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Tag: Zenith Bank

  • Zenith Bank, CFA Institute sign MoU on manpower development

    Zenith Bank, CFA Institute sign MoU on manpower development

    Zenith Bank Plc has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute to support the formation, training, and updating of human capital in finance and investment.

    The pact was signed by Group Managing Director, Zenith Bank Plc, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu; President, CFA Institute, Margaret Franklin; and President, CFA Society Nigeria, Ibukun Oyedeji. It is expected to promote the overall development of the Nigerian financial services sector.

    Onyeagwu lauded the CFA Institute and the CFA Society, Nigeria for their laudable programmes in developing finance and investment professionals in Nigeria.

    According to him, the institute’s Women in Investment Management Initiative, CFA Institute Research Challenge, CFA Society Nigeria Ethics Challenge and University Affiliation Programme are laudable.

    He said Zenith Bank would continue to partner with the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Nigeria to ensure that young finance and investment professionals get the needed support for their career development.

    “As a good corporate citizen, Zenith Bank remains committed to furthering the economic, cultural and social development of the society. As such, we continue to support projects and initiatives that have long-term social and economic benefits for our various publics and stakeholders. Partnering with the CFA Institute and the CFA Society Nigeria is therefore a demonstration of our commitment to building professional excellence in the finance services industry in Nigeria,” Onyeagwu said.

        At the CFA Institute Africa Investment Conference, during the ‘Journey to the Top: A Discourse with CEOs’ segment, Onyeagwu inspired future finance and investment professionals to uphold the highest standards of integrity. He stressed the importance of making difficult yet high-quality decisions, building robust networks, and dedicating themselves to hard work for career success.

        In his words, “as upcoming professionals, the opportunities are immense for you. Africa doesn’t get bigger than Nigeria. There is scarcity of the right kind of people that have the talent, that have the character and the leadership to provide leadership in organizations. Make a decision to be one of those, make a decision to be different. You must be driven by your passion; you must delay gratification. In Zenith what is driving us is the strive for excellence. It is not about who you are and where you come from. We have the best class of talents you can think of anywhere in the world.” He assured the young finance and investment professionals that Zenith Bank will offer immediate employment opportunity to CFA Charter Holders and those who qualify as Chartered Accountants.

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        Also speaking on the MoU, the President/CEO, CFA Institute, Margaret Franklin reiterated the Institute’s commitment to the professional development of students and upcoming professionals. In her words, “there are many things that we do for students, we invest heavily in students and why is that? Because they are our future. The mission of the CFA Institute is to lead the investment industry with the highest standards of ethics, education and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society and that starts with our CFA programme”.

        She commended Zenith Bank for its continued support to the CFA Society Nigeria and sponsorship of the CFA Institute Research Challenge over the years. She also commended the bank for being one of the top employers of CFA members in the country. She expressed her admiration of the culture of excellence in Zenith Bank. Also speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, the President of CFA Society Nigeria, Ibukun Oyedeji commended Zenith Bank for its partnership with CFA Society Nigeria and its commitment to the development of young finance professionals in the country.

        The the CFA Institute Africa Investment Conference is being hosted by the CFA Institute and CFA Societies from Ghana, East Africa, South Africa and Mauritius. The conference has representatives from over 20 universities in Nigeria (members of their investment clubs being supported by CFA Society).

  • Final tickets for grab in Zenith Bank/Delta Principals’ Cup

    Final tickets for grab in Zenith Bank/Delta Principals’ Cup

    The 2023 edition of the Zenith Bank/ Delta Principals Cup football competition is now in final stages as the semi-final matches take centre stage today.

    Delta Principals’ Cup is a grassroots developmental event organized for all secondary schools in the stage and sponsored by Zenith Bank.

    The four qualifiers emerged in the quarterfinal encounters decided on Friday. They are; Illah Grammar School, Illah, Umuaja Secondary School, Umuaja, Institute of Continue Education, ICE, Sapele and Government College, Ughelli.

    And in the fixtures, Agbor Stadium will host the semis between Illah and Umuaja just as Oleh Stadium is the venue where ICE will clash with Government College.  

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    To get to this stage, ICE defeated Essi College in the last eight stage, Umuaja defeated Community Quality Secondary School 3-1 while Ilah scaled through 7-6 on penalties against Model Secondary School Asaba full time score stood at 1-1.

    Government College Ughelli edged out Ewu Government School on technical grounds. The semi-finalists were leading 1-0 when the match was stopped because Ewu filled out with ‘mercenaries.’

    CEO of Hideaplus, organisers of the tournament, Tony Pemu, explained that it was important to protect the integrity of the competition.

     “We discovered that some players who featured for some schools in the early stage of the tournament were paraded by Ewu against Government College. We had no choice than to disqualify them.

     “The semis will be very entertaining because all these four teams have done well consistently this year.” Pemu noted.

    The Third Place and final of the competition is billed to take place at the Stephen Keshi Stadium Asaba on Thursday November 30.

  • Zenith Bank lights up Ajose Adeogun to herald Christmas, Yuletide seasons

    Zenith Bank lights up Ajose Adeogun to herald Christmas, Yuletide seasons

    Zenith Bank has heralded the Christmas and Yuletide seasons with the Light-Up of Ajose Adeogun Street and its roundabout on Victoria Island in Lagos.

    The bank’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, performed the ceremony at the weekend.

    This year’s ceremony, the 17th edition, is part of Zenith Bank’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) meant to beautify and transform the entire stretch of Ajose Adeogun Street (the bank’s corporate headquarters) and the adjoining roundabout into a resplendent spectacle.

    Many people from all walks of life visit the place with their families and friends to take pictures and make videos, especially at night, and savour the ambience of the street in the mood for the season.

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    Speaking during the ceremony, Onyeagwu expressed delight at heralding the Yuletide season by lighting up Ajose Adeogun Street and the popular Roundabout. 

    He said: “Today, as we turn on the Christmas light with the wife of our Founder and Chairman, Mrs. Kay Ovia, in our midst, we hope with this, we activate the spirit of Christmas in the minds of everyone.”

    “We pray that the ambience of the light brings warmth, love, joy, fulfilment, and hope to every one of us. We pray that our country will experience peace. We pray that our joy will be full in this season of joy.

    “So, in the spirit of the Yuletide season, Zenith Bank is also demonstrating that we want to use this to continue communicating and connecting with the community.”

  • Zenith Bank/Delta Principals’ Cup enters quarter-finals

    Zenith Bank/Delta Principals’ Cup enters quarter-finals

    The annual Delta State Principals Cup Football Competition enters the quarterfinal stage today in four centres across the state.

    Zenith Bank Plc is the sponsor of the grassroots developmental football competition in partnership with the Delta State Government.

    The 2023 edition started on October 19 at the St Patrick College, Asaba and afterwards the preliminaries produced 25 qualifiers that eventually competed to emerge the last eight teams in the race.

    In the fixtures released by the organisers, Hideaplus Limited, Illah Government School will clash with Government Model Secondary School at the Agbor Stadium while Kwale Stadium will host the encounter between Umuaja Secondary School and Community Quality Secondary School.

    At the Ughelli Stadium, ICE Sapele and Essi College, Warri will tango for a semi-final slot just as Sapele Stadium will host the match between Government College Ughelli and the Ewu Government College, Ewu.

    Read Also: Zenith Bank/Delta Principals Cup

    The Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, said the organisation was pleased with the progress of the competition so far.

    “We are always delighted to give the young ones a good template to exhibit their talents in this competition. We have been monitoring the proceedings with keen interest and we wish the finalists all the best as they fight for the top spot,” Onyeagwu said.

    CEO of Hideaplus, Tony Pemu, said yesterday that all arrangements for the last eight were in top gear to make all the matches hitch-free.

    “We are working hard to make the boys enjoy themselves in the competition. From this stage, more glamour will be exhibited at the venues of the competition,” Pemu said.

    The semi-final matches are scheduled to take place at a yet to be announced venue on November 27 just as the Third Place and final matches are billed for the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba on November 30.

  • Zenith Bank’s Tech Fair attracts experts

    Zenith Bank’s Tech Fair attracts experts

    The Third Edition of the Zenith Tech Fair, tagged “Future Forward 3.0”, is set to be held on Wednesday, November 22 and Thursday, November 23, 2023, at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos

    The event will hold from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. daily.

    The two-day fair will showcase leading technology innovations that cut across different aspects of life, such as Artificial Intelligence, Contactless Payments, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, FinTech, Data Analytics, Financial Intelligence, and communication technologies. The event will feature pitch sessions to identify innovative startups, panel discussions, masterclasses and exhibitions.

