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Zenith Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s largest banks, has been declared the Best Bank in Nigeria by Global Finance Magazine, a New York-headquartered finance publication. The award, which was published in the May 2020 edition of the magazine, is part of the Global Finance’s 27th annual awards for the World’s Best Banks designed to honour top-performing financial institutions in more than 150 countries and seven global regions, as well as eight regions in the United States.

According to a statement released by Zenith Bank on Monday, the awards are based on the performances of the banks in their respective regions and countries over the period from January 1 to December 31, 2019. Zenith Bank said the World’s Best Banks Awards are well-recognised among global banking and finance professionals, as well as corporate professionals.  They are also much coveted in the banking industry.

Founded in 1987, Global Finance regularly selects the top performers among banks and other providers of financial services. According to the magazine, its editors along with industry analysts, corporate executives and technology experts, select the winners for the Best Bank Awards using entries provided by banks and other providers, as well as independent research based on a set of objective and subjective factors.

Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of Zenith Bank, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, said, “this award is a clear demonstration of the bank’s market leadership, occasioned by our superior product offerings, best-in-class service and top-of-the-range technology which create value for our teeming customers.”

The bank said it has distinguished itself in the Nigerian financial services industry through superior service quality, unique customer experience and sound financial indices. The bank said it is a clear leader in the digital space having achieved several firsts in the deployment of innovative products and various solutions to provide alternative channels and convenience for its customers.
 
In February, Zenith Bank Plc declared 8 per cent rise in profit after tax (PAT) from N193.4 billion in 2018 to N208.8 billion in 2019, becoming the first Nigerian bank to cross the N200 billion mark in profit after tax. The bank also increased its earnings by 5.1 per cent from N630.3 billion reported in 2018 to N662.3 billion in 2019. In the recently-released Q1 2020 unaudited financial results, the bank also recorded an improved result over the corresponding period in 2019, with gross earnings rising by 6 per cent to N166.8 billion and PAT growing by 3 per cent to N58.8 billion.

Global Finance said no one is spared when a crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic unfolds. But those that display solid fundamentals stand a better chance of making it through this unfolding difficult period. The publication said winners of Global Finance’s Best Bank Awards are financial institutions that best display these qualities.