Ecobank, is no doubt the leading pan-African Banking Group, in Nigeria. The bank, in 2022 was named Africa’s Best Bank for SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) by the prestigious Euromoney Awards for Excellence for the second year running.
The bank began operations in 1989, operating as a universal bank, providing wholesale, retail, corporate, investment and transaction banking services to its customers in the Nigerian market. The bank divides its operations into three major divisions: (a) Retail Banking, (b) Wholesale Banking and (c) Treasury & Financial Institutions. The bank also offers capital markets and investment banking services. During the fourth quarter of 2011, Ecobank Nigeria through its parent company Ecobank Transnational Inc. (ETI) acquired 100% of the shareholding in Oceanic Bank, creating the expanded Ecobank Nigeria Limited. As of December 2011, the expanded Ecobank Nigeria controlled total assets valued at approximately US$8.1 billion (NGN:1.32 trillion), making it one of the five largest banks in Nigeria at the time. At that time the bank had 610 freestanding branches, making it the second-largest bank in the country by branch network.
Sprawling under the leadership of Jubril Mobalaji Lawal, the bank is a leading institution in Nigeria. Lawal was the Executive Director & Head-Digital Banking Division at Guaranty Trust Bank Ltd. (Nigeria). He received a graduate degree from Obafemi Awolowo University, a graduate degree from Nigerian Law School and an MBA from the University of Oxford. Ecobank Nigeria Ltd.
He took over from Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan, who retired after reaching retirement age in January 2022.
Mobolaji Lawal has been a versatile 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.
“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’s 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.”
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).
Before he took over, Ecobank Nigeria has been offering its customers so many seamless services, including being one of the firsts to introduce online shopping. Customers can carry out all their transactions via its faultless digital platforms, which include the Ecobank Mobile app, USSD *326#, Ecobank Online, Ecobank OmniPlus, Ecobank Omnilite, EcobankPay, Ecobank RapidTransfer, ATMs, and PoS terminals.
Also available to customers is an extensive distribution network of over 60,000 Ecobank Xpress Point agency banking locations spread across the country.
In 2015, ECOBANK Nigeria unveiled Advantage Banking, a dedicated service for the mass affluent and upwardly mobile segment of society. Advantage Banking by Ecobank till date, offers convenience and ease in carrying out banking transactions for customers within the category. The Advantage Banking initiative which suggests the redefinition of banking service in Nigeria is characterized by the design of special products that suit the lifestyle of people within the segment. This would make banking much simpler, friendlier, more engaging and more personalised.
The app, which is available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, makes it extremely easy to bank on the go 24/7, enabling customers to meet their payment needs anywhere and at any time directly from their mobile device.
Ecobank’s Advantage Service Lounge is an extension of the bank’s strategy to offer its customer dedicated banking service across all customer types. Advantage Banking Service is designed in such a way to ensure customers get the quality of service they desire. The Bank has a bouquet of lifestyle enriching products available to address their day-to-day banking needs. It provides them a dedicated relationship manager, who follows them, providing all their banking needs wherever they may be or in whatever they do.
Ecobank Nigeria’s strong presence in the banking sector could be traced to its strong network, deep rooted in African soil. Ecobank Nigeria is a member of Ecobank, the leading independent pan-African bank, headquartered in Lomé, Togo, with affiliates in West, Central and East Africa. Ecobank, which was established in 1985. The bank has grown to a network of over 1,000 branches, employing over 10,000 people, with offices in 32 countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Ecobank also maintains a banking subsidiary in Paris and representative offices in Johannesburg, Dubai and London.
Ecobank Transnational Inc. (ETI) is the parent company of the Ecobank Group, which includes the following specialized subsidiaries. As of December 2011, the expanded Ecobank Nigeria Limited. is projected to have in excess of 600 branches, in all parts of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, following the merger of Oceanic Bank.
Ecobank’s largest shareholders are Qatar National Bank (27.09%) and Nedbank Group (28.61%). The bank’s complete shareholder structure can be accessed here. Ecobank Transnational was established in 1985. Ecobank, based in Togo, is a commercial bank operating in 36 African countries.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper
