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Tag: Ebenezer Onyeagwu

  • Zenith Bank’s GMD Onyeagwu emerges Banking CEO of the year in Africa

    Zenith Bank’s GMD Onyeagwu emerges Banking CEO of the year in Africa

    The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, has been named the ‘Best Banking CEO of the Year in Africa’ at the International Banker 2024 Banking Awards.

    He retains the title for the second consecutive year. This award, published in the Spring 2024 issue of International Banker Magazine, United Kingdom, coincides with Onyeagwu’s completion of his five-year tenure as Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer on May 31, 2024.

    Speaking on receiving the award, Onyeagwu expressed his gratitude to the publishers of International Banker for the honour. He stated, “It is indeed an honour to be recognised as the ‘Best Banking CEO of the Year in Africa’ for a second consecutive year.

    This award is a testament to our team’s collective efforts and our commitment to innovation, growth, and delivering value to our customers and stakeholders. It also reflects our dedication to sustainability and high ethical standards, which are integral to our overall strategy. I am immensely proud of our accomplishments and look forward to future opportunities for the bank as I hand over the baton to my successor and begin the mandatory regulatory cooling-off period.”

    Onyeagwu dedicated the award to the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, for his mentorship, which was crucial to his success as Group Managing Director/CEO; to the bank’s management team and staff for their unwavering commitment over the past five years; and to the bank’s customers for their loyalty.

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    Throughout his distinguished tenure, Onyeagwu has received multiple awards, including Bank CEO of the Year (2019, 2023) by Champion Newspaper, Bank CEO of the Year (2020–2023) by BusinessDay Newspaper, CEO of the Year (2020 and 2021) – SERAS Awards, and CEO of the Year (2022) – Leadership Newspaper, and Banking CEO of the Year, Africa (2023) – International Banker.

    Appointed as the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer on June 1, 2019, as part of Zenith Bank’s succession planning strategy, Onyeagwu has led the bank to achieve significant milestones in financial performance, financial inclusion, corporate governance, and sustainability. These achievements have earned the bank numerous local and international awards, including being named Best Bank in Nigeria for the fourth time in five years from 2020 to 2022 and in 2024 by the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best Bank for Digital Solutions in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards 2023; being listed in the World Finance Top 100 Global Companies in 2023; and 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.

    Zenith Bank has also been honoured as Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria for three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023 by the World Finance Banking Awards; Best Corporate Governance Bank in Nigeria by the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards 2022 and 2023; Bank of the Year (Nigeria) by The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards in 2020 and 2022; and Best in Corporate Governance Financial Services Africa for four successive years from 2020 to 2023 by Ethical Boardroom. Other recognitions include Most Sustainable Bank in Nigeria at the International Banker 2023 Banking Awards, Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria, and Best Innovation in Retail Banking in Nigeria at the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards.

    Additionally, Zenith Bank was named the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in the Banker Magazine Top 500 Banking Brands 2020 and 2021; Bank of the Year 2023 and Retail Bank of the Year for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022 at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards; 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.

    In recognition of his significant contributions to the financial services sector in Nigeria and across Africa, Dr. Onyeagwu was awarded a Doctorate Degree in Business Administration by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, on March 25, 2023, during the university’s 50th convocation ceremony.

    Published by Finance Publishing Limited, the International Banker is a leading global source of authoritative analysis and opinion on banking, finance and world affairs. Its influence, integrity, accuracy and objective opinion have earned it global recognition. The International Banker Awards strive to recognise the most worthy financial institutions around the world – those not just doing their jobs well but exceptionally well – those operating at the industry’s cutting edge and setting new performance levels to which others will aspire.

    The 2024 Banking Awards focused on various criteria, including the provision of much-needed capital for economic growth, cutting-edge innovation to enhance security and efficiency, commitment to sustainability and ESG principles, as well as intelligent investing to maximise profits and shareholder value.

  • The Ebenezer Onyeagwu era at Zenith

    The Ebenezer Onyeagwu era at Zenith

    • By Emma Ukala

    Come 31 May 2024, the curtain will be drawn over the eventful five-year term of Dr Ebenezer Onyeagwu, as the managing director/chief executive of Zenith Bank Plc when a new chief executive, Adaora Umeoji will step in to take charge.

    Definitely, it’s going to be the end of a momentous tenure. In the grand tapestry of corporate stewardship, Onyeagwu’s five-year reign as the chief executive of Zenith Bank Plc witnessed a lot of innovation and excellence. He guided the bank to unparalleled heights of success.

    Under his leadership, the bank blossomed into a beacon of financial ingenuity, pioneering groundbreaking initiatives that redefined the banking landscape. Through a harmonious fusion of strategic vision and unwavering dedication, Onyeagwu steered the institution towards unprecedented achievements, weaving a narrative of triumph and distinction.

    Changing the Narratives

    That he brought to his job strategic thinking, inspirational leadership, and energetic and entrepreneurial skills to the job is not in doubt as the figure of success speaks for itself.

    Like a captain of a ship ready to sail, Onyeagwu began to change the fortune of Zenith Bank in 2019 when he assumed the office of the chief executive of the bank. For instance, the Bank’s share price was  N18.60  in 2019 when he took over, while market capitalisation was N584bn. However, by this year, he has grown the bank’s share price to N39 with market capitalisation rising to N1.22trillion.

