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By Our Reporter
Zenith Bank Plc has retained its ranking as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1Capital in the 2023 Top 1000 World Banks’ Rankings, published by The BankerMagazine.
For the fourteenth year in a row, the Bank has held its position as the numberone Tier-1 bank in Nigeria, emerging as the 467th Bank globally with a Tier-1 Capital of$2.54 billion.
The rankings, published in the July 2023 edition of The Banker Magazine of theFinancial Times Group, United Kingdom, were based on the 2022 year-end Tier-1 capitalof banks globally.
The rankings continue to be the primary source for global bankfinancials and are used by most international organisations in their assessments ofbanks.Zenith Bank’s financial performance for the year was bolstered by an impressive double-digit growth of 24% in gross earnings, leading to an improved market share in both theretail and corporate segments of the market.
This occurred despite a persistently challenging macroeconomic environment and headwinds.
Commenting on the ranking, the Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, DrEbenezer Onyeagwu, said, “Being ranked as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1Capital for the fourteenth consecutive year attests to our resilience as an institutiondespite a very challenging macroeconomic environment and global headwinds. It is alsoan affirmation of our best-in-class service and commitment to value creation for ourhighly esteemed customers.” He thanked the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc,Jim Ovia, CFR, for his foundational role in building the structures and setting theinstitution on the path to continued success; the Board for their vision and outstandingleadership; the staff for their unwavering commitment and dedication; and the Bank’scustomers for their unflinching loyal support of the Zenith brand.Tier 1 Capital describes capital adequacy, which is the core measure of a bank’sfinancial strength from a regulator’s point of view.
According to the ranking, Tier 1Capital, as defined by the latest Bank for International Settlements (BIS) guidelines,includes loss-absorbing capital, i.e., common stock, disclosed reserves, retainedearnings, and minority interests in the equity of subsidiaries that are less than whollyowned.
Zenith Bank became one of the latest companies to join the exclusive group of stocksworth over one trillion, as its market capitalisation on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX)crossed the N1 trillion mark in the third week of June 2023. This followed theappreciation of its share price by 3.23% to close at N32 per share, taking its market capitalisation above a trillion to close at N1.004 trillion.The bank’s track record of excellent performances has continued to earn it numerousawards including being recognised as Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bankof the Year Awards 2020 and 2022; Best Bank in Nigeria, for three consecutive yearsfrom 2020 to 2022, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best CommercialBank, Nigeria 2021 and 2022, in the World Finance Banking Awards; Best CorporateGovernance Bank, Nigeria in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards 2022;Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa, for four consecutive yearsfrom 2020 to 2023, by the Ethical Boardroom; Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria in theInternational Banker 2023 Banking Awards; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and BestInnovation 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 BankerMagazine Top 500 Banking Brands 2020 and 2021, and Retail Bank of the year, forthree consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, at the BusinessDay Banks and OtherFinancial Institutions (BAFI) Awards. Similarly, Zenith Bank was named as Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) at theThisDay Awards 2020, Bank of the Year 2021 by Champion Newspaper, Bank of theYear 2022 by New Telegraph Newspaper, and Most Responsible Organisation in Africa2021 by SERAS Awards.
