Bank, not only to survive but to excel in the last one decade and a quarter. I will attempt to share my own thoughts on this, which would definitely not be exhaustive.
One thing that stands the bank out is that everything it does is woven around strategy. In my days at the institution, and I believe it should still be the same now, the bank will start a year with long board and management strategy sessions. These comprise long and short term strategies. The long term strategies normally have a horizon of 5 years while the short term ones are normally between one and three years. I am sure some people, particularly in other environments, will argue that 5-year strategies would be at best described as medium term, but the truth is that in the Nigerian market, 5 years is even too long given how rapidly things change here! Organizations succeed and fail on strategy. The profound saying that when you fail to plan, you plan to fail fits in perfectly here. It is also said that when you are not certain about where you are going, any road takes you there. Having a clear strategy is one thing, achieving flawless execution is another. 
I am aware of organisations that are very long on plans and short on implementation. On this, you must give it to First Bank as it is also very good on monitoring and measurement. It is a known fact that what doesn’t get measured, hardly gets done. So, to execute, you must have measurement tools and put in place, a system that not only rewards good performance but also poor performance. I can still remember our strategy sessions as we joined in 2011, where the then CEO, Mr. Bernard Longe reeled out the Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) of “being twice as large as the second largest bank in Nigeria by a defined future date”. Yes, the bank may not have achieved that goal within the timeframe, but it did have a goal and it did work towards that goal. It is in strategy that you define who you want to be, who you want to serve, how you want to serve them and what distinguishes you from the “guy down the road”. Once you have those agreed, the tools and the people must also be addressed. I have seen situations where management disbands a strategy put in place by the organisation only to replace it with a weak strategy or none at all and in consequence end up as lunch for competition. First Bank is noted for its very strong corporate governance regime. I believe this is at the heart of the longevity of the bank. In our days and I believe it is the same till today, there are things you simply could not do irrespective of who you were. Just like any organsation, the bank had a soul, meaning the key board members who called the shots. But every decision had to go through a process. Having survived over a long period of time, most things were documented and rules were strictly adhered to. I recall that even loan applications from viable businesses of shareholders of the bank must not only be disclosed, but must go through rigorous processes before they were approved. And with the Risk Management function under very experienced professionals with the brilliant Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who was later to become CEO of the bank and six months later, the CBN Governor and currently the Emir of Kano, you couldn’t go round the process. By the way, it will not be out of place to mention that I was appointed an Executive Director the same day, September 4, 2005 with HRH Sanusi who had joined from UBA. Others appointed same day with us were Oladele Oyelola, Remi Babalola who went on to become Minister of State For Finance, and Mrs Bola Adesola, the current CEO of Standard Chartered Bank. We joined the only surviving executive director from the regime before ours, Mr. John Aboh, who is the current Chairman of Ecobank Nigeria and the then CEO of the bank, Mr. Jacobs Moyo Ajekigbe. As we were appointed, we were handed over a merger and acquisition deal, (some called it outright takeover bid) with another bank with footprints in some other African countries. The deal looked good on the surface, but some of us saw danger in the whole transaction as proposed. We struggled with that transaction for close to two years before resting it. Even though there was very strong support for the deal from some influential shareholders, management thought it was not going to create value for First Bank and therefore had to let it die a natural death. Yours truly had argued then that based on “back of the envelope analysis”, over 60% of mergers and acquisition destroy shareholder value. This my held position was to be corroborated by the Harvard Business Review Report in 2015 which stated that between 70% and 90% of mergers and acquisition destroy shareholder value and in fact fail. The reasons for failure are fully documented in the literature. One is glad that we still have the foremost Nigerian bank with us today celebrating its 125 years anniversary as some of us are persuaded that the situation would not have been the same if that deal went through. On this note, permit me to acknowledge the resilience of Mr. Jacobs Moyo Ajekigbe who showed strength of character as the buck naturally stopped on his table. One of the lessons to learn from the First Bank story is its ability to adapt to changing situations in the environment. For an organisation to adapt, it must understand the environment and be able to read changes and sometimes predict them, even before they happen. The reality is that human beings will normally gravitate around their comfort zones and oftentimes, become very resistant to change. It is only an organisation that constantly interrogates the status quo that will be able to adapt to changes or even lead the change itself. In our time, we realized that we had what our Human Capital Management department referred to an “aging workforce”. Like Clinton would say about Senator Dole, “we did not have a problem with their age, but with the age of their ideas”. The bank started a workforce renewal strategy which saw to the entry of young people with fresh ideas who could relate to the youthful population who were basically in control of the “new money”. To attract them, one needed people that not only looked like them but also reasoned like them. An age band was approved by management for different levels in the staff cadre. This tilted the average age of staff down significantly. Younger people were selected to replace those retiring on account of age. Technology was massively deployed as part of strategy. Service delivery, which was measured by external consultants, spiked in the positive direction. The bank was able to compete with smaller and younger banks, giving them a run for their money. The brand equity is an important part of any organisation, more so a bank. First Bank benefited so much from its brand. Because some banks had come and gone and bank failures has not ceased even at this moment, the bank benefitted from its longevity. Some people joke about dead people’s money being warehoused in the bank. Besides, what the brand represents is also the conscious effort at tweaking the brand to be in tune with modernity, of course without doing away with the reassuring effect of the ‘elephant’. I remember with nostalgia, the first strategy session we attended in Gateway Hotel, Otta in 2001, a new colleague, had proposed that the bank should do away with the elephant as the animal is not known to be smart, fast and efficient. We were all shocked at the response he got. Virtually everyone, except those of them that were new, charged at him, in the manner of the elephant he wanted removed. That was the last time he made that kind of suggestion. It was considered a heresy to remove the elephant. The rest of the people that mustered courage to speak about the elephant talked about how to make it nimble, how to face it forward rather than backwards, how to get the elephant to raise one of its legs and generally how it would reflect efficiency in strength.
