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Tag: Sterling Bank

  • Sterling Bank tackles low-esteem among women

    Sterling Bank tackles low-esteem among women

    In support of Sterling Bank’s exciting One Woman value proposition, a select number of  women were taught to take action, make positive choices about their lives and do positive things for others at the Sheraton Hotel in Lagos.

    These and many more positive outcomes were the bank’s expectations from the programme entitled: “Sexually Confident Woman”. The theme of the one-day programme organised by Tope Mark-Odigie, was “Self-Love”.

    A-list speakers and panelists at the programme include CEO, Design Options, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ighodalo;  General Manager, Corporate Banking, Sterling Bank, Mrs. Mojisola Bakare; Nollywood Actor Ms. Kate Henshaw,  and a prominent  life coach, IzefuaEhi-Williams. Others were a clinical psychologist, Dr. Maymunah Kadiri, a sexologist OrbbyAgwuncha,  and a gospel hip hop artiste BeeceeUgboh.

    Speaking during the programme, Mrs. Ighodalo commended Sterling Bank, saying the bank was living up to its promise of supporting and empowering women.

    “Sterling Bank is a very strong supporter of women and when the bank launched the ‘One Woman’ product recently, the goal was to empower women and support them. By putting the word out there about self-love, Sterling Bank is hoping to encourage women and hopefully help them to love themselves,” Mrs. Ighodalo said.

    Also speaking, General Manager, Corporate Banking, Sterling Bank Mrs. Mojisola Bakare, said: “We have always been talking about breaking the glass ceiling. This unacknowledged barrier to a woman’s career advancement cannot be cleared except women are aware and self-conscious of themselves and know how to position themselves. It is only when a confident woman brings herself out that is when she can be identified for positions and for greatness.”

    Mrs. Bakare added:“One Woman by Sterling Bank is about making women realise their potential to make positive changes and be successful in life. Changing how women see themselves is a process and some need professional help. This explains our support for the self-love programme, which brings professionals and women together to kick-start this process.”

    On her part, the convener of the Sexually Confident Woman programme, Mrs. Tope Mark-Odigie,  said: “The objective of self-love is to motivate and encourage women to love and accept themselves. It is about changing the thinking that they must fit a stereotype to be beautiful and also to help them understand that self-confidence will improve their lives and business.

  • Sterling Bank sponsors Sexually Confident Woman programme

    Sterling Bank sponsors Sexually Confident Woman programme

    Sterling Bank is powering the Sexually Confident Woman programme holding at the Sheraton Hotels and Towers in Lagos this month.

    The One Woman proposition was introduced by the bank to inspire and empower women to achieve their potential.

    The theme and sub-theme of the Sexually Confident Woman programme are “Self-love” and “I’m in love with the shape of you” respectively. It addresses the issue of low self-esteem among women, especially those who are conscious of their weight and are living in self-doubt.

    Speaking on the programme, Henry Bassey, Chief Marketing Officer, Sterling Bank said “We are committed to creating new platforms for the Nigerian woman that addresses real issues she most overcome to enjoy a thriving social life that enables her fulfill her dreams. This explains our support for the Sexually Confident Woman programme which seeks to break the invisible barriers preventing the Nigerian woman from developing to her highest potential.”

    On her part, Omolara Akinfolarin, Head of MSME, Sterling Bank said “We are supporting the Sexually Confident Woman programme team led by Tope Mark-Odigie, because of its visionary nature and alignment with the One Woman proposition. As a caring brand that encourages women to be bold for change, we remain committed to programmes designed to inspire women to embrace their inner beauty.

  • Sterling Bank lifts ‘Keep Kings College Clean’ campaign

    Sterling Bank Plc has donated 35 branded overalls to the management of Kings’ College  to identify its ‘Keep Kings College Clean’ campaign.

    The items were presented to the Principal Mr Anthony Oluseyi Thomas at the school premises.

    The campaign aligns with the bank’s environmental makeover programme, which promotes the quality of the environment, the bank’s Chief Marketing Officer Henry Bassey said on the partnership between the two parties.

    Receiving the items, Thomas noted that both parties shared same cleanliness ideals.

    He said: “We are delighted to partner with Sterling Bank on ‘Keep Kings College Clean’ campaign, which seeks to improve sanitation and hygiene in Nigeria’s Federal Government college. We welcome the support from the bank, which would ensure that our cleaners are well-kitted and could do their job  with pride.”

    Oluseyi urged corporate bodies to toe Sterling Bank’s line via private sector participation.

