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Tag: GTBank

  • GTBank, UBA, others parley at Simba, Avaya innovation summit

    Executives of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), United Bank for Africa, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Keystone Bank participated at the just-concluded Innovation Day, organised by Simba Infrastructure Limited in partnership with Avaya to improve digital services and innovation in the country.

    The event, which held in Lagos, was also attended by key stakeholders  from telecoms, oil and gas, health and pension organisations meant to enhance customers’ experience and fulfillment through digital transformation.

    Banks, telecoms and other key sectors of the economy need efficient Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure to provide seamless banking services to their customers.

    The event, which took place at the prestigious Victoria Crown Plaza Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, provided insight to businesses’ needs in Nigeria in building connected experiences required for effective digital transformation. It was well attended by industry experts and IT professionals.

    Avaya and Simba showcased a variety of new products including its flagship cloud based social media product called Avaya Ava. It is a cloud-based messaging- agnostic solution that offers artificial intelligence capabilities for social messaging integration.

    Other products included the enhanced Avaya Equinox Softphone, Avaya Vantage Video Phones, Chatbot and several other solutions for work collaboration and secure video conferencing.

    Simba Infrastructure Executive Director, Sanjay Vaswani, who spoke at the event, assured customers and other participants of the organisation’s commitment to providing unique information technology services across the lifecycle of business operations.

    He said: “As an Avaya exclusive partner in West Africa, Simba Infrastructure has achieved the competency to provide matchless IT services around the Avaya solution portfolio. We deliver customised communication infrastructure solution to our valued customers and provide strategic partnership to Avaya in the Digital Transformation journey.”

    Other top executives from Avaya, who spoke included, Omar Fahnbulleh, Elie Turquieh and Puthanpura  and Vinod Kumar.  They spoke extensively on the several impacts of digital transformation on business re-engineering, emphasising that digital transformation was a key factor in accelerating experiences and business growth through the adoption of mobile digital services, enabling next generation interactions and driving change in customer experience.

    Simba Infrastructure, a member of the Simba Group, is Avaya’s Diamond partner in Nigeria, with its Headquarters in Lagos and offices in Abuja. It has received several awards and recognitions as a leading conglomerate in several key sectors of the economy.

  • GTBank, Innoson rift over alleged court judgement deepens

    The Guaranty Trust Bank Plc yesterday reacted to the alleged enforcement of a judgment of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, at one of its branches in Anambra State.

    The bank, in a statement, said that the judgment, allegedly in issue, is one against the account of the Nigerian Customs and Excise Board domiciled with GTBank and not against GTBank as an entity.

    It said that GTBank as a law-abiding corporate citizen is taking all necessary legal steps to address this situation and ensure that no illegal or fraudulent execution is carried out.

    Innoson Nigeria Limited had at the weekend said it has obtained a writ of Fifa from the Federal High Court in Awka, Anambra State, against GTB to effect the judgment given by the Federal High Court in Ibadan and upheld by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

    This was made known in a statement by Cornel Osigwe, the Head of Corporate Communication of Innoson Nigeria Limited.

    Writ of FiFa (Writ of Fieri Facias) is a leave of court to execute a judgment obtained by a judgment creditor in a legal action for debt or damages by levying on the property of the judgment debtor.

    Also, in 2014, the Federal High Court in Ibadan ordered GTB by way of Garnishee order absolute to pay N2.4 billion to Innoson with a 22 per cent interest, per annum, on the judgment sum until the final liquidation of the judgment debt.

    However, GTB appealed the decision up to the Supreme Court.

    But, according to Innosson, the Supreme Court on February 27, 2019, dismissed GTB’s appeal and upheld the decision of both Federal High Court and the Appeal Court.

    Read also: GTBank dominates CBN e-payments awards

    The statement reads: “The Chairman of Innoson Group, Chief Innocent Chukwuma, has through a Writ of FiFa taken over Guaranty Trust Bank PLC for and on behalf of Innoson Nigeria Ltd as a result of the bank’s indebtedness to Innoson Nigeria Ltd. In a landmark decision on February 27th 2019, the Supreme Court of Nigeria dismissed GTB’s appeal — SC. 694/2014 — against the judgment of Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division.

    “The Court of Appeal, Ibadan division had in its decision of 6th February 2014 dismissed GTB’s appeal against the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division.

    “Thus, the Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment of the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division which ordered GTB by way of Garnishee order absolute — to pay N2.4 billion to Innoson with a 22 per cent interest, per annum, on the judgment sum until the final liquidation of the judgment debt. Rather than obey the judgment of the Court of Appeal, GTB approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision.