    Among the plethora of events lined up, the event will feature a welcome address by Jim Ovia, Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank and opening remarks by Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc and Chairman, Body of Banks’ CEOs, Nigeria, and Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, Deputy Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc.

        There will also be a goodwill message by the Honourable Minister of Communication, Innovation & Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani and a presentation by Dr. Doris Anite,  Hon. Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, amongst others. The keynote address, “Artificial Intelligence – Application & Bias “, will be delivered by Chris Lu, a renowned IT Specialist, business strategist and Managing Director for Huawei Technologies, Nigeria.

    Read Also: Zenith Bank/Delta Principals Cup

        Other prominent IT practitioners who represent top global brands will make presentations. These include Demola Sanusi, Solutions Architect, Amazon Web Services; Temitope Aladenusi, Partner & Leader Cybersecurity, Deloitte; Andrew Uaboi, Vice President/Cluster Head, Visa West Africa; Dr. Blaise Ijebor, Director of Risk Management, CBN; Keelan Singh, Head, UiPath EMEA Banking and Financial Services; Shweta Juneja, Partner, McKinsey Digital; Wole Odeleye, Financial Services Technology Lead, Microsoft; Ope Ajayi, Founder & CEO, Cinemax; Elo Umeh, Managing Director of Terragon.

        The fair will also feature two-panel discussions that will holistically explore the growth prospects for digital payments technology in an ever-growing financial landscape. The first panel which will examine “The next frontier: Digital Wallets, Contactless payments and BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later)”, has Chris Lu as the host, with five discussants, including Fey Wong, Country Director, Palmpay; Premier Oiwoh, Managing Director, NIBSS; Vincent Ogbunude, Managing Director, Verve; Ebehijie Momoh, Country Manager, MasterCard, and Managing Director of Network International, Adelola Agbebiyi.

        The second panel will explore the theme “The intersection of Fintech, eCommerce and SMEs – Collaboration for growth”. It will be hosted by John Obidi and has five discussants, including Prince Nnamdi Ekeh, Chief Executive Officer, Konga; Tunde Kehinde, Managing Director, Lydia; Stan Martins, Regional Director, Meta; John Obaro, Chief Executive Officer, SystemSpecs, and Seyi Banigbe, Founder of Bland2Glam.

        The first edition of the Zenith Tech Fair was held on November 27, 2019, at the Landmark Events Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. Tagged ‘Future Forward,’ the fair featured a hackathon that produced ten winners, including Octave Analytics Limited, who won the grand prize of N10m. The second edition of the Zenith Tech Fair, which was held on November 22 and 23, 2022, at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, with the theme “Future Forward 2.0” also featured a hackathon which produced ten finalists with the 1st place winner, Ecotutu – a cleantech company making cooling affordable and accessible for businesses, carting home N20 million.

        To register and participate, visit www.zenithbank.com/techfair. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email. The fair will be live on Zoom for participation and streamed on the bank’s social media pages, including YouTube.

  • Zenith Bank/Delta Principals Cup

    Zenith Bank/Delta Principals Cup

    • Zonal playoffs kick-off  across eight centres

    The 2023 Principals’ Cup football competition is fast approaching the final stages as the zonal playoffs start today in eight centres across the state.

    The developmental football competition is being sponsored by Zenith Bank Plc just as Hideaplus Limited are the organisers of the competition which started on October 19 at St. Patrick Secondary School, Asaba.

    A total of 25 schools emerged as winners from each of the Local Governments in the state and they have been divided into eight zones.

    In Zone A, Representatives of Oshimili North will clash with Ika South winners today just as Ika South and Aniocha South will again trade tackles tomorrow at the Ogbe-Otu Primary School, Issele-Uku. Aniocha North champions will also tango with Oshimili South winners in a Zone B battle today at the Adaigbo Secondary School, Ugwashi-Uku while Ika North East will clash with Aniocha North on Tuesday November 21st.

    In Zone C, Isoko South winners and Ukwani LG representatives will compete for honours today at the Utagba-Ogbe Grammar School, Kwale just as Irri Grammar School, Irri, will host a titanic Zone D contest between Ndokwa East and Ughelli North.

    Read Also: Zenith Bank/Delta Principals Cup final holds tomorrow

    Uhrobo College is the venue for the Zone E contest between Champions of Sapele and Ethiope West LGs just as Nene College Warri is the Zone F host of the encounter involving winners from Okpe and Burutu.

    Government College Ughelli have two games on the cards today in Zone G as Bomadi and Isoko North winners will clash at 12 noon while Patani and Ndokwa West champions will trade tackles at 2pm.