    “Private sector support is required to complement government’s effort at ensuring continued access to quality education across the country. This is important because quality education provides opportunities for children to improve their life chances and therefore should not be left for government alone.”

    “We want the best for every Nigerian child and have prioritised their well-being by championing the cause of a clean and safe environment, Bassey said in response to Oluseyi.

    “This explains our commitment to the campaign which promotes sustainable living actions and a clean school premises for pupils and staff,” he added.

    Sterling Bank has committed over N500 million to the Sterling Environmental Makeover (STEM) programme in the last five years. The programme is its corporate social responsibility initiative which promotes practices that contribute to the quality of environment on a long-term basis. It covers partnership and provision of uniforms to street cleaners in 14 states, tree planting in Bauchi, Gombe and Plateau states to address the challenge of desertification and a national cleaning by employees of the bank.

  • Oduah: Court fixes June 29 to hear suit

    Oduah: Court fixes June 29 to hear suit

    A Federal High Court Lagos on Tuesday, further adjourned till June 29, the hearing in a suit by Sterling Bank against a former Aviation Minister, Sen. Stella Oduah, over alleged indebtedness.

    The bank alleged that Oduah and her company, Sea Petroleum and Gas company Ltd, were indebted to it in the sum of 16.4 million dollars and N100.5 million.

    The suit which was earlier adjourned for hearing of all pending applications, was however adjourned to June 29, becaause the trial judge, Justice Ayokunle Faji, was indisposed.

    Counsels representing all the parties were present in court.

    The suit was initially pending before Justice Abdulaziz Anka of the same court, but was eventually, reassigned to Faji to begin afresh.

    In March, Justice Anka had issued an order, restraining Oduah and her companies, from making any withdrawal from its account and those of three other companies domiciled with 21 banks in the country.

    The other companies include: Sea Shipping Agency Ltd, Rotary Engineering Services Ltd, and Tour Afrique Company Ltd.

    The court had also, issued an order directing the said commercial banks harbouring the assets of Oduah and the four companies to sequestrate their indebtedness as at November 2016.

    The court also ordered that the money be kept in an interest yielding account in the name of the Chief Registrar of the Federal Court, pending the determination of the suit.

    An affidavit sworn to by a staff of Sterling Bank, Mr Segun Akinsany, stated that on Oct. 8, 2012, the bank granted a lease/Cabotage Vessel Finance Facility (CVFF) to Sea Petroleum and Gas Company.

    He said that the facility was in the said sums to finance one unit 5,000 MT tanker vessel.

    He averred that the loan was secured by an unconditional personal guarantee of the companies’ director, Princess Stella Oduah.

    Akinsanya also averred that same was supported by a statement of her networth, legal mortgage of two properties worth N135 billion, and a power of Attorney of the tanker vessel in favour of Sterling Bank.

    He averred that, also in support was a fully executed standing payment order and tripartite remittance agreement between it and Oduah.

    It was further averred that on June 27, 2013, Sea Petroleum Company requested and was granted additional facilities in the sum of about 450,000 dollars for post delivery expenses.

    He said that also granted was about 993, 000 dollars to meet the requisite conditions in securing the release of the tanker.

    Also, he averred that upon the persistent failure of the defendants to liquidate their indebtedness, Sterling Bank instructed its counsels to recover the debt.

    He said that in spite of several reminders, and demands, the defendants had failed and refused to liquidate their indebtedness which had culminated to 16.4 million dollars, and about N100.5 million as at November 2016.

    He averred that there was imminent risk of the defendants dissipating the assets of the companies, and had urged the court to issue a restraining order.

    Meanwhile, Oduah and her companies in its processes, had urged the court to discharge the order made against them.

    They had also filed a preliminary objection to the suit, urging the court to strike it out for lack of jurisdiction.

  • Moody’s affirms Sterling Bank’s B2 rating

    Moody’s affirms Sterling Bank’s B2 rating

    An international rating agency, Moody’s, has assigned a B2, stable rating to Sterling Bank Plc for its resilient deposit funding base and stable local currency liquidity.

    The rating was also informed by the bank’s improvement on its Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and risk management processes.

    The rating agency has also assigned a national scale local currency deposit rating of A1.ng/NG-1 and a Counterparty Risk Assessment (CRA) of B1.

    It noted that Sterling Bank’s strength is balanced against Nigeria’s challenging operating environment, which takes into account the strong growth potential of the system, institutional and structural weaknesses and low foreign currency liquidity buffers.

    Others are the vulnerabilities in asset quality on account of high single-name and sector concentration risks and modest capital levels, especially in the light of the bank’s high oil and gas and foreign currency loans exposure.