    “However, in a ruling delivered by Honourable Olabode Rhodes-Vivour JSC on Wednesday, February 27, 2019, the Lord Justices of the Supreme Court (JSC) dismissed GTB’s appeal and thus affirmed the concurrent judgment of both the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court, Ibadan Division which ordered GTB by way of Garnishee order absolute — to pay N2.4billion to Innoson with a 22 per cent interest, per annum, on the judgment until the final liquidation of the judgment.

    “The judgment debt of N2.4 billion has an accrued interest as at today of about N6,717,909,849.96 which results to about N8.8 billion.

    “Based on the Supreme Court’s decision of 27th February 2019, the counsel to Innoson, Prof McCarthy Mbadugha, had approached the Federal High Court, Awka Division, for leave to enforce the judgment having obtained certificates of judgment from the Ibadan Division of the Federal High Court.

    “Having obtained the requisite leave, the Federal High Court issued the necessary process for levying execution — the Writ of Fifa.”

    The automobile company and GTB had been in a long legal battle over alleged indiscriminate charges on Innoson’s account with the bank.

    GTB later claimed that Innoson fraudulently brought in vehicle parts with forged documents. However, the automobile company denied this allegation, saying the allegation was an effort to defect from the real issue of indebtedness against the firm.

    “We have taken over GTBank in Awka and Nnewi,” Osigwe subsequently announced, adding that “other branches are coming soon.”

  • GTBank dominates CBN e-payments awards

    Guaranty Trust Bank Plc continued its dominance of Nigeria’s most qualitative digital financial service awards for the fourth year in a row, winning eight of the 12 honours available to banks in the 2019 edition of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme (EPIS) Efficiency Awards. The foremost African financial institution, renowned for its innovative products and services, won awards for efficiency and excellent service delivery in virtually every E-payment channel.

    The CBN EPIS Efficiency Awards is organised to celebrate financial institutions, merchants and other stakeholders at the forefront of driving electronic payment in Nigeria. Now in its fourth year, the awards are based on objective analysis of all E-payments data collated by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) over a full calendar year.

    With eight awards, GTBank took home two more honours than the six awards the bank won the previous year and the highest number of awards presented to financial institutions, Fin-techs, merchants and other stakeholders in the Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme.

    The eight awards won by GTBank include: Best Customer Experience Award: for having the highest level of overall customer satisfaction rating in the delivery of electronic payment services to customers in 2018.  Real-Time Payments Transaction Efficiency: for achieving the lowest failure rate in the processing of Instant Payments transactions in 2018 among others.

    Commenting on the Bank’s EPIS awards, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Segun Agbaje, said; “We are proud to be recognised by the CBN EPIS Efficiency Awards for our efforts in driving excellence in electronic payments and providing customers with a superior banking experience across all digital touch points. These awards serve as extra motivation for us and we continue to find new and exciting ways to reduce our customers’ pain points and offer them benefits beyond banking.

     

     

  • GTBank opens Digital Play Centre for kids

    Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) has built digital playground for children.

    Located in Lekki, Lagos State, the GTBank Play Centre is equipped with interactive games that will give kids a fun and immersive digital experience while aiding their mental and intellectual development.

    Open from 10am to 3pm on weekdays, and 10am to 1pm on Saturdays, some of the features of the Play Centre include the Sketch Town, where kids can design cars, launch rockets, and bring all their sketches to life.

    At the playground, children can also use the wide range of bricks available to build whatever excites their curiosity and also express themselves creatively by scribbling, writing and drawing on a digital chalkboard.

    GTBank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Segun Agbaje said: “How and where children play contribute significantly to their cognitive and intellectual development, helping them build better communication and problem-solving skills.

    “Our new Play Centre will give children a tension-free space to build these critical developmental skills, expose them to new and emerging digital technologies, and, most importantly, give them a wonderful time out.”

    He added: “At GTBank, we are passionate about building the bank of the future, and for us, this means constantly leveraging the best of technology to create amazing digital experiences for all of our customers, in a way that adds real value to their lives.”

  • Chima Anyaso denies fraud allegation

    Businessman and managing director of Ceecon Energy Oil and Gas Limited, Dr. Chima Anyaso who is also the People’s Democratic Party’s, PDP, house or representative’s candidate for the forth coming general election has said that the allegations of fraud against him by GTBank are merely orchestrated to tarnish his image as his company did not defraud the bank rather the said amount is an accumulation of unverified bank charges by the bank.

    Based on deposition contained in a preliminary objection filed by the oil and gas tycoon, that the original sum in dispute was only 186 million Naira since 2011.