Finally, I have always maintained that an organisation cannot be better than its people. First Bank has built a culture of employing very sound and good people. The recruitment process is excellent and gives little or no room for manipulation. The reward system ensures that the best people stay and misfits are gradually eased out. The compensation system remains competitive from what I hear and positions at the top are tenured such that the CEO and Executive Directors must retire after a maximum of two tenures of 3 years each. This policy makes it difficult for people to sit tight at those levels and also keeps the top open for deserving younger people to aspire. It is my sincere hope and belief that these time-honoured traditions of First Bank endure.
Let me therefore join millions of Nigerians to congratulate First Bank on this 125th Anniversary celebration and wish the Board, Management, Staff, Shareholders and Customers well. Of course, I pray for the continued sense of camaraderie that exists among the ex-staff of First Bank
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UBA Group Dominates 2025, Banker Awards, Emerges Africa’s Bank of the Year, For Third Time in Five Years
….Wins Best Bank in Nine out of 20 African Subsidiaries
Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has once again, reaffirmed its leadership as one of the continent’s most innovative and resilient financial institutions, as the bank has, for the third time in five years, been named the African Bank of the year 2025 by the Banker.com.
UBA also won the Best Bank of the Year awards in nine of its 20 African subsidiaries, bringing its total awards this year to ten as UBA Benin, UBA Chad, UBA Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), UBA Liberia, UBA Mali, UBA Mozambique, UBA Senegal, UBA Sierra Leone, and UBA Zambia, all came out tops as the best banks in their respective countries, underscoring the bank’s strength across West, Central and Southern Africa and highlighting the depth of its Pan-African franchise.
The Banker.com, a leading global finance news publication published by the Financial Times of London, organises the annual Bank of the Year Awards, and this year’s edition was held at a grand ceremony at the Peninsula, London, on Wednesday.
The Chief Executive Officer, UBA UK, Deji Adeyelure, received the awards on behalf of the bank, representing the Group Managing Director/CEO, Oliver Alawuba, and was accompanied by the bank’s Head Business Development, Mark Ifashe, and Head, Financial Institutions, Shilpam Jha.
The Banker’s awards are widely regarded as the most respected and rigorous in the global banking industry, celebrating institutions that demonstrate outstanding performance, innovation and strategic execution.
In its remarks on UBA’s winnings, the banker.com said, “For the third time in five years, UBA Group has won the coveted Bank of the Year award for Africa. UBA Group time after time punches above its weight against its larger African rivals. The bank this year also takes home nine separate country awards (one more than it gained for its last continental win in 2024), equivalent to around a quarter of the awards for the continent, and more than any of its continent-wide rivals.”
Continuing, it said, “Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that the awards were won across a broad geographic spread, going to lenders based in the Economic Community of West African States (Benin, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and former member Mali), the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (Chad, Republic of Congo) and the Southern African Development Community (Mozambique, Zambia). Its award wins were particularly notable in the highly competitive categories for Benin and Mozambique.”
The Banker also highlighted UBA’s strong financial performance and commitment to future growth. In 2024, the Group recorded a 46.8 per cent increase in assets and a 6.1 per cent rise in pre-tax profits in local currency terms, while continuing to invest significantly in talent and technology. West Africa remains UBA’s heartland, with operating revenue and profit increasing by 87 per cent and 89 per cent respectively in H1 2025.
