Zenith Bank Plc has again shown to its stakeholders why it keeps emerging as the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria. The bank emerged as the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in the Banker Magazine Top 500 Banking Brands 2020 and 2021 and Retail Bank of the Year, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards. Similarly, Zenith Bank was named Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) at the ThisDay Awards 2020, Bank of the Year 2021 by Champion Newspaper, Bank of the Year 2022 by New Telegraph Newspaper, and Most Responsible Organisation in Africa 2021 by SERAS Awards.
Apart from Zenith Bank Plc’s financial growth, in leaps and bounds, the bank has also set plans in place to create a subsidiary in France.
Zenith Bank’s audited results for the half-year (H1) ended 30 June 2023, recorded an astounding triple-digit growth of 139 per cent in gross earnings, from N404.8 billion reported in H1 2022 to N967.3 billion in H1 2023.
This was a clear demonstration of the financial institution’s resilience and strong market share despite a very challenging macroeconomic environment and persistent headwinds.
Zenith bank’s growth was attributed to the impact of both the growth and repricing of risk assets. The liberalisation of the foreign exchange market during the period spurred the growth in non-interest income as revaluations gains improved significantly.
Just recently, Zenith Bank Plc signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the French government to establish a subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc in France. The MoU, which was signed by the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, CFR, and the French Minister for Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Mr. Olivier Becht on Friday, November 24, 2023, will enable Zenith Bank, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Zenith Bank (UK) Limited, to seek and secure the requisite regulatory approval from the Autorite’ de Controle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) to establish a strategic presence in France.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, CFR, said, “It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Nigeria and Zenith Bank. I am indeed very delighted about the signing of this MoU with France. For me, it is an honour to do this on behalf of the bank, and we look forward to securing the licence and starting operations in early 2024”. He thanked the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Emmanuelle Blatmann and her colleagues at the French Embassy in Nigeria for their efforts towards improving French-Nigerian business relations.
Zenith 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 14th consecutive year, in the 2023 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking published by The Banker Magazine; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria, for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023, in the World Finance Banking Awards; Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards 2022 and 2023; Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards 2020 and 2022; Best Bank in Nigeria, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa, for four successive years from 2020 to 2023, by the Ethical Boardroom; Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria in the International Banker 2023 Banking Awards; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation In Retail Banking, Nigeria in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards.
Also speaking during the ceremony, the French Minister for Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Mr. Olivier Becht, said: “I want to thank you very much for your decision to open a branch of Zenith Bank in Paris. We are thrilled to welcome in France Zenith Bank’s first office inside the European Union. For us, that’s a very good signal, and it is undoubtedly a demonstration of mutual confidence. No doubt also that your vision on international finance guided you to decide to open this branch and this decision in many respects can also be regarded as a milestone in French-Nigerian economic relations and an illustration of our friendship”. He noted that the government of President Macron had adopted a pro-business agenda in order to make France more attractive by undertaking several reforms in labour law, simplifying a lot of procedures and cutting business taxes, corporate taxes and production taxes by more than 25 billion Euros, adding that “we hope that the opening of the branch of Zenith Bank in France will also be an occasion to boost the French-Nigerian business in order to have more French companies investing in Nigeria and also to have more Nigerian companies investing in France”.
Zenith Bank has continued to distinguish itself in the Nigerian financial services industry through superior service offerings, unique customer experience and sound financial indices.
The bank remains a clear leader in the digital space, with several firsts in deploying innovative products and solutions and an assortment of alternative channels that ensure convenience, speed, and safety of transactions. Zenith Bank also has subsidiaries in Ghana, Zenith Bank (Ghana) Limited; Sierra Leone, Zenith Bank (Sierra Leone) Limited; The Gambia, Zenith Bank (Gambia) Limited.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper
