Over the years, The Nigerian franchise of the Pan-African financial institution, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), has stuck faithfully to its mission of becoming the most preferred lender in the country.
There is no gainsaying that Ecobank Nigeria exudes excellence and has assiduously pursued the same in its various in and out-bank services, ranging from account opening to payments, collections, savings, and investment and indeed all the touch points.The Bank’s management, led by its Group CEO, Ade Adeyemi, has ensured the journey to position Ecobank as one of the top three banks in the country is fast gaining traction and recognition. Ecobank believes Nigeria is a key market, in which they have seen significant improvement over the past three years as the management strives to reposition and leverage upon the bank’s pan-African strengths in digital products and services, payments and as the go-to-bank for businesses seeking to grasp the growth opportunities being created by the AfCFTA, across all its markets on the continent.
Over some time now, the bank has recorded milestones and landmark transformations that put it on the path of realizing its mission, endearing itself in the consciousness of the banking public, regulators, and all stakeholders in the industry.Take for instance, last year, the pan-african bank announced N143.7 billion profit before tax in its audited nine months ended September 30, 2021, an increase of about 316 per cent from N34.5billion reported in nine months ended September 30, 2020. A feat many stakeholders could hardly fathom.According to a statement, “By the results filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the bank’s triple-digit growth has resulted in earnings per share of over N3.01 kobo during the period under review”.“Profit after tax also grew by 916 per cent to N104.51billiion from N10.28billion reported in the prior nine months of 2020. Growth in gross earnings, net investment income, Other operating income and decline in operating expenses were major financial parameters that contributed to the Group’s significant increase in profits amid macro economy challenges where it has branches”, the statement read.This is a strong result, reflecting the continued diligence of Ecobank in putting its customers first and ensuring that each staff member meets the respective needs of its teeming customers.
These results demonstrate the hard work invested in driving efficiency in all the pan-african bank’s businesses in line with its deliberate focus on driving down its cost-to-serve, sustain improvement in the quality of its credit portfolio, and strengthen liquidity and capital buffers.The bank’s Group CEO, Ade Adeyemi said, “For the nine months period up to September 2021, we earned $352 million in pre-tax profit, a 41per percent increase compared to the prior year and revenues of $1.3 billion, a four per cent growth. Hence return on tangible equity increased to 17.9per cent, and we grew the per-share value of our shareholders’ equity by 11% to 5.52 US dollar cents”. Ecobank platform has been adjudged as unique for all types of retail transactions especially account opening, bills payment, airtime purchase and third-party transfers. Its ATMs spread across the country while our agency network reaches every community to provide basic financial services and support for every Nigerian, building an ecosystem that brings affordable financial services – payments and collections to every African.Speaking of the Bank’s exceeding performance in the financial world, there is no doubt that its workforce has been top-notch, making this kind of magic spring up for the bank.
Therefore, in recognition of their dedication to service, the bank has promoted its employees, knowing they are its greatest assets. This has helped to maintain high service quality standards, constant improvement on customer satisfaction and enhancing its brand experience.Mid-last year, the bank announced promotion of 682 of its staff members; an exercise which represented 26 per cent of its core staff and was done despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and all the attendant impact on business performance globally.Apart from promoting its workforce at various times, Ecobank has also motivated them in different ways through regular training and capacity building in its state-of-the-art Academy in Lagos which is fully accredited by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). Also, the bank is one of the few banks with a collection of young graduates, newly employed into its workforce. Fillers have it that during the year, the bank recruited 60 new entry level trainees into its workforce as part of its growth agenda.To this end, Ecobank has been harvesting a number of awards in recognition of its branded feats in the industry. One of which is the common knowledge that Ecobank in its cute little space has transformed the industry through its digital innovation, unequalled service delivery, product development, payments, technology, customer experience and lots more. Some of the awards include “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria “by Asian Bankers; “Consumer Finance Product of The Year” at the Middle East & Africa (MEA) Retail Banking Innovation Awards organized by Digital Bankers; “Most Outstanding Retail Bank Brand” of The Year by BrandCom among others.An icing on the cake of Ecobank Group’s sterling performance is the emergence of Jubril Mobolaji Lawal as the Regional Executive and Managing Director designate of Ecobank Nigeria, as approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The appointment came on the heels of Patrick Akinwuntan’s retirement, due to him reaching retirement age in January 2022.Mobolaji Lawal has been adjudged as one of the most versatile bankers in our Nation, today. He is a senior banking executive and digital transformation specialist for over 28 years with Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. He has deep involvement and experience in digital and retail banking, corporate and commercial banking, credit risk management and corporate finance. A feat Ecobank has faithfully upheld in the course of the years.His previous experience includes being Executive Director at GTBank Plc Nigeria, and Non-Executive Director roles at both GTBank Ghana Limited and Nigeria Interbank Settlement Systems Plc.Mobolaji led the team that envisioned and implemented GTBank Plc retail and digital banking strategy to achieve industry-wide leadership over a ten-year period and he introduced new products and solutions that have helped to deepen payments and access to digital financial services in Nigeria.Mobolaji Lawal holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria; B. L. from the Nigerian Law School and a Master of Business Administration from Oxford University, United Kingdom.He has also attended several executive management and banking specific developmental programmes at leading educational institutions including Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business and Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires (INSEAD).To this end, we join other major stakeholders and watchers in the industry to wish Ecobank continued successes as a leading light in the industry.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper
