At
a glamorous event last week Friday inside the prestigious Eko Hotels
and Suites, Victoria Island Lagos State, prominent financial
institutions in the country, including UBA, FCMB, Access Bank, Skye Bank
and Fidelity Bank, were the cynosure of all eyes as they won different
awards for excellence. Other institutions that were toasts of
dignitaries in attendance were Stanbic IBTC, Diamond and Unity Bank Plc
and Jaiz Bank. Zenith Bank won the bank of the year award while Bisi Onasanya, Group Managing Director of First Bank won the Bank CEO of the year award.
The occasion was the maiden BusinessDay Banking Awards 2013 that was meant to reward financial institutions and their officers who were outstanding throughout 2012 financial year. Eminent personalities at the occasion were the governors of Kano, Osun and Anambra States; Lagos State commissioner for tourism and intergovernmental relations, who represented the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola and some chief executive officers of banks.
The
United Bank for Africa (UBA) won the award for the Best Bank in Support
of Agriculture. The bank tops the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN)
league table in lending to agriculture. By 2012 financial year end, UBA
Plc had seven per cent of its N687 billion loan book to the agricultural
sector. This is the highest exposure of any bank in Nigeria and it
places the bank as one of the strongest supporters of the biggest sector
in Nigeria, which is agriculture.
FCMB
and Access Bank jointly won the Deal of the Year Award. For FCMB, the
panellists were impressed by the flawless manner the FCMB-FinBank merger
deal was consummated. The merger, which is regarded as the most
successful merger deal in the Nigerian market till date, created a
natural synergy between FCMB’s corporate banking heritage and FinBank’s
retail and electronic banking capabilities. In the case of Access Bank
Plc, it was the lead co-coordinating Mandated Lead Arranger for Neconde
Energy $470 million facility. The loan raised the stakes in the capacity
of indigenous banks to support Nigerian firms challenging the majors in
the upstream segment of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
Skye Bank Plc clinched the award for the Best Bank in Support of Manufacturing. Its
strong commitment to the sector earned the bank the award. The award
was in recognition of the fact that in spite of the delicate nature of
most of the firms in the manufacturing sector which are often regarded
as high risk, Skye Bank remained committed to their financial needs
throughout 2012.
Fidelity Bank won the award for the Best Bank in Support
of SMEs in the country. The bank has consistently come tops in the
disbursement of SMIEIS funds. And just recently, Fidelity Bank
established an SME academy to help support promising entrepreneurs in
the country. It is among the top ten banks that have presence in important towns and cities across the country.
Stanbic
IBTC Plc was the winner of the Most Innovative Banking Product Award,
in recognition of its personal loans which have helped many Nigerians
who ordinarily would not have had access to finance.
Diamond
Bank Plc won the Most Customer Friendly Bank in Nigeria. The bank was
unanimously chosen by retail customers in the BusinessDay Banking
Customer satisfaction survey, the full result of which will be made available in the forthcoming BusinessDay Banking Performance Report. The
bank was picked by retail customers as having the friendliest banking
staff who are very eager to attend to the needs of customers.
Unity
Bank Plc was recognised for exceptional support to the northern economy
while Jaiz Bank was recognised for the pioneering role it is playing in
non interest banking.
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