The bank’s digital and innovation leadership was equally recognised. During the year under review, and launched its Advance Top-Up buy-now-pay-later feature on the *919# USSD platform, expanding financial access for customers, while the bank’s chatbot Leo continued its strong growth trajectory, with transaction volumes rising by 29 per cent year-on-year in H1 2025. Notably, in August, Leo became the first African banking chatbot to enable cross-border payments via the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).
UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, while reacting to the achievement, said the recognition affirms the bank’s long-term strategy and customer-first philosophy.
“This honour reflects the strength of our Pan-African network, the trust of our customers, and the dedication of our people. Winning Africa’s Bank of the Year for the third time in five years is not by chance; it is a testament to disciplined execution, innovation, and a deep understanding of the markets we serve,” Alawuba said.
“Our nine country awards across diverse regions of Africa show that UBA is not just growing, but growing with impact. We remain committed to driving financial inclusion, supporting economic development, and deploying technology that makes banking simpler, faster, and more accessible to Africans everywhere,” he added.
United Bank for Africa is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, with 25,000 employees group-wide and serving over 45 million customers globally. Operating in twenty African countries, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France and the United Arab Emirates, UBA provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services, leading financial inclusion and implementing cutting-edge technology.
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ZENITH BANK TECH FAIR 5.0 SPOTLIGHTS INNOVATION, AWARDS ₦140 MILLION CASH PRIZE TO HACKATHON WINNERS
L-R: Executive Vice President, CNN International Commercial, Phil Nelson; Founder & CEO, Beyond Limits Africa and Non-Executive Director, Zenith Bank, Dr. Juliet Ehimuan; Managing Director/CEO, NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh; Executive Director, Zenith Bank, Mrs. Adobi Nwapa; Founder & Chairman, Zenith Bank, Jim Ovia, CFR; Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Group Managing Director/CEO, Zenith Bank, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON; Executive Director, Zenith Bank, Mr. Akin Ogunranti; Executive Director, Zenith Bank, Mr. Louis Odom; Executive Director, Zenith Bank, Mr. Adamu Lawani; and Director, Information Technology Infrastructure Solutions, NITDA, Mr. Oladejo Olawumi during the Zenith Bank Tech Fair Future Forward 5.0 held at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, recently.
A total cash prize of ₦140 million has been awarded to ten (10) African innovators to scale their transformative solutions after a keenly contested hackathon and pitch session at the Fifth Edition of the Zenith Tech Fair, themed “Future Forward 5.0: Tech for Success – Innovate, Adapt, Accelerate”, which held on Thursday, November 20, 2025, at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.The 2025 edition of the Zenith Tech Fair featured an expanded, dual-competition structure that included a high-stakes Hackathon for product development and a Startup Pitch Competition for early-stage ventures, and drew participation from thousands of developers, founders, and entrepreneurs across the continent.The prize money was shared among ten finalists who emerged from the over 2,000 contestants that took part in the Zecathon. In the hotly contested final, two major winners emerged, each receiving the top prize of ₦30 million. The winner of the Hackathon, Trust Loop, clinched first place for its innovative solution that delivers seamless digital KYC and liveness verification. Simultaneously, the winner of the Startup Pitch Competition, Cubbes Technologies Limited, secured the top spot for its revolutionary AI-powered EdTech platform that enhances learning and career readiness.The remaining eight (8) finalists across both categories were equally recognised, each receiving ₦10 million in non-dilutive funding. They include Venille Ltd, Sowota, FLOW, InvoPay, Zenith Intelliscore, The Very Hacked Men, Konfam and Zerax. All ten finalists will also be entitled to a six-week mentorship and incubation programme designed to help them grow and scale effectively, and this will run from December 2025 to February 2026.The Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame Dr Adaora Umeoji, OON, in her welcome address, thanked the Founder & Chairman, Dr Jim Ovia, CFR, for the visionary foresight that led to the creation of the Zenith Tech Fair. Commenting on the Zecathon, she said, “Our theme this year, ‘Tech for Success: Innovate, Adapt, Accelerate’, is very timely. To appreciate its urgency, it helps to reflect on the speed of human progress. According to the Harvard Business Review, it took humanity millions of years to master fire, yet only 66 years to move from the first powered flight to landing on the moon. The lesson is simple – the next technological breakthrough will not take a lifetime. It will emerge sooner than we expect and could come from any one of you in this room today. We are confident that this Tech Fair will produce innovators who will change the world, and we stand ready to support you to turn your ideas into reality.”In his Goodwill Message, the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, CFR, said, “This fifth edition reflects our unwavering commitment to create value through technology, innovation, and talent development. My vision is to continue to empower the youth through technology, with the hope that one day we will produce the likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos.”Whilst delivering his goodwill message, the Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, called for increased technological empowerment initiatives to provide youths with adequate opportunities needed to thrive in the digital future. He said, “What I see happening here every year are things that we in leadership need to connect with. This is an activation that can bring life and real conversation to the young, dynamic, innovative, and creative young people that we have in this country. By 2050, half of the youth population in the world will be in Africa, and even in Africa, they will be in Nigeria, and if they are in Nigeria,