    “The imposition of unacceptable and unwarranted charges on the accounts of the Ceecon Energy Oil & Gas Limited led to a serious dispute between the parties as to the exact state of the accounts, and what sum, if any, is outstanding”.

    Consequent upon the dispute, the bank contrary to the terms of the Import Finance Facility, unilaterally blocked the credit line granted to the company Ceecon Energy oil and gas Limited despite that the tenure of the said term loan was not due to expire.”

    That the allegation is purely a fallout of a debt dispute of N186Million. There could not have been any diversion of N2billion anywhere.

    There are over four lawsuits over this matter and at no time was there a claim of diversion. All the sworn affidavit by the bank since 2012 are there in the record of the various courts and there was never a reference to diversion of funds, fraud or forgery.

    At the time GTBANK went to court in 2012 through their lawyers Kemi Balogun & Co. their claim that the sum of N567, 796, 90. (COMPRISING THE SAID N186 MILLION DISPUTE SUM AND ACCUMULATED DEFAULT CHARGES) was what Ceecon owed, when they filed a winding-up proceedings in suit No.FHC/L/CS/787/2012; GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC V. CEECON ENERGY OIL & GAS LIMITED at the Federal High Court before Hon. Justice Buba and another suit filed by the same GTB at the Federal High Court at Abuja in suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/64/14; GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC V. CEECON ENERGY OIL & GAS LIMITED & ANOR over the same subject matter.

    Read Also:EFCC arrests 6 suspected internet fraudsters

    While an appeal filed by Ceecon Energy Oil & Gas Limited was still pending, on the 23rd of February, 2017, an invitation was received from the IGP’s office to come to Abuja, on the 2nd of March, 2017 based on a petition that the Company had diverted N1.1Billion. The Police were shocked to find during interrogation of GTB staff that the claimed sum was an accumulation of interest on the principal sum of N186Million.

    It is very clear that there is an orchestration to tarnish the image of Chima Anyaso and to malign his character. That this is happening on the eve of elections raises a lot of questions and raises many suspicion. It is interesting that only a few weeks ago the Chima Anyaso Campaign organization had warned of a plot by his opponent and detractors to attack his person.

    The statement called on the media to always verify it stories before publishing, it stated that “while we are committed to seeing the court process continue, we call on the Nigerian media, journalists, editors and publishers of both mainstream and online media to always verify stories before going public”.

    “It is important to seek the views and comment of all affected parties in any matter before publishing, so that there will be balance. It is against all known journalism ethics in any free world to resort to name calling and undue sensational reports without a proper investigation” the statement reads.

  • Ekiti lifts embargo on Ecobank, GTbank, Zenith Bank

    TWO years after Ekiti State stopped Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) from patronising Zenith Bank, GT Bank and Ecobank, the government has lifted the embargo.

    Governor Kayode Fayemi announced the lifting of the embargo placed on the three  banks by the administration of former Governor Ayodele Fayose.

    The Fayose-led administration in May 2016, placed a “non-patronage” ban on the three banks and forbade MDAs as well as workers from transacting business with them.

    But in a statement by his spokesman Olayinka Oyebode, the governor directed MDAs to resume transactions with the banks.

    Acting on the directive, the Office of the state’s Accountant-General has issued a memo to heads of MDAs to give effect to the governor’s directive lifting the ban.

    According to the statement, the embargo was lifted in a bid to rekindle and strengthen the relationship between the affected banks and the state government.

    The statement reads: “The government took the decision after a careful review of the developments that led to the purported embargo by the immediate past administration.

    “The Fayemi administration is committed to the infrastructural and industrial development of the state.

    “In achieving this, it will create a conducive atmosphere for business to thrive in the state by partnering with the private sector and encouraging private initiatives, among others.”

  • GTBank wins ‘Bank of the Year Award’

    Guaranty Trust Bank Plc has won the award for “Bank of the Year Nigeria” for the second year in a row at The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards, regarded as the industry standard for excellence within the global banking sector.

    Guaranty Trust Bank Sierra Leone Ltd, a subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, was also recognised as the “Bank of the Year Sierra Leone” at the event, which held on November 29, at the Sheraton Grand London Park Lane, London, United Kingdom.

    The Banker, a publication of the Financial Times, is the world’s leading monthly journal of records for the banking Industry, with over 90 years expertise in publishing developments in the banking industry in Africa and on the global scale. The Magazine’s Bank of the Year Awards celebrates leading financial institutions within the global banking sector who are setting new industry standards and driving innovation in financial services and customer experience.

