Long before it became the vogue in the banking sector, Zenith Bank’s brand custodian and founding GMD/CEO Jim Ovia realised the power of branding by building a strong corporate identity, having identical branches, leveraging on technology and nurturing brilliant and talented executives to take the bank to greater heights. Two years after he left, his successor, Godwin Emefiele, has continued with this tradition of excellence, writes WALE ALABI.
For 20 years, he was the face of the ICT-powered financial house, Zenith Bank. In those two decades, suave, brilliant, technology-savvy, American trained Jim Ovia took Zenith Bank, a second generation Nigerian banking brand from obscurity to prominence. What did Ovia do?
Leveraging on the power of branding, he gave the bank a strong visual identity. While other banks were caught in the wave of logo change in the name of rebranding, Zenith refused to join the bandwagon. For the past 22 years, it has remained consistent with its ‘Z’ symbol. Also, when you see a Zenith Bank branch anywhere, either in the North or the West, the building and its glowing white colour paint are unmistakably alike. But, beyond physical branding, Zenith Bank has, over the past two decades, leveraged on the power of technology, people and excellent service delivery to make life more convenient for consumers.
While other banking brands were still snoozing, Zenith Bank won the hearts of consumers with online, real time banking. And when this became the industry standard, it raised the bar by being the first bank to have its own ATM Gallery. But then, these are just tips of the iceberg. The banking excellence tradition left by Ovia, two years ago, is being followed by Godwin Emefiele, who took over from him in 2010 as Group Managing Director and CEO.
In 22 years of operation, Zenith Bank Plc. has grown to become one of the biggest and most profitable banks in the country. The bank was established in May 1990 but opened for business as a commercial entity in July of the same year. After going public in June 17, 2004, the bank was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on October 21, 2004 following a highly successful initial public offer (IPO). The bank currently has a shareholder base of over one million and shareholder funds of $2.55 billion as at the end of Q2 2012.
With headquarters in Lagos, Zenith has over 500 branches and business offices nationwide, with a presence in all the state capitals, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), major towns in the country. In April 2007, Zenith became the first Nigerian bank in 25 years to be licensed by the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA), giving rise to Zenith Bank (UK) Limited. Zenith Bank also has subsidiaries in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia and a representative office in Johannesburg, South Africa. Another representative office is being opened in Beijing, China this year.
The bank’s management team is made up of seasoned professionals led by Emefiele, who is a pioneering staff member and has been on the board for more than a decade. He took over from Ovia, in August 2010. The bank’s exceptional performance is built on its experienced leadership, professionalism and vision of the management and staff.
The bank’s operating results, since it went public in 2004, indicate an impressive performance in all of its parameters. Total assets grew from $1.25bn in 2004 to $15.48bn in Q2 2012, representing a growth of 1,138.4 percent. Within the same period, total deposits went up by 1,174 percent from $845m to $10.77bn, as at June 2012. The result is evidence of increasing market share for Zenith Bank and popular acceptance by the Nigerian banking public.
According to Emefiele, the vision of the bank has been “to build the Zenith brand into a reputable international financial institution recognized for innovation, superior performance while creating premium value for all stakeholders.”
The bank’s strategic objective includes the continuous improvement of its capacity to meet the customers’ increasing and dynamic banking needs as well as sustain high quality growth in a challenging business environment.
Zenith places high premium on the pivotal role of exceptional service delivery in its drive to consistently exceed customer expectations. Thus, the bank has put in place a well articulated strategy to meet and surpass customer expectations and constantly ensures that plans and strategies are fine-tuned to address the changing taste and sophistication of the customer. The underlying philosophy is for the bank to remain at all times, a customer-focused institution with a clear understanding of its market and environment.
The bank’s commitment to customer satisfaction has at various times led to assigning critical and pervasive roles to Total Quality Management (TQM), Customer Service Ambassadors, Operation Service Excellence Teams, among others. Thus, at all times, all structures and processes are fashioned to drive consistent improvement in the quality of service delivery.
As a leading institution in ICT-enabled banking, Zenith has leveraged on its deep understanding of the local business environment and global financial market to develop unique e-solutions to meet varied and specific customer needs. The bank’s range of e-products covers virtually all services.”
Zenith is committed to an unwavering effort at improving the quality of life of the underserved. The bank’s service promise is premised on a pledge not just to its invaluable customers but also to its shareholders, employees and the larger society. According to Emefiele, “This is why our business activities are carried out under the strictest observance of corporate ethics and respect for people and constituted authorities. Our Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives are driven by a clear understanding of our environment and a strong knowledge of the resource gaps and pressing needs of communities and people within and beyond our areas of operations. The primary reason is the willingness and desire to give back to the people and communities that have been an encouragement in our pursuit of enterprise as well as a conviction that partnering with the public sector to address some areas of need is a healthy investment on our present and future.”
In January 2012, Zenith Bank was recognised as one of the 30 outstanding global brands that are making sustainable impact on their operating environments in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility. The recognition was a prelude to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Conference on Sustainable Development (‘Road to Rio’), held in Brazil in May 2012. Zenith Bank was honoured alongside 30 other global brands which included Airbus, France; ConocoPhillips, USA; Credit Suisse, Switzerland; KLM, Netherlands; South Korea; Olam International, Singapore; Unilever, Netherlands; Verizon, USA; Kia Motors, South Korea; among others.
Over the years, Zenith Bank has consistently recorded good ratings from both the international (Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s) and local (Agusto & Co.) rating agencies. The ratings on Zenith Bank Plc are supported by its leading market position in all key performance indices.
Zenith Bank has consistently put in place a robust system of corporate governance, bearing in mind the key elements of honesty, trust, integrity, openness and accountability as well as commitment to the organisation’s goals. To uphold strong corporate governance and transparency, the bank adopts a robust public disclosure policy. This is to forestall incidences of abuse, such as insider trading.
All financial information, as well as exceptional and extraordinary events capable of influencing the public decision concerning the bank are approved for dissemination by the board and then related through authorised means to the public at the same time. The release of such information is done speedily and as often as stipulated by the regulatory bodies.
Alluding to the success of Zenith Bank over the years, Emefiele said: “Managing our brand assets remains fundamental to our strategy and culture. service excellence, trust, speed, ideas and efficiency are a set of capital that we accord high premium. Our resolve in this regard is from an in-depth understanding of these intangible elements as creators of the emotional pull required to strengthen and extend our brand value to ultimately impact the bottom line.
“Over the years, we have succeeded in building a high-performance, customer-centric and people-centered institution and we are thus primed to remain the bank of first choice. We shall continue to ensure that we surpass our pedigree in the industry with a mindset that is in sync with our vision.” The Zenith Bank brand has, indeed, come a long way, yet it is only 22 years old in the ever-competitive, slippery financial landscape.”