they will be somewhere in Lagos, and we need to be able to fish them out. We need to give them an opportunity and a space to fly. We want to make Lagos the human capital centre of the world, where Microsoft and Google will think of raising a million tech experts. That’s the kind of vision and opportunity we want to leave behind.”Hailed as a resounding success by participants, the Fair showcased cutting-edge demonstrations on the role of Generative AI, Agentic AI, and Cloud Computing in driving economic growth with Keynote addresses delivered by Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, Managing Director, M-PESA Africa; Jonas Kjellberg, Co-Creator, Skype and Dr. Shivagami Gugan, Chief Technologist for Middle East, Turkey and Africa, AWS.The event also featured goodwill messages by the National Commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, and the Governor of Niger State, His Excellency, Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago, ably represented by the Head of Service, Niger State, Mr. Abubakar Sadiq Idris.Another key feature from the tech fair this year was the robust exclusive masterclasses delivered by global technology and consulting powerhouses: McKinsey & Company, Huawei, Check Point, and Microsoft. These sessions covered critical topics from cybersecurity to advanced cloud solutions and disruptive technologies, equipping participants with world-class insights.Aside from the thrilling musical performance by Nigerian musician Spyro, the fair also featured dual-panel sessions that were very insightful and highly interactive. The panel sessions both had Zain Asher, CNN Anchor, as host, and featured high-level discussants including Adaora Nwodo, Founder & Executive Director, NexaScale; Aisha Tofa, Board Chair, Startup Kano Centre for Innovation Dev.; David Kpakima, Co-Founder, Rasab Group, Sierra Leone; Dr Stanley Jacob, President, FINTECHNGR; Iyinoluwa S. Aboyeji, CEO Future Africa; Gary Fowler, CEO & Founder GSD Venture Studios; Bradwin Roper, Chief Payments & Partnerships Officer at JUMO, and Mrs. Omoyemen A. Jide-Samuel, Director, Information Technology, CBN.Zenith Bank remains committed to fostering an ecosystem where innovation thrives, ensuring that the next generation of African tech leaders have the capital, mentorship, and resources required to achieve global scalability and impact.The Bank’s track record of excellent performance has continued to earn the brand numerous awards, including being recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for the sixteenth consecutive year in the 2025 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking, published by The Banker and “Nigeria’s Best Bank” at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025. The Bank was also awarded Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards for 2020, 2022 and 2024; Best Bank in Nigeria from 2020 to 2022, 2024 and 2025, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best Bank for Digital Solutions in Nigeria in the Euromoney Awards 2023; and was listed in the World Finance Top 100 Global Companies in 2023.Further recognitions include Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria for five consecutive years from 2021 to 2025 in the World Finance Banking Awards and Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria in the International Banker 2023 and 2024 Banking Awards. Additionally, Zenith Bank has been acknowledged as the Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria, in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards for four consecutive years from 2022 to 2025 and ‘Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023 by the Ethical Boardroom
The Bank’s commitment to excellence led to Zenith being also named the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in The Banker’s Top 500 Banking Brands for 2020 and 2021, Bank of the Year 2023 to 2025 at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, and Retail Bank of the Year for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022 and 2024 to 2025. The Bank also received the accolades of Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation in Retail Banking, Nigeria, in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards, Bank of the Year 2024 by ThisDay Newspaper; Bank of the Year 2024 by New Telegraph Newspaper; and Best in MSME Trade Finance, 2023 by Nairametrics. The Bank’s Hybrid Offer was also adjudged ‘Rights Issue/ Public Offer of the Year at the Nairametrics Capital Market Choice Awards 2025.Zenith Bank has also bagged several non-financial awards, including Most Responsible Organisation in Africa, Best Company in Transparency and Reporting and Best Company in Gender Equality and Women Empowerment at the SERAS CSR Awards Africa 2024