    Apart from GTB, which grew its market capitalisation significantly from N874bn in 2019 to N1,192trillion in 2023, no other tier-1 bank was able to go near the feat of Zenith Bank during  this period.

    An analysis of these banks shows that while Access Bank, which posted a market capital of N289billion in 2019 was able to raise its performance to N777bn in 2023, UBA grew its market capitalisation from N245bn in 2019 to N877bn in 2023 while First Bank’s market capitalisation rose from N221 in 2019 to N845billion in 2023.

    In 2019 when Onyeagwu took the rein of leadership, Zenith Bank’s gross loan was N2.462trillion but as of Q3, 2023, it had risen to N6.101trillion, while its customers’ deposits tripled from N4.262trillion in 2019 when he came on board to N13.383trillion as of Q3, 2023.

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    The bank’s superlative performance under his watch also manifested in the total assets which significantly rose to N18.160 trillion in Q3, 2023 from N6.347 trillion it posted in 2019.

    In 2019 when he assumed the position of chief executive of the bank, the bank’s shareholders’ fund rose from N942 billion in 2019 and increased to N1.919 trillion in Q3, 2023.

    In terms of the bank’s major income statement lines, the outgoing chief executive can be described as an achiever. For instance, in 2019 when he came on board, the bank’s gross earnings, profit before tax and interest income for 2019 were N662 billion, N243 billion and N232 billion respectively. As of Q3, 2023, the tide has changed and the bank’s income statement showed a gross earning of N1.329 trillion, profit before tax of N505billion and interest income of N607billion respectively.

    It is noteworthy that the non-financial performance indicators also grew to support the financial indices. For instance, its customer base rose from 9,575,733 in 2019 to 33,069,875 in 2023.

    To show its seriousness as a big player in the retail end, the bank performed very well in terms of card issuance during the period. The number of cards issued in 2019 was 7,880,411. This was improved upon in the course of the years as it ballooned to 25,653,330 in 2023.

    The bank which released 41,536 POS terminals in 2019, grew the number exponentially to 413,183 in 2023. It recorded zero- agent bankers in 2019, but by 2023, 105,810 agents had been registered.

    The bank’s branches slightly increased from 430 in 2019 to 447 in 2023. During his tenure, the bank placed a premium on staff strength as the number of male staff grew from 3,776 in 2019 when he resumed as the CEO of the bank in 2019 to 4,049 in 2023. On the other hand, the number of female staff members rose from 3,441 to 3,993 last year.

    Harvests of Awards

    If Onyeagwu is to be rated based on awards conferred on him during his stewardship as the Chief Executive of Zenith Bank, he surely has enough to show for the five-year tenure.

    It is to his credit that Zenith Bank under his leadership won many awards back to back in 2019, a feat he was able to sustain and surpass to date. In 2019, he led the bank to win the award of the Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria by World Finance, apart from the fact that it was named the Biggest Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 capital by The Banker Magazine, which also named Zenith Bank as the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria.

    To prove that the chains of awards bestowed on Zenith Bank under Onyeagwu’s watch for five years was not a fluke, the bank was named the Biggest Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital by the Banker Magazine in 2023. It also made the list of World Finance 100 list, which also named Zenith Bank as the Best Commercial Bank, in Nigeria and Best Bank in Corporate Governance in Nigeria. It was named Best Bank for Digital Solutions, Nigeria by Euromoney in 2023.

    For his recognition, Onyeagwu was named the Bank CEO of the Year in 2022 and 2023 by Businessday and Leadership newspapers. In 2023, he was crowned the Best Banking CEO of the Year, Africa by International Banker, while Businessday and Telegraph newspapers named him as the Bank CEO of the Year in the same year.

    Onyeagwu replaced Mr. Peter Amangbo, whose tenure expired on May 31, 2019. As GMD/CEO, he is a vastly experienced banker and financial expert, trained in reputable institutions of learning in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

    He is a graduate of Accounting from Auchi Polytechnic where he obtained the Ordinary National diploma in 1984 and Higher National Diploma in 1987. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1989 while he was still undergoing the compulsory National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) post-graduation and was named a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) in 2003.

    He is an alumnus of the prestigious University of Oxford, England, from where he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Strategy and a certificate in Macroeconomics. He also undertook extensive executive-level business education at Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School of Columbia University, the Harvard Business School of Harvard University (all in the United States) and Lagos Business School of the Pan African University, Nigeria.

    He has nearly 30 years of experience in the banking industry in Nigeria.  He joined Zenith Bank Plc in 2002 as a Senior Manager, in the Internal Control and Audit Group of the bank.  His professionalism, competence, integrity and commitment to the set objectives of the bank saw him rise swiftly between 2003 and 2005, first, as Assistant General Manager, then as Deputy General Manager, and eventually as General Manager of the bank.  In these capacities, he handled strategies for new business and branch development, management of risk assets portfolios, treasury functions, strategic top-level corporate, multinationals and public institutional relationships, among others.

    He was named Executive Director of the bank in 2013 and was put in charge of Lagos and South-South Zones as well as strategic groups/business units of the bank including Financial Control & Strategic Planning, Treasury and Correspondent Groups, Human Resources Group, Oil and Gas Group, and Credit Risk Management Group, etc. He was named Deputy Managing Director of the bank in 2016.

    • Ukala is a public affairs commentator