Female bank MDs came on board in greater numbers in 2021
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
More female bank Managing Directors came on board in 2021 bringing their number to eight and raising to 34 their percentage in Nigeria’s 23 banks.
Seeing females at the helm of banks was quite uncommon until now. However, the rise of the corporate woman in Africa has seen more women getting to the top of their banking careers and to the number one spot on the executive and non-executive boards.
The rare achievers are highlighted below as profiled by Nairametrics.
Fidelity Bank
Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe opened the year with her appointment as MD and Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank on January 1, 2021 after spending five years in the bank.
She became the first female MD in the history of the bank spanning 35 years.
Onyeali-Ikpe has management and executive training from global institutions and was already overseeing the bank’s business in the six South West states which include Lagos.
Upon assumption of office, she announced plans to take Fidelity Bank to Tier-1 status by 2025 through aggressive brand refresh.
There were several campaigns during the year, including the launch of a fifth season of the bank’s savings reward scheme, Get Alert in Millions (GAIM) Season 5, where it doled out over N125 million to lucky customers.
The bank completed its Eurobond exercise and raised $400 million from the international capital markets.
Fidelity Bank also bagged awards for the “Fastest Growing Bank” and “MSME & Entrepreneurship Financing Bank of the Year” at the 2021 BusinessDay Banks & Other Financial Institutions.
There were also the Bafi Awards and the 2020 Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) service award for the highest disbursement to DBN focused locations.
Fidelity Bank posted a 31.4 per cent profit worth N28.1 billion in the nine months ended in September 2021 (Q3 2021).
Year 2022 presents Onyeali-Ikpe the opportunity to continue to drive the bank towards Tier-1 in the realm of FUGAZ.
FUGAZ is an acronym for Tier-1 banks, the five biggest in Nigeria by market capitalisation – FirstBank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Guaranty Trust Bank (GTCo), Access Bank, and Zenith Bank.
FCMB
Yemisi Edun was appointed FCMB boss after a 34+ years career, 20 of which were spent in the bank
A career that started with auditing corporate finance at Akintola Williams Deloitte, and progressed into core banking about two decades ago. She brings all of it to bear on FCMB.
Unaudited results of the bank by Q3 2021 shows growth in gross revenue, loans and advances, non-interest income, and total assets. However, this growth was evened out with an increase in operating expenses, a decline in net interest income and profit after tax.
On a quarterly basis, the FCMB group recorded a 57 per cent surge in its bottom line to N6.2 billion from N4 billion in Q2 2021.
This shows there may be more improvements in subsequent reports.
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SunTrust Bank
Halima Buba got appointed SunTrust Bank MD/CEO on the backdrop of two decades-plus experience in several banks including Allstates Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, Inland Bank, Oceanic Bank, and Ecobank.
Though the bank was licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2001 it does not seem to have crossed many milestones in two decades.
It seems to have done a bit of everything, from commercial banking to mortgage and at some point even described itself as ‘Nigeria’s premier fintech bank’.
Buba has her work cut out and she will have to at least bring SunTrust Bank out into the limelight and properly position it on the ‘banking map’.
GTBank
Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) got its first female MD after over three decades. After working for about 23 years with the bank, Miriam Olusanya, succeeded Segun Agbaje, the now retired CEO.
She obtained a first degree in pharmacy and a master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Liverpool. She had been with GTBank since 1998 as an executive trainee.
The bank prides itself on being one of the most profitable, but not biggest banks; and indeed, it has maintained impressive records over the years with a network and client base that gives it competitive advantage.
Its latest financial report shows resilience with growth in fees and commission income from N26.5 billion in H1 2020 to N38.3 billion in H1 2021.
Olusanya has a high hurdle to climb as it is her job to ensure the figures only go up.
FSDH Merchant Bank
Bukola Smith succeeded Hamda Ambah as FSDH Merchant Bank MD in April 2021. The bank is a subsidiary of the FSDH Group.
Smith has 28 years of experience in the banking industry, with a membership of high-ranking institutes in the financial sector.
As a subsidiary, FSDH Merchant Bank is not a regular name in the news, but we know that during the year FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited approved its commercial paper series and accepted it for quotation on its platform.
The series includes N2.28 billion Series 3, N1.79 billion Series 4, and N15.53 billion Series 5 commercial papers issued under the exchange’s N40 billion commercial paper issuance programme.
Lotus Bank
Kafilat Araoye was confirmed Lotus Bank CEO when the bank finally received a non-interest banking licence from the CBN in July 2021, making it the newest and third non-interest bank in Nigeria.
The bank commenced operations in September 2021 and has a physical presence in four locations in Lagos State.
Araoye has to take Lotus Bank down the path already trodden by the likes of Jaiz Bank, and earn its presence on Nigeria’s banking landscape.
Ecobank board chairman
Bola Adesola became the first female board chairman of Ecobank Nigeria succeeding John Aboh as a non-executive member.
She is a seasoned banker as well, having retired from Standard Chartered Bank where she was Senior Vice Chairman, Africa.
She was also
- Chairperson of the Board of Standard Chartered Bank, Mauritius
- Director at Standard Chartered, Ghana
- MD/CEO of Standard Chartered Nigeria and West Africa for eight years with oversight over the bank’s West African subsidiaries, including in Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Cameroon.