Banking Sector

Stanbic IBTC Receives Recognition Across Various Sectors

Published

3 years ago

August 9, 2021

Accolades have continued to pour in for Stanbic IBTC in recognition of the organisation’s outstanding performance across various facets of Nigeria’s financial industry and its contribution to the development of the Nigerian economy.

The most recent was the emergence of Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC as the Best Sub-Custodian Bank in Nigeria at the 2021 edition of the Global Finance Best Sub-Custodian Bank Awards. The organisation achieved a remarkable feat by winning the award for the 10th consecutive year.

The Global Finance Magazine organised the Global Finance Best Sub-Custodian Bank Awards. The criteria for the awards included outstanding services in customer relations, quality of service, competitive pricing, innovative technology platforms, post-settlement operations, business continuity plans, and knowledge of local regulations and practices.

Wole Adeniyi, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, expressed his delight at the announcement. He said that the award had once again placed Stanbic IBTC Bank on a pedestal of excellence as a foremost financial services provider in Nigeria.

He added, “We are excited that Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC has been recognised as the best Sub-Custodial Services Provider in Nigeria for the 10th consecutive year. We attribute this award and esteemed recognition to our team’s hard work and dedication in carrying out custodial services, our ever-evolving technological innovation in service delivery, and our passion for client satisfaction. We will not relent in giving our absolute best at all times.”

Also, Babatunde Majiyagbe, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Nominees, spoke of the award, “The criteria for this recognition shows that we are on the right path as we continually seek ways to provide the best-in-class service to our clients despite current global challenges. Client-focus and digitisation remain key drivers for business success, and we will continue to provide value because we are committed to making progress real.”

Similarly, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC was declared the Holding Group Category winner at the 2020 edition of the Next 100 Global Awards by the international finance magazine Global Banking and Finance Review. The Next 100 Global Awards recognised organisations with exceptional strategy, achievements, dedication, and leadership. Some of the indices that were taken into cognisance in awarding Stanbic IBTC included leadership and team experience, quality, track record, industry footprint, social contribution, economic impact, and the level of expertise. Other criteria were growth rate, industry awards and recognitions, technological advantages, customer response and engagement, the disruptiveness of solutions in respective markets, and impact on the respective industry.

Dr Demola Sogunle, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, also commented, “We are excited to be listed amongst winners of The Next 100 Global Awards 2020, specifically in the Holding Group Category. This is a testament to the high operating standard at Stanbic IBTC and proof of the confidence that our numerous customers have in our service delivery.”

The Corporate Social Investment initiatives of Stanbic IBTC have not gone unnoticed. The organisation was honoured with the Outstanding Community Service Award in Corporate Social Responsibility by Olambe Community in Ogun State. The award was in recognition of the organisation’s meritorious contributions to the development of Olambe Community.

Congratulating the leading financial institution on behalf of Olambe Community, Wale Olatunde, Chief Executive Officer, Ascend Hotels Limited, said: “This is a well-deserved honour given to the organisation for being dependable and supportive over the years. We recognise and appreciate the positive impact and contributions of the organisation to Olambe Community.”

Wole Adeniyi spoke of Stanbic IBTC’s penchant for leaving lasting legacies, especially amongst host communities. He said, “Through our Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiative, which is hinged on three major pillars, namely: Education, Health and Economic Empowerment, we consistently reach out to underserved communities and provide the assistance required to make the society a better place.”

Stanbic IBTC, over the years, has been a recipient of several awards for outstanding financial performance, excellent customer service delivery, management efficiency, amongst other criteria.

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Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Banking Sector

Zenith Bank Enhances E-Channel Services for Customers

Published

2 days ago

October 4, 2024

Samed Olukoya

Zenith Bank, one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions, has restored improved services across its electronic transaction channels, ensuring customers have seamless access to banking services.

In a statement released on Thursday via its X handle, the bank confirmed that customers can now conveniently conduct transactions across various platforms following a recent upgrade. These enhancements follow temporary glitches caused by routine IT maintenance aimed at optimizing service delivery.

Zenith Bank reiterated its commitment to providing improved services and highlighted the various channels available for customer transactions, including:

– Zenith Bank Debit, Credit, and Prepaid Cards
– Automated Teller Machines (ATMs)
– Point of Sale (POS) Terminals
– Zenith Bank Mobile App
– Internet Banking Platform
– Zenith Agents nationwide for agent banking

Customers are also encouraged to visit any of the bank’s branches across the country for in-person transactions.

Zenith Bank reassured further improvements in service delivery following the IT infrastructure upgrade. Customers with bulk payments and salary requests are encouraged to present payment mandates at any Zenith Bank branch nationwide for expedited processing.

Zenith Bank remains dedicated to enhancing customer experience and ensuring reliable banking services across all platforms.

Banking Sector

Nigerian Banks Face Soaring Wage Bills Amid Rising Inflation

Published

2 days ago

October 4, 2024

Ugwoke Ogbodo

Many Nigerian commercial banks have been spending more on hiring staff, fresh data has revealed.

Following worsening inflation in the country, some banks have to pay more for their newly hired workers, thus doubling the banks’ wages and salaries in just over a year and putting pressure on their operating costs.