    Valley Stream British School, Sapele is the Zone H venue that will host LG representatives of Warri South and Uvwie.

    One team each will emerge from each zone to qualify for the quarterfinals scheduled to take place in yet-to-be-determined four centres on November 24th.

    The two semi-final ties take place on November 27 while the final match is scheduled to take place at the Stephen Keshi Stadium Asaba on November 30.

  • Zenith bank/delta principals’ cup: LG winners vie for

    Zenith bank/delta principals’ cup: LG winners vie for

    As the ongoing Delta State Principals’ Cup football competition progresses, the winners of the 25 Local Governments in the state have been drawn into eight zones.

    The Delta State Principals’ Cup is a youth developmental football competition being sponsored over the years by Zenith Bank Plc.

    According to the organisers, Hideaplus, the zonal draw was conducted during the week in Delta State.

    The winner in each of the zonal competition billed to take place between November 20 and 22nd will qualify for the quarterfinals billed to start on November 24th.

    Read Also: Zenith Bank/Delta Principals’ Cup

    In zone A, Ogbe-Out Primary school is the venue for thres LG winners to battle for one ticket. They are Oshimili North, Ika South and Aniocha South while Zone B will see  Aniocha North, Oshimili South and Ika North East compete at the Adaigbo Secondary School, Ogwashi-Uku. Isoko South, Ukwuani and Ethiope East are the LG winners to compete in Zone C with Utagba-Ogbe Grammar School Kwale as venue just as LG winners of  Ndokwa East, Ughelli North, Udu will clash in Zone D which has Irri Grammar School Irri as venue.

    Urhobo College is the venue for Zone E with Warri South West, Sapele and Ethiope West as LG winners ready for a slot, Nana College Warri will also host hostilities in Zone F with Burutu, Ughelli South, and Okpe LG winners as the battlers just as Government College Ughelli will host LG champions from Bomadi, Ndokwa West, Patani, and Isoko North in Zone G.

    In Zone H, Uvwie, Warri South and Warri North will vie for the sole ticket at the Valley Stream British School Sapele.

  • Zenith Bank/ Delta Principals’ Cup LG winners emerge

    Zenith Bank/ Delta Principals’ Cup LG winners emerge

    The ongoing 2023 Delta State Principals’ Cup football competition which started on October 19 is fast gathering momentum at the various Local Governments in the state.

    All the winners are expected to emerge tomorrow with some LG finals already decided.

    The developmental grassroots competition sponsored by Zenith Bank Plc is expected to produce one winner in each of the 25 LGA of Delta State and the battle has been intense in the past few days in various parts of the state.

    Some of the LGs are in the semi-final stage while some are in the final and according to the timeline, all LG representatives are expected to emerge by this weekend.

    On Wednesday, at the Ika North East Local Government, Ute Okpu Secondary School defeated Efizomor mixed Secondary School 2-1 to book a place in the LG final to meet Owa Alero Secondary School that defeated Owa Oyibu Secondary School 3-2 on penalties after full time score stood at 0-0.

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    In the final match decided on Wednesday at the Uvwie LG, Opete secondary school defeated Urhobo College 5-4 on penalties to emerge the representative of the Uvwie LG in the zonal playoffs expected to start next week.     

    The CEO of Hideaplus, organisers of the competition, Tony Pemu, told our correspondent that the competition has been very interesting at the LGA level.

     “Only one ticket is at stake in each of the 25 local governments and so it is tough. Some of the finals already decided ended in penalties just as we witnessed keen semi- final contests across the centres but in the end only one team will emerge for us to draw the zonal preliminaries,” Pemu said.

    The zonal matches are billed to take place later in November as all the 25 finalists from LGs will be known by Monday November 6.

    Stephen Keshi Stadium Asaba will host the final of the competition on November 30.

  • Zenith Bank/ Delta Principals’ Cup:

    Zenith Bank/ Delta Principals’ Cup:

    • Over 1000 schools vie for 25 LG slots

    The on-going 2023 edition of the Delta State Principals’ Cup football competition which started on October 19 is gathering momentum at the various Local Governments in the state.

    The developmental grassroots competition sponsored by Zenith Bank Plc is expected to produce one winner in each of the 25 LGA of Delta State and the battle has been intense in the past few days in various parts of the state.

    Some of the LGs are in the semifinal stage while some are in the final and according to the timeline, all LG representatives are expected to emerge by this weekend.

