Business Hallmark names Oduoza Banker of the Year

Business Hallmark Newspaper has named the outgoing Group Managing Director/ CEO of UBA Plc., Mr. Philips Oduoza, as the Banker of the Year.

In a statement issued by the Editorial Board of the newspaper in Lagos, Oduoza was described as a, “dynamic and thorough professional whose inspirational leadership of UBA Plc has made the bank one of Africa’s leading financial institutions”.

Oduoza was appointed GMD of UBA on August 1, 2010 and would be bowing out of office on July 31st, 2016.

Oduoza would be sorely missed by shareholders and staff of the institution for his spectacular managerial performance which resulted in his leading UBA out of troubled times in 2010 and 2011 by re-engineering and repositioning the bank for sustained stakeholder value through improving profitability and customer sensitivity.

Oduoza started to initiate far reaching strategic initiatives very early in his tenor as the banks Chief Executive Officer, especially at a time the economy was hurling speedily into a recession and most banks were ‘bottom feeding’ from a shallow pot of financing and investment opportunities.

At this point, he believed that responsibility, determination, and hard work would be prioritized over any other pursuit as the bank strived to deliver on its mission statement. He drove a process in which value addition would be reflected in the bank’s bottom line. And that processes and procedures would be concentrated around making the customer the centre of the banks operating goals.

Two years on, Oduoza promised to pursue the goal of making UBA a profitable value-driven organisation with a clear pan African outlook, the vision morphed into reality when the bank returned to profitability. The bank achieved a record growth in profitability in 2012.

Audited report and accounts of the bank for the year ended December 31, 2012 show that it recovered from a N6.8 billion loss posted in 2011 on account of balance sheet-damaging loan loss provisions that it had to clean up. In a remarkable reversal and a confirmation of Oduoza’s managerial savvy, the bank posted a profit of N54.8 billion in 2012.

Oduoza’s performance since August 2010 reveals that the banks profit grew by 2,098 per cent from N2.167 billion in 2010 to N47.475billion in 2015. Other relevant indicators also show that gross Earnings also grew by 57 per cent from N157billion in 2010 to N247.3billion in 2015. Similarly, UBA’s total assets grew 55 per cent from N1,432trillion in 2010 to N2.216 trillion in 2015. Loans and advances to customers also grew by 82 per cent from N569.3billion in 2010 to N1.036 trillion in 2015.

Similarly, Zenith Bank emerged bank of the year again because of its qualitative, swift and admirable service delivery.

Zenith Bank is not only a reputable organisation but had also been rated very highly in a recent survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) to determine the most respected companies and chief executives in Nigeria.

According to PWC,   the bank was rated for its high ethical standards and excellent leadership style, coupled with strong management principles and structure plus a smooth succession plan as well as resourcefulness with an excellent business culture.

Zenith Bank paid the highest dividend in the banking industry in the year ended 2015 as shareholders literally smiled to the bank, having received a dividend of N180.00 per share.

Zenith paid a dividend of N1.75 per share in the previous year. The bank was able to capably lift its head above turbulent economic waters despite the dampening impact of a weak macro-economic environment in which four of its competitors issued profit warnings.

The bank showcased its resilience in its gross earnings of 432.535 billion in 2015, up by 7.2 per cent over 2014 figures. Net interest income grew by 8.8 per cent from N206.503 billion in 2014 to N224.582 billion in 2015.

Profit before tax recorded a growth of 4.9 per cent to be at N125.61 billion in 2015, compared with N119.7 billion the previous year. Profit after tax rose marginally by 1.2 per cent to N105.66 billion in 2015 from N103.275 billion in 2014.

Bank of Industry which emerged innovative company of the year has remained the engine of economic growth in Nigeria.

The bank has for over three decades galvanized industry activity in the country by providing credit to indigenous business organizations in Nigeria.

The BoI has managed the N235 billion CBN Intervention Fund for manufacturing, re-financing, and restructuring facilities of banks’ loans and also N300 billion CBN Power and Airline Intervention Fund (PAIF). After its recapitalisation with N250billion, BOI has aided the survival of several companies in Nigeria.