    Receiving the award on behalf of the bank,  Managing Director/CEO of GTBank, Segun Agbaje, said: “We are honoured to be recognised as the 2018 Bank of the Year in Nigeria and Sierra Leone. These awards serve as further motivation for us as we continue to go beyond traditional banking services by creating innovative digital services that are less about us as bank and more about our customers and how we empower them with everything that they need to better their lives.”

    He further stated that “Our vision has always been to create an oasis in the financial services industry that leads, not only in earnings and returns on equity, but also in maintaining world class corporate governance standards and pushing the bounds in service delivery and customer experience. These awards reflect our sustained commitment towards this vision, which we will continue to pursue, driven by our passion for excellence and guided by our founding values of hard work, discipline and integrity.”

    Alongside its record for consistent year-on-year growth, GTBank is widely regarded by industry watchers as a trailblazer in the banking industry due to its many innovations in digital and financial services.

     

    Recently, the Bank launched Habari, Nigeria’s largest platform for music, shopping and lifestyle content and the first mobile platform created by a financial institution in the country that focuses on enabling people’s needs and lifestyle rather than providing regular banking products.

     

     

  • GTBank: 90% transactions done outside banking halls

    Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) said 90 per cent of transactions by its customers were done outside the banking halls.

    The bank, which is atop a new generation of multinationals in developing markets with the competitive strength and capacity to become a major player in the global scene, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), research and analysis division of the world-leading business media platform, The Economist said.

    The bank, which operates out of 10 African countries and the United Kingdom, is one of 12 companies, selected from four continents and spanning six industries, that the EIU believes has the strategy and potential to dominate domestic markets and expand its business outlays internationally.

    In its report, “Going Global: 12 Companies to Watch in Developing Markets,” the EIU said Guaranty Trust Bank is leading the digital banking race in Sub-Saharan Africa by getting more customers to bank online, reducing the communication gap with its customers and allowing customers to conduct 90 per cent of their banking transactions from home.

    “The lender’s digital services extend beyond banking to online payments for services such as applying for passports,” the EIU report added, whilst also stating that, “in traditional banking, GTBank has held its ground despite falling interest income and assets.”

    Regarded by industry watchers as one of the best run African financial institutions, GTBank has been the major driver of digital banking in Africa.

    The Bank is renowned for constantly delivering innovative financial products and services, such as its full-service USSD banking product, 737, which enables customers and non-customers access financial services on their phones, by simply dialing *737#, and the SMEMarkethub, a free online marketplace for people to buy and sell at no extra cost, amongst several others.

    Recently, the bank achieved another first in digital services in Africa when it announced that it will be leveraging the WhatsApp Business Solution to enable customers bank as easy and swiftly as they chat.

  • GTBank plans banking services on WhatsApp

    Guaranty Trust Bank plc will be launching its banking services on WhatsApp Business Solution. This will enable the lender to offer Nigerians additional channel to connect with the bank for enquiries, service requests and access to other basic banking services. This is in line with the bank’s continued efforts to enhance service delivery and offer superior banking experiences to customers.

    Over the years, GTBank has been at the forefront of establishing a wide range of value-adding touch-points through which customers can access banking services and interact with the bank on all account-related enquiries at any time of the day.

    The bank was the first financial institution in Nigeria to set up a fully interactive contact center in 2006 and has, since then, led the finance sector in driving customer interaction across online and social media platforms.

    Following the launch of the WhatsApp Business Solution, GTBank is leveraging the platform to bring financial services closer to customers, whilst offering them more channels to bank, make enquiries and have their service requests treated promptly.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • GTBank, NIS partner on e-payment

    GTBank has partnered New Works Limited and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to deliver an end-to-end process for Nigerians to apply for their International Passports online and make payments at the official rates online.

    The multi-channel payment system will enable Nigerians apply for all international passport types (new and renewals) online and make payments on all  GTBank’s e-channels, using the reference ID generated at the application stage.

    To formally launch the partnership, Immigration Service Comptroller-General, Muhammed Babandede, inuagurated the GTBank Payment Office located inside the Passport Office Ikoyi, Lagos. Present at the event were GTBank CEO, Segun Agbaje and representative of New Works Limited, Usman Kuso.

    Five other payment offices will be set up at Alausa, Festac, Port Harcourt, Kano and the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.  The GTBank payment offices will make paying for immigration services at NIS offices easy and seamless.

    Commenting on the partnership with New Works and the Nigeria Immigration Service, Agbaje said: “We are delighted to be at the forefront of digital banking solutions that is making banking faster, cheaper and simpler for every Nigerian.”