Zenith Bank Ghana has made history by winning The Banker magazine’s top prize in the Ghanaian banking industry for the second straight year, a feat that underlines its sustained superior performance on key metrics and sets a new benchmark for the industry.
The bank’s consistently strong multi-year performance on profitability, assets growth, capital and cost efficiency put it ahead of the industry again in being named the Bank of the Year Ghana, 2015 at The Banker’s annual Bank of the Year Awards.
The Awards, which recognise the best banks in more than 140 countries, are regarded as the Oscars of the banking world and pay tribute every year to the most dynamic and value-creating banks for customers and shareholders. Zenith won the award in 2014 for the first time.
This year, apart from being celebrated for growing significantly in profitability, size and capital, the bank was also praised for its innovations in the market, which included launch of the first-of-its-kind Kudi Card to help unbanked income earners make payments electronically and minimise the use of cash.
As a customised prepaid Visa card, Kudi Card works by allowing workers who receive their income in cash to load their salaries onto the card to make payments locally and internationally.
The card not only offers convenience and security to users but also advances the government’s ‘cash-lite’ agenda.
In the last 10 years as a licenced bank in Ghana, Zenith has been at the forefront of innovations to help people diversify away from cash to quicker, safer and more efficient channels of payment, which are deemed to have a catalytic impact on the pace of economic activity.
For this reason Zenith, among its 10 awards already won this year, was named the Winner-Most Cashless Bank at the 14th Ghana Banking Awards and the Best E-Commerce Bank Ghana at the Global Banking and Finance Review Awards 2015.
Its eight other honours for the year are: Winner—Best Banking Group, Ghana, nk and Best E-Commerce Ghana at the Global Banking and Finance Review Awards 2015; Winner—Best Bank in Trade Finance and 2nd Runner-Up for Best Bank in Long Term Loan Financing and 2nd Runner-up Best Bank in Customer Care at the 14th Ghana Banking Awards; as well as placing No. 6 in the 2014 Ghana Club 100 Rankings, making the bank leader in the Commercial Banks Sector RankWorld Finance Awards 2015; Winner—Best Corporate Bank, 2015; Winner—Best Customer Service Baings.
The bank also won the Straight through Processing Excellence Award, 2014 (US dollar Payments)—Citibank
Commenting on The Banker award, which is the latest addition to this rich laurel-collection, Daniel Asiedu, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, said: “Leading and setting the pace is an enduring quality of the Zenith brand, which has been re-emphasised by our winning The Banker’s Bank of the Year in Ghana prize back-to-back.
“This award is a great source of encouragement for us as we strive to surpass the very lofty standards we have already set for ourselves and the industry.”
In September, Zenith Bank celebrated 10 years of operating in Ghana and used the occasion to thank its numerous customers for their continuous loyalty to the brand, and for the laudable laurels it has achieved in the Ghanaian banking industry over the period.