The data showed that wages and salaries incurred by 10 banking groups in the first half of 2024 (H1 2024) stood at N615.8 billion, representing a 96 percent growth from the N314.4 billion incurred in H1 2023.

The banking groups are Access Holdings, UBA, FBN Holdings (First Bank), GTCO (GT Bank), Zenith Bank, Stanbic IBTC Holdings (Stanbic), Wema Bank, FCMB Group, Sterling Holding Company (Sterling), and Jaiz Bank.

It showed that Access Holdings incurred the highest wage bill among the banks, with N151.5 billion, up by 145 percent from the N61.9 billion reported in H1 2023 while First Bank’s personnel expenses for H1 2024 hit N134.2 billion, marking a 110 percent year-on-year increase from the N63.9 billion personnel expenses incurred in H1 2023.

For UBA, its wage bill grew by 92 percent year-on-year to N126.6 billion during the six months, up from N65.9 billion as of H1 2023. Also, Zenith Bank’s wage bill soared by 64 percent year-on-year to N63.5 billion, from N38.6 billion in H1 2023. Stanbic incurred wage expenses of N40.6 billion during the six-month period, up from N28.2 billion in H1 2023.

GT Bank’s wage bill almost doubled, increasing by 98 percent year-on-year to N39.3 billion, up from N19.9 billion in H1 2023. FCMB Group’s wage bill grew by 74 percent to N26.6 billion in H1 2024, up from N15.2 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2023.

In the same vein, Wema Bank’s wage also went up by 77 percent to N15.6 billion, from N8.8 billion in H1 2023. Sterling Bank’s wage bill also jumped by 41 percent year-on-year to N12.5 billion, from N8.9 billion as of H1 2023.

Jaiz Bank’s wage bill went up by 78 percent to N5.5 billion, from N3.1 billion in H1 2023.

The data showed that for some of these banks, the increase in employees also contributed to their rising wage bills, though, marginally.

For example, Zenith Bank increased its employee count by 511 to 8,146 between H1 2023 and H1 2024. UBA’s employee count between H1 2023 and H1 2024 increased marginally by 3 percent or 338, from 9,751 to 10,089.

While some companies downsize their staff strength, due to the harsh economy in the nation, the few available workers have been overloaded with work.

With inflationary pressures hitting hard on individuals and businesses, companies have been forced to substantially increase the wages for the few available staff.

For banks, apart from their staff wages, they have also had to incur increased outsourcing costs. Outsourcing costs relate to expenses incurred when a bank hires third-party contract staff.

GT Bank’s outsourcing costs increased by 69 percent year-on-year to N14.5 billion during the half-year, in contrast with N8.6 billion in H1 2023. First Bank’s outsourcing costs jumped by almost 300 percent year-on-year during the half-year to N16.4 billion, from N4.3 billion in H1 2023. Wema Bank also saw a dramatic increase in its outsourcing costs, posting N8.85 billion for the category in H1 2024, representing a 272 percent year-on-year growth from N2.38 billion as of H1 2023.

The jump in labour costs for banks has positioned some of them as the top-paying employers in the country. For instance, in H1 2024, Stanbic IBTC Holdings posted a wage per employee of N2.11 million per month. Zenith Bank had a wage per employee of about N650,000 per month, a stark comparison with UBA’s N2.09 million per month. However, UBA’s foreign operations employ about 4,150 staff members.

Banking Sector

Zenith Bank Apologizes for Service Disruption, Assures Customers of Improved Operations

Published

3 days ago

October 3, 2024

Bassey Marshall

Zenith Bank Plc has tendered an apology to its customers for the poor services experienced on its banking platforms.

Investors King reported that the service disruption which lasted for days left customers frustrated.

Despite the notice from the bank notifying its customers that it would perform maintenance from September 29 to October 1, many customers took to social media to register their disappointment with the bank.

Also, on Monday, September 30, angry customers converged at Zenith Bank, Ijaiye Ojokoro branch in Lagos, demanding access to their money.

A customer, Segun, who said that his main goal was to transfer his funds to another bank after being unable to access his money through any means revealed that for two days, he had tried to withdraw or transfer money through the bank’s mobile app, but nothing worked.

“My family nearly went hungry yesterday because of this issue,” he said, adding that his ATM card wasn’t working either.

However, on Thursday, Zenith Bank issued an apology via its official X handle to its customers.

The bank revealed that it had completed its maintenance upgrade and apologized for the inconvenience caused during the process.

Zenith Bank disclosed that the upgrade was aimed at improving the bank’s quality of service to its customers, emphasizing that customers can now perform transactions conveniently on all its banking channels, including mobile app, internet banking platform, debit card, agent banking, and branches nationwide.

The statement read, “Dear Valued Customer,

We sincerely apologise for the service disruptions you experienced recently on our banking channels. This was due to an information Technology upgrade aimed at improving the quality of service we provide.

We have made significant progress with the upgrade and you can now perform transactions conveniently with the following Zenith bank Channels:

Your Zenith Bank Debit Card
The Zenith Bank Mobile App
The Zenith bank Internet Banking Platform
Zenith Agents nationwide (Agent Banking)