Zenith Bank is Nigeria’s largest lender in terms of Tier-1 Capital according to a new report published by The Banker Magazine. According to a performance-based ranking of the world’s leading banks for 2019, Zenith Bank retained its position as the country’s number one bank with a Tier-1 Capital of $2.79 billion, an increase of 16.1% on the $2.40 billion recorded in the 2019 rankings. Zenith Bank also moved twenty-nine spots from 415 to 386 in the publication’s ranking of the world’s banks when compared to the 2019 rankings.
The ranking which was published in the July 2020 edition of The Banker Magazine, owned by the prestigious Financial Times Group, was based on the 2019 year-end Tier-1 capital reserves of banks across the globe. Zenith’s financial performance for the year was underpinned by a 29% increase in non-interest income, with an improved market share in both retail and corporate sectors.
Tier 1 capital describes the capital adequacy of a bank, and it is the core measure of a bank’s financial strength from a regulator’s point of view. According to the ranking, Tier 1 Capital, as defined by the latest Bank for International Settlements (BIS) guidelines, includes loss-absorbing capital: common stock, disclosed reserves, retained earnings and minority interests in the equity of subsidiaries that are less than wholly-owned.
Zenith Bank’s chief executive Ebenezer Onyeagwu said: “This ranking, which further attests to our market leadership, is the outcome of a well-thought-out strategy of always delighting and creating value for our teeming customers through a broad range of superior product offerings, best-in-class service and top-of-the-range technology”.
Analysts say Zenith Bank has recorded remarkable year-on-year progress in the Nigerian financial services industry through leveraging proprietary technology, superior service quality, unique customer experience and sound financial indices. The bank is one of the leaders in the digital space with several firsts in the deployment of innovative products, solutions and an assortment of alternative channels that ensure convenience, speed and safety of transactions.
Zenith Bank recently announced impressive results for the year ended December 31, 2019, with a profit after tax (PAT) of N208.8 billion, the first Nigerian Bank to earn more than N200 billion in post-tax profits. In its recently released first quarter 2020 unaudited financial results, Zenith also recorded an improved result over the corresponding period in 2019, with gross earnings rising by 6% to N166.8 billion and profit before tax (PBT) growing by 3% to N58.8 billion in spite of COVID-19 disruptions.