Zenith Bank Plc has released its unaudited financial results for the nine months ended 30 September 2025, with a remarkable 16% year-on-year growth in gross earnings from N2.9 trillion recorded in Q3 2024 to N3.4 trillion in Q3 2025. The Group’s performance continues to demonstrate resilience, strong momentum, disciplined execution and an ability to deliver long-term shareholder value in spite of challenging macroeconomic environment.According to the financial results presented to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the growth in gross earnings was driven by a sustained growth in interest income which grew by 41% year-on-year to N2.7 trillion. The growth in interest income was supported by a high-yield rate environment and an expansion in the Bank’s investment portfolio. Despite the increase in interest expense by 22% to N814 billion on the back of a tightening monetary cycle and a growth in the Bank’s funding base, the Bank was able to achieve a healthy Net Interest Margin (NIM) of 12% as against 10% in September 2024. Non-interest income declined by 38% to N535 billion, underpinned by a 60% decline in trading gains.Profitability remained strong, with profit before tax at N917 billion as against N1.00 trillion reported in September 2024. Profit after tax also declined by 8% to N764 billion and Earnings Per Share (EPS) came in at N18.60 as against N26.34 in September 2024, as the Bank took bold measures to improve the quality of its loan portfolio.The Bank’s total assets grew by 4% from N30 trillion in December 2024 to N31 trillion as at September 2025. This was largely supported by customer deposits, which rose by 8% to N23.7 trillion within the same period. Gross loans declined by 9% to N10 trillion as at September 2025, while Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio improved to 3% due to the write-off of non-performing loans.Return on Average Equity (ROAE) and Return on Average Assets (ROAA) stood at 23.3% and 3.3% respectively. Cost of funds increased to 4.5%, underscored by the broader elevated interest rate environment. The Group’s cost of risk stood at 10% while cost-to-income ratio rose to 45%.Coverage ratio and liquidity ratio remain solid and well within regulatory limits at 211.1% and 53% respectively. This highlights the Bank’s strong capital position and liquidity profile as well as its ability to fund strategic growth opportunities. It also reflects its unwavering commitment to a prudent risk management, compliance and corporate governance culture. Commenting on the results, the Group Managing Director/CEO, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON, said: “the Bank’s robust performance is an attestation to the resilience of the Zenith brand, result-driven strategy, and the adaptability of our people in an evolving operating environment. We have fortified our capital base, reset our asset quality, and are well positioned for sustainable and profitable growth”.Looking to Q4 2025, Dame Dr. Umeoji reinforced her optimistic outlook: “This result confirms the resilience of both our business model and our people. We’re on a solid growth path that we expect to maintain through the remainder of the year. Our focus on innovation, digital transformation, and developing solutions that address our clients’ changing needs positions us to capitalise on emerging .
opportunities whilst maintaining our disciplined approach to growth.” She assured shareholders that the robust performance, combined with improved asset quality and the Bank’s strong capital base, positions Zenith Bank to deliver exceptional returns with expectations of sustained value creation. “We’re well placed to sustain this momentum whilst maintaining responsible leadership in the Nigerian banking industry and delivering exceptional value to all our stakeholders.”The Bank’s track record of excellent performance has continued to earn the brand numerous awards, including being recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for the sixteenth consecutive year in the 2025 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking, published by The Banker and “Nigeria’s Best Bank” at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025. The Bank was also awarded Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards for 2020, 2022 and 2024; Best Bank in Nigeria from 2020 to 2022, 2024 and 2025, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best Bank for Digital Solutions in Nigeria in the Euromoney Awards 2023; and was listed in the World Finance Top 100 Global Companies in 2023.Further recognitions include Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria for five consecutive years from 2021 to 2025 in the World Finance Banking Awards and Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria in the International Banker 2023 and 2024 Banking Awards. Additionally, Zenith Bank has been acknowledged as the Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria, in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards for four consecutive years from 2022 to 2025 and ‘Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023 by the Ethical Boardroom.The Bank’s commitment to excellence led to Zenith being also being named the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in The Banker’s Top 500 Banking Brands for 2020 and 2021, Bank of the Year 2023 to 2025 at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, and Retail Bank of the Year for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022 and 2024 to 2025. The Bank also received the accolades of Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation in Retail Banking, Nigeria, in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards, Bank of the Year 2024 by ThisDay Newspaper; Bank of the Year 2024 by New Telegraph Newspaper; and Best in MSME Trade Finance, 2023 by Nairametrics. The Bank’s Hybrid Offer was also adjudged ‘Rights Issue/ Public Offer of the Year at the Nairametrics Capital Market Choice Awards 2025.Zenith Bank has also bagged several non-financial awards including, Most Responsible Organisation in Africa, Best Company in Transparency and Reporting and Best Company in Gender Equality and Women Empowerment at the SERAS CSR Awards Africa 2024.
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