    Sterling is a domestic bank with a market share of total assets of around 2.6 per cent (N834.2 billion, $2.6 billion, FY2016) with a national commercial banking licence.

    Its banking services emphasises on consumer/retail banking, trade services, commercial and corporate banking activities.

    The bank operates through 180 branches in Nigeria, with over 800 ATMs and was established in 2006 following the merger of NAL Bank, Indo-Nigeria, Magnum Trust Bank, NBM and Trust Bank of Africa.

    The rating agency remarked that all long-term ratings assigned to Sterling carry a stable outlook, reflecting its expectation that the bank’s deteriorating asset quality and profitability metrics will likely stabilise in the next 12-18 months.

    Moody’s Investors Service, often referred to as Moody’s, is the bond credit rating business of Moody’s Corporation, representing the company’s traditional line of business and its historical name. Moody’s Investors Service provides international financial research on bonds issued by commercial and government entities and, with Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Group, is considered one of the big three credit rating agencies in the world.

    These include government, municipal and corporate bonds; managed investments such as money market funds, fixed-income funds and hedge funds; financial institutions, including banks and non-bank finance companies; and asset classes in structured finance.

    In Moody’s Investors Service’s ratings system, securities are assigned a rating from Aaa to C, with Aaa as the highest quality and C the lowest quality.

    Moody’s was founded by John Moody in 1909 to produce manuals of statistics related to stocks and bonds and bond ratings.

    Sterling Bank recently emerged as one of the best banks in Nigeria in international trade cash payment from Deutsche Bank AG of Germany.

    The bank emerged second runner-up in the 6th edition of the Straight Through Processing (STP) Excellence Award 2016/2017 Dinner in Lagos.

    Mr. Harold Leenen, managing director, GTB Head Middle East & Africa of Deutsche Bank presented the award to Mr. Yemi Odubiyi, executive director, Operations & Services and Mr. Ayodele Ogumeru, group head, Trade Services, both of Sterling Bank.

  • Sterling Bank lists N8b bond

    Sterling Investment Management SPV Plc, a special purpose vehicle floated by Sterling Bank Plc, at the weekend listed its N8 billion bond on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

    A total of 7.965 million units were listed at par value of N100 at the weekend.

    Sterling Investment Management SPV’s N7.965 billion bond is a seven-year 16.50 per cent fixed rate unsecured bond due in 2023. The N7.965 billion maiden issuance is part of Sterling Bank’s N65 billion debt issuance programme.

    The SPV is a tier-11 capital raising programme for Sterling Bank, a creative way to shield the bank from unnecessary regulatory and market issues while having access to the much-needed capital.

    Global Credit Ratings (GCR) had accorded a final, public national scale long term rating of BBB (NG) to the N7.965 billion bond; with the outlook accorded as stable. The rating is valid until August 31, 2017.

  • Sterling Bank outlines growth targets

    Sterling Bank outlines growth targets

    •Shareholders laud resilience 

    The board and management of Sterling Bank Plc yesterday laid out the lender’s priorities  in 2017 as it begins the implementation of a five-year medium term plan aimed at enhancing its status  as “Nigeria’s financial institution of choice”.

    In his address to shareholders at the annual general meeting yesterday in Lagos, Managing Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Yemi Adeola, said the directors  had agreed on a five-point agenda in 2017 as the bank continues on its vision of long-term sustainable and competitive growth .

    The bank plans to prioritise efficiency over scale in its decision framework to be an institution built on smart people, smart structures and smart strategies.

    Adeola said the bank would also  strengthen and diversify its funding sources and capacity through a quicker and smarter execution of its retail banking rollout. Besides, it will also ensure disciplined use of its institutional liquidity and capital through improvement in lending practices and overall risk management culture.

    He added that the bank would also focus on excellent service delivery to internal and external customers noting that the bank’s service organisation must become the source of competitive advantage to sales organisation in order to deliver on its ‘one customer bank’ commitment.

    He said the bank would reemphasise commitment to execution excellence in all its transactions.

    “Over the next five years, we will be steering our ship differently and aggressively growing the retail business through electronic channels,” Adeola noted.

    He said the bank would continue to boost innovative banking – driven by market insights that would enable it   serve its customers satisfactorily while implementing significant investment in technology-led growth initiatives and accelerating the growth of its non-interest banking segment.

    Chairman, Sterling Bank Plc, Asue Ighodalo said the bank was poised to take advantage of emerging opportunities in the economy.

    He noted that the bank recorded resilient performance in 2016 in spite of the macroeconomic challenges as it reported profit after tax of N5.2 billion on gross earnings of N111.4 billion during the year.

    “I am proud to report that our bank remained resilient and we recorded notable achievements. We are therefore poised to take advantage of emerging, identified and created opportunities as our economy recovers from its most difficult period in recent memory,” Ighodalo said.

    He expressed optimism on the national economic recovery, pointing out that continuing improvement in the coordination of fiscal and monetary policy initiatives will expedite national economic recovery.

    Shareholders severally lauded the performance of the bank.

    President, Association for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Dr Faruk Umar, praised the bank for being prudent and responsible.

    Founding National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu also lauded the management of the bank for its positive and encouraging performance in 2016.

  • Stella Oduah’s alleged $16.4m, N100m indebtedness: Court to hear application May 30

    Stella Oduah’s alleged $16.4m, N100m indebtedness: Court to hear application May 30

    A Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday fixed May 30 to hear all pending applications in a debt recovery suit filed against Sen. Stella Oduah by Sterling Bank.

    The bank had sued the senator and her company – Sea Petroleum and Gas Company over an alleged indebtedness to the tune of 16.4 million dollars and N100.5 million.

    At the resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday, Mrs Ijeoma Esom, Counsel to Sea Petroleum Company, told the court that she had not been served a copy of the court process, saying she has filed a preliminary objection to the suit.

    Also, Counsel to Stella Oduah, Mr A. Nweke, said he had not been served the court process.

    He, however, told the court that he had filed an application urging the court to discharge the order of the court freezing the account of the defendants.

    But Counsel to Sterling Bank, Mr Kemi Balogun (SAN), leading a team of nine lawyers including a Senior Advocate, Mrs Funke Aboyade, said the court had made an order for the service of the court processes to be advertised in national newspapers.

    He said the court order was advertised in two national dailies.

    He,thereafter, showed copies of the newspapers to the court and corroborated his position with the proof of service by the court’s bailiff.

    However, Counsel to the defendants urged the court to grant them extension of time to enable them to file their responses to the petition.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the case was pending before Justice Abdulaziz Anka, before it was transferred to the current judge, Justice A. O. Faji.

    NAN also recalls that sometime in February the court had restrained Senator Oduah, her companies and their directors from making any withdrawal whatsoever from the account of the company domiciled with 21 commercial banks listed before the court.

    The restraining order was made because of the 16.5 million dollars and N100.5 million owed the bank by the senator and her companies.

  • Sterling Bank’s gross earnings rises by 12% to N28.6b in Q1

    Sterling Bank’s gross earnings rises by 12% to N28.6b in Q1

    Sterling Bank Plc grew headline earnings by 12 per cent to N28.6 billion in the first quarter of 2017 as the bank’s net interest margin improved to 8.2 per cent within the first three months.
    The first-quarter report released at the weekend showed continuing improvement in the underlying core banking business of the bank as management continued to optimise cost management.
    The interim report for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017, released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), showed that gross earnings braced the economic recessionary trend to close March 2017 at N28.55 billion compared with N25.50 billion recorded in the comparable period of last year.
    The top-line earnings performance was driven by 26.3 per cent increase in interest income and improved cost management, leaving net interest income higher by 18.3 per cent at N13.5 billion in first quarter 2017 as against N11.4 billion in first quarter 2016. Net interest margin, which measures the underlining profitability off the core banking business, thus improved marginally from 8.1 per cent in first quarter 2016 to 8.2 per cent in first quarter 2017.
    The bank was able to reduce operating expenses through strategic cost control measures taken in response to inflationary pressures. Operating expenses declined from N12.6 billion in first quarter 2016 to N12.2 billion in first quarter 2017. However, impairment charges impacted on the bottom-line. Operating income stood at N14.2 billion while pre and post tax profits stood at N2.03 billion and N1.88 billion respectively in first quarter 2017. In the comparable quarter of 2016, operating profit stood at N15.4 billion while pre and post tax profits were N2.81 billion and N2.54 billion.
    The balance sheet of the bank remained strong as total assets rose by 6.8 per cent to N891.3 billion by March 2017 compared with N834.2 billion recorded at the beginning of this business year. Shareholders’ funds also rode on the back off organic accretion of profit to close March 2017 at N87.5 billion.
    Managing Director, Sterling Bank, Mr. Yemi Adeola, said the first quarter 2017 performance was in line with expectations, as earnings remained resilient with a double-digit growth despite the macroeconomic headwinds that persisted during the period.
    He noted that the bank made significant progress in its efficiency drive through the adoption of strategic cost management initiatives, which resulted in 3.3 per cent reduction in operating expenses and a 190 basis point improvement in cost-to-income ratio.
    He pointed out that net interest margin also improved marginally to 8.2 per cent despite the crowding out effect of sovereign borrowing which kept interest rates high.
    He added that the bank had retained its cautious stance on lending while continuing to strengthen its risk management framework across people, processes and information technology systems.
    “Going into the year, we will continue to explore innovative ways to improve revenue, while simultaneously enhancing the overall efficiency of our business operations,” Adeola said.

  • Sterling Bank: Building positive work place

    Sterling Bank: Building positive work place

    The implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) has adversely impacted the earnings of most banks. Rising inflation, forex management challenges and elimination of commissions on turnover (COT) are some of the hitches issues by the lenders. Despite these hurdles that have raised cost of doing business, Sterling Bank has in the last 11 years, established itself as a good work place contributing to economic growth, writes COLLINS NWEZE.

    For most banks operating in Nigeria, these are not the best of times. From the drop in crude oil prices, huge loan exposure to the oil and gas sector, tough regulation and the rising cost of doing business, most lenders have experienced drop in earnings.

    However, Sterling Bank Plc is looking beyond the current realities, focusing on the bigger picture ahead by making life better for its workforce, budding entrepreneurs and supporting the economy. The lender has in its 11 years of operation built a reputation as an institution that is an employee’s delight.

    Stakeholders insist that for those looking for an institution that cares about its people, Sterling Bank is it. The bank, they said, has continued to build its staff into the best they could be and recognises their contributions to its success.

    A Lagos-based economist, Michael Silvanus, said: “The harsh economic environment and the increasing cost of doing business in the country have taken its toll on institutions with resultant effects on employees as well as investors. This unfortunately has led to downsising by some institutions, while return on investment for investors has reduced drastically. The challenges facing banks in the country are hydra-headed. Currently, the economy is faced with what could best be described as a weakening oil sector, leading to reduction in earnings”.

    He explained that the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), which has depleted the earnings of almost all banks; inflation- now in double digits; the foreign exchange crisis, which has adversely weakened the naira against the dollar; phasing out of commissions on turnover (COT) which has cut lenders’ earnings and other economic headwinds have adversely impacted the fortune of banks significantly.

    He said the unfortunate situation is not helped by the high exposure of banks to the oil and gas sector, which contributes over 70 percent of government revenue and 90 per cent of all exports.

    “Indeed, Sterling Bank is managed as a business that cares about its people though operating in an industry that is unknown for empathy towards employees. Apart from competitively remunerating its staff, Sterling Bank has an outstanding record of giving employees an incredible opportunity to grow and develop. It is worthy of note that capacity building sessions are creatively woven into the weekly activities of the institution as staff bank-wide get the opportunity to increase their knowledge base and skills set mandatorily on a weekly basis driven by the bank,” he stated.

    In a statement, the lender said it has an excellent retirement plan, a good healthcare facility and an almost free daycare/crèche facility for staff children between the ages of two weeks to 18 months at the bank’s head office.

    “A novel initiative which we recently established is the flex time and place which enables staff to choose the preferred time and place to discharge their responsibilities. Under this initiative, staff can work from home and resume at 10am which has never been a practice in the Nigerian financial services industry. This promotes work-life balance and some staff get to drop their children off at school promoting family bonding also,” the lender said.

    Besides, to build capacity for its people, the lender has instituted excellent training and developmental programmes such as the Sterling Graduate Associate and the Sterling Management Associate programmes targeted at identifying, grooming and developing young talents for leadership positions in the bank.

    “By extension, we also provide staff opportunities to give back to society and help them achieve their self-actualisation goals. These opportunities include the Sterling Volunteer Programme (SVP) where interested workers get to impart knowledge and teach pupils and students in both public and private schools across the country relevant subjects and financial literacy topics to give the students a better financial head start in life. Apart from this, interested staff also get the opportunity to donate in cash and kind to the less privileged and to internally displaced persons,” it said.

    Moreso, in line with the global clamour for environmental preservation, the workers of Sterling Bank regularly join street sweepers across the country to sweep the streets, giving them fulfillment that monthly remuneration could never give them.

    “The Made-in-Nigeria national drive also provided a platform for staff of Sterling Bank to make impact. For the first time ever in the Nigerian financial services industry, staff of the bank adorned clothing Made-in-Nigeria to work on a Monday morning. This spanned the entire week and has never been done before by any financial institution in the country. It was done to promote locally made attires, patronise locally manufactured goods and align with the national drive to grow the economy and ensure consumption of domestic manufactures,” the bank said.