Sterling Bank (Nigeria)

Sterling Bank Plc originally incorporated in 1960 as Nigeria Acceptances Limited (NAL). The bank was licensed as Nigeria's first merchant bank in 1969. Consequent to the indigenization decree of 1972, the Bank became fully government owned and was managed in partnership with Grindlays Bank Limited, Continental International Finance Company Illinois and American Express Bank Limited between 1974 and 1992. In 1992, the Bank was partly privatized and listed as a public company on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE). Eight years later, in 2000, the Federal Government sold its residual interest in the bank, effectively making it a fully privatized institution.[5]

In January 2006, as part of the consolidation of the Nigerian banking industry, NAL Bank completed a merger with four other Nigerian Banks namely, Magnum Trust Bank, NBM Bank, Trust Bank of Africa and Indo-Nigeria Merchant Bank (INMB) and adopted the name 'Sterling Bank'.[6] The merged entities were successfully integrated and have operated as a consolidated group ever since.

In line with the Central Bank of Nigeria's repeal of universal banking, Sterling Bank now operates as a national commercial bank, disposing of holdings in subsidiaries and affiliate companies. In mid-2011, Sterling Bank Plc acquired the franchise of the erstwhile Equatorial Trust Bank.[7]

The Bank's operations and products are grouped in four clusters:

Retail & Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, Institutional Banking and Corporate Banking.

Sterling has launched several initiatives under the Retail & Consumer Banking such as Agent Banking (designed to attract the underbanked/unbanked),[8] Micro-credit for youths and Specta (an automated retail lending platform). Its Commercial Banking deals in several sectors including Agriculture[9] for which the bank has won several awards while its Institutional Banking offers value adding advisory & collection services for government parastatals. Sterling's Corporate Banking covers several sectors including Telecommunications, Power and Steel, Food and Beverages among others.[10]

The Bank operates from:

• Head Office 20 Marina, Lagos
• 157 branches across the country
• 10,667 POS terminals with several merchants
• 689 ATMs across the country
• Over 1.5 million USSD users across the country

• Private Banking and Wealth Management

The Bank also caters to High Net Worth individuals through their Private Banking and Wealth Management arm offering products such as Trust and Fiduciary Services, Philanthropy Management, Investment Advisory, among others.[11]

• Sterling Alternative Finance (SAF) (Non-Interest Banking)

In 2013, the Bank was licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to provide non-interest banking services after meeting the set criteria.[12] The alternative banking products are split into three facets: Transactional, Investment, and Financing.[13] The Bank has set up this arm of business in line with global best practice in this regard by having an Advisory Committee of Experts (ACE) who approve all products and processes while ensuring they are fully compliant with the rules of Islamic commercial jurisprudence. The Bank's Advisory Committee of Experts (ACE) includes Sheikh Abdulkader Thomas (US/Kuwait); Sheikh Abubakar Musa (Minna); and Imam Abdur-Raheem Ahmad Sayi (Lagos).[14][15]

Sterling Bank delivered a set of results in 2020 as follows:[16]

• Gross earnings moderated by a 12.4% decline in interest income as yields trended lower.
• Interest expense declined by 21.3%, resulting in a 160 bps drop in cost of funds; this was driven by a 39.5% y-o-y growth in low-cost customer deposits.
• In response to the pandemic and expected credit losses, Sterling increased cost of risk by 10 bps to 1.0% while moderating NPL ratio downwards by 30bps to 1.9%.
• Cost-to-income ratio declined y-o-y to 77.4%. The Bank recorded a 2.5% drop in operating expenses despite rising inflationary pressures.
• Notably, NIP (NIBBS Instant Payments) transaction volume grew by 89.4% compared to the previous year on the back of investments made in our digital platforms.
• Total assets grew by 9.8% to N1,299.1 billion from N1,182.7 billion in December 2019;
• Net loans and advances declined by 3.5% to N596.8 billion (FY 2019: N618.7 billion);
• Customer deposits increased by 6.5% to N950.8 billion (Dec. 2019: N892.7 billion);
• Capital adequacy ratio up to 18%; well above regulatory threshold.
• The Bank achieved a 6.0% growth in profit after taxes to reach N11.2 billion; this underpins the 13.5% growth in shareholders funds recorded as at end of 2020

Other non-financial highlights include:

•       Digital platforms launched during the year include: OneBank; a new electronic banking application, Giving (www.giving.ng); a crowdfunding platform and Pay with Specta; a lending platform for SMEs.

•       Awarded 2020 ‘Overall Best Workplace in Nigeria’ in the large corporate category of the Great Place to Work Institute.

The Bank carries out corporate social responsibility in these areas: education, the environment, health, empowerment, sports development, capacity building, among others.[17]

Source:[18]

• Asue Ighodalo – Chairman
• Abubakar Suleiman – Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer
• Yemi Odubiyi - Executive Director
• Raheem Owodeyi - Executive Director[19]
• Tunde Adeola- Executive Director[19]
• Ankala Prasad - Non-Executive Director
• Michael Jituboh - Non-Executive Director
• Olaitan Kajero - Non-Executive Director
• Tairat Tijani - Non-Executive Director
• Folasade Kilaso - Non-Executive Director
• Paritosh Tripathi - Non-Executive Director
• Olatunji Mayaki - Non-Executive Director
• Michael Ajukwu - Independent Director
• Olusola Oworu - Independent Director

Mr. Abubakar Suleiman is the current Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, assuming this position on 1 April 2018.

• List of banks in Nigeria
• Central Bank of Nigeria
• Economy of Nigeria

• https://sterling.ng Sterling Bank (Nigeria) Homepage
• Sterling Bank Plc. Shares Recover From Recession
• Company Profile At Bloomberg.com