The Nigerian banking industry is a leader in the continent’s financial sector. Total assets were pegged at N66.76 trillion ($151 billion) as of August 2022, a 19.13% from the same period in 2021. The banking sector provides almost 80,000 jobs to top executives, junior staff and contract workers in Africa’s largest economy. The sector has steadily helped develop entrepreneurship and businesses in the Nigerian economy.
But the story was not glamorous for the Nigerian banking sector as it also shared in the bitter pills of financial meltdowns. Between 1994 to 2008, about 52 commercial banks in the country liquidated and had their licence revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The trend inflicted pain on many customers and invariably led to the adoption of new banking reforms in the west African state.
Thus, after a series of liquidations, the CBN implemented a new policy that would see banks provide a N25 billion minimum capital base, for banks to stay safe and protect people’s deposits. With that, they could absorb such losses and keep going in good times and bad. That brought about a revolution in the Nigerian banking system as it saw the rise of young ambitious bankers who spearheaded investments, built investors’ confidence and a series of mergers and acquisitions.
Since the early 1900s, Nigeria has seen the birthing of new banks and a rise in innovative solutions despite the liquation of some banks. Below is a list of notable male icons in the Nigerian banking sector who have significantly impacted the industry with their creative ingenuity.
Atedo Peterside
Atedo Peterside is a Nigerian businessman, investment banker, and economist. In 1989, at the age of 33, he founded the Investment Banking & Trust Company Limited (IBTC) and served as the Bank’s CEO till 2007 when it became Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc after a merger and acquisition process with Stanbic Bank Nigeria Ltd.
Before this merger, IBTC had raised capital to acquire two commercial banks in 2005- Chartered Bank Plc and Regent Bank Plc. That was done in compliance with the CBN order for all deposit money banks to have an N25 billion minimum capital base, at the time. These earlier acquisitions made it a universal bank so it became IBTC Chartered Bank Plc 2005.
Peterside was elected Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Bank in October 2007 and later became Group Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc. in August 2012 before announcing his resignation in 2017.
He is the Chairman of Anap Business Jets Ltd (a company he founded in 2015) and the Atedo N. A. Peterside Foundation. He also sits on the boards of both The Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd and Standard Bank Group Ltd.
Jim Ovia
Jim James Ovia is the Founder and former CEO/Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s tier-1 commercial banks. Zenith Bank Plc was established in May 1990 and commenced operations in July of the same year as a commercial bank. However, the Bank became a public limited company on June 17, 2004, and was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on October 21, 2004.
Aside from having over 500 branches across Nigeria, Zenith Bank has branches in the United Kingdom (UK), Ghana, the Gambia and Sierra Leone. It also has representatives in China.
Ovia currently sits as the chairman and single majority individual shareholder of the Bank. He also owns prime real estate across Nigeria, and mobile telecom operator Visafone, which has 3 million subscribers.
Tony Elumelu
Anthony Onyemaechi Elumelu (Tony Elumelu) is a Nigerian economist, and philanthropist. In 1985, served as a youth corp member in Union Bank Nigeria before starting his career as a salesman.
In 1997, Elumelu led a small group of investors to take over a struggling Crystal Bank (later renamed Standard Trust Bank). Within a few years, the bank became profitable and in 2005 he led one of the largest mergers in the banking sector in Sub-Saharan Africa by acquiring United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA).
Elumelu led the company as Group Managing Director from a single-country banking group to a pan-African bank with subsidiaries in 20 African countries, France, the United States (US) and the UK.
Although Elumelu currently chairs the board of UBA, he also is the founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Transcorp Group and the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF).
Tajudeen Afolabi Adeola
Tajudeen Afolabi Adeola is a Nigerian businessman and investor. He is the Founder of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank Plc.) a financial institution he founded alongside the late Tayo Aderinokun. Adeola is the pioneering MD.CEO of GTBank but handed over in 20o2 to Aderinokun and moved on to chair several boards in the financial, energy, investment banking, breweries and telecommunications sectors.
GTBank is now a multinational financial services group, that offers retail and investment banking, pension management, asset management and payments services. The bank is based in Lagos and has its footprints in the US, Uk and at least nine other African countries. Adeola is a member of the Commission for Africa and the Founder and Chairman of the FATE Foundation.
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede is a banker, lawyer, and philanthropist. He is the Founder and Chairman of Coronation Capital Ltd and its affiliates, Coronation Asset Management Ltd and Trium Ltd.
He is a founding member of the Guaranteed Trust Bank (GTBank) in 1991 at the age of 25 and was responsible for setting up what will, later on, be called retail banking or commercial banking. By the age of 32, he was an executive director responsible for running the bank in the absence of the managing director and deputy managing director.
At age 34, in collaboration with Herbert Wigwe, his friend and former colleague at GTBank, he bought over a struggling commercial bank, Acces Bank, through the acquisition of 51% per cent of the bank’s share. The pair subsequently became Access Bank’s Managing Director and Deputy-Managing Director, respectively.
Herbert Wigwe
Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe is a Nigerian banker and entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Access Holdings Plc, an institution he acquired in a joint partnership with his friend and former colleague, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede. Alongside his friend, he left GTBank as an Executive Director to co-lead the transformation of Access Bank Plc in March 2002 as Deputy Managing Director.
Wigwe was later appointed Group Managing Director/CEO effective in 2014 after Aig-Imoukhuede’s resignation. He served in that capacity and was thereon appointed a Non-Executive Director of the Bank, effective May last year 2022.
In 2020, Wigwe was named the “African Banker of the Year” at the African Banker Awards, a recognition of his leadership and the impact that Access Bank has made on the African financial landscape. More so, Wigwe has helped develop some of Africa’s biggest companies in the Construction, Telecommunications, Energy and Oil and Gas sectors through a unique model, which involved understanding and providing financial support and expertise.
Access Bank is one of Nigeria’s tier-1 banks or top 5 banks. As of 31 March 2022, Access Bank had total assets of approximately $28.8 billion. Access Bank currently has its footprints in 17 markets across 3 continents. Thanks to Wigwe’s dedication towards a pan-African expansion.