    Yesterday at the Ika North East Local Government, Ute Okpu Secondary School defeated Efizomor mixed Secondary School 2-1 to book a place in the LG final to meet Owa Alero Secondary School that defeated Owa Oyibu Secondary School 3-2 on penalties after fulltime score stood at 0-0.

    Read Also: Zenith Bank’s Q3 profit hits N505 billion

    In the final match decided on Wednesday at the Uvwie LG, Opete secondary school defeated Urhobo College 5-4 on penalties to emerge the representative of the Uvwie LG in the zonal playoffs expected to start next week.

    The CEO of Hideaplus, organisers of the competition, Tony Pemu, told our correspondent that the competition has been very interesting at the LGA level.

    “Only one ticket is at stake in each of the 25 local governments and so it is tough. Some of the finals already decided ended in penalties just as we witnessed keen semi-final contests across the centres but in the end only one team will emerge for us to draw the zonal preliminaries,” Pemu said.

    The zonal matches are billed to take place later in November as all the 25 finalists from LGs will be known by Monday November 6.

    Stephen Keshi Stadium Asaba will host the final of the competition on November 30.

  • Zenith Bank’s Q3 profit hits N505 billion

    Zenith Bank’s Q3 profit hits N505 billion

    Zenith Bank Plc has achieved N505 billion profit before tax in its unaudited results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023. This represents 149 per cent significant leap from N202.5 billion it achieved  in the third quarter of 2022.

    The bank’s profit after tax stood at N434.2 billion, representing 149 per cent growth from N174.3 billion it recorded in same period of 2022.

    The bank also achieved a remarkable triple-digit growth of 114 per cent from N620.6 billion reported in third quarter 2022 to N1.33 trillion in third quarter 2023. This performance demonstrates the Group’s resilience and strong market share despite a very challenging macroeconomic environment.

    According to the bank’s unaudited half-year financial results presented to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the triple-digit growth in the topline also enhanced the bottom line.

    The growth in the topline arose from both interest and non-interest income. Interest income grew in the current period by 72 per cent to N670.9 billion from N390.8 billion in third quarter 2022, while non-interest income grew by 186 per cent from N212 billion to N607.2 billion.

    The growth in profit is similarly attributable to the twin effects of the improvement in interest and non-interest income. Interest income increased because of the growth in risk assets as well as the effective pricing thereon.

    The non-interest income growth is largely driven by the revaluation gain due to the unification of exchange rates during the year. The cost-to-income ratio reduced from 55.8 per cent in third quarter 2022 to 37.8 per cent in the current period.

    Impairment levels increased due to the deliberate incremental provisions necessitated by the conservative approach towards the heightened risk environment and the creation of a counter-cyclical buffer needed to deal with any impending volatility of exchange rates.  This caused the cost of risk to deteriorate from 1.3 per cent in third quarter 2022 to 5.5 per cent in third quarter 2023, however this is an improvement from second quarter  2023 where cost of risk printed at 8.8 per cent because of prudent management of risk assets.

    Total assets grew by 48 per cent from N12.3 trillion to N18.2 trillion in the period ended 30 September 2023, mainly driven by growth in customers’ deposits. Customers’ deposits grew by 49per cent from N8.98 trillion in December 2022 to N13.38 trillion in September 2023.  The growth in customers’ deposits cuts across both corporate and retail segments with the savings portfolio (all currencies) growing from N2.7 trillion in December 2022 to N4.6 trillion in September 2023.

    Gross loans increased by 48 per cent from N4.1 trillion in December 2022 to N6.1 trillion in September 2023 due to the revaluation of foreign currency denominated loans as well as the growth in local currency loans to strategic and thriving sectors of the economy. The non-performing loan ratio improved to 3.8 per cent in the period ended 30 September 2023, which is well below prudential limits.

    Net interest margin (NIM) printed at 5.6 per cent from 6.2 per cent reported in September 2022 due to low yield in government securities.  Capital adequacy ratio improved marginally to 20.1 per cent from 19.8 per cent while liquidity ratio declined from 75 per cent to 68 per cent.  However, all our prudential ratios remain above regulatory thresholds.

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    The Group is optimistic of finishing the year 2023 strong, with focus on sustainable quick wins that would boost growth across all business segments and enhance stakeholder value.

    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.

    The bank also won the 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.

    It equally won the 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, the bank emerged as 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.

    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.