Sterling Bank (Nigeria)

Sterling Bank Plc

Type	Public Limited Company
Industry	Banking
Founded	1960
Headquarters	Sterling Towers, 20 Marina, P.M.B. 12735, Lagos, Lagos State, Nigeria
Key people	Mr. Asue Ighodalo Chairman Abubakar Suleiman Group Managing Director/CEO
Services	Banking
Net income	₦ 5.99 billion (FY 2016)
Total assets	₦ 834 billion (FY 2016)
Total equity	₦ 85.66 billion (FY 2016)
Number of employees	>2243 (FY 2016)
Divisions	>189 Business Offices, 776 ATMs (FY 2016)
Website	http://www.sterlingbankng.com

Sterling Bank Plc is a full service national commercial bank licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Its shares trade under the Banking sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange with the symbol STERLNBANK.^[1] On Reuters and Bloomberg terminals, it is identified as STERLNB.LG and STERLNBA:NL respectively.^[2][3]

The bank provides services to individuals, small businesses (SMEs) and large corporations. As of December 2016, the bank's branch network numbered 187, distributed throughout Nigeria with total assets valued in excess of NGN:834 billion and shareholders' equity estimated at about NGN:85.6 billion).^[4]

Sterling bank Executive Director: Emefienim Emmanuel

History

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' name.^[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]

Operations

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

Consumer-Retail (with several initiatives such as Agent Banking to attract the underbanked/unbanked,^[8] Micro-credit for youths through Social Lender^[9]), Commercial (dealing in several sectors including Agriculture^[10] for which the bank has won awards), and thirdly Corporate (covering several sectors including Telecommunications, Power and Steel, Food and Beverages among others.^[11]

The bank operates from:

• The Head Office in 20 Marina, Lagos
• 189 branches across the country
• 1,871 POS terminals with several merchants
• 776 ATMs across the country

Specialized Services

• 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.^[12]

• Sterling Alternative Finance (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.^[13] The alternative banking products are split into three facets: Transactional, Investment, and Financing.^[14] 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).^[15]

2016 Performance Highlights

Sterling Bank delivered a set of results in 2016 as follows:^[16]

• Gross earnings grew for the 6th consecutive year to N111.4 billion in 2016, representing a compound annual growth rate of 12.8% (CAGR: 2012-2016);
• Interest income was a major driver of earnings contributing 88.9%, having risen by 22.5% to N99.1 billion (FY 2015: N80.9 billion);
• Net interest income increased by 41.6% to N56.0 billion (FY 2015: N39.5 billion)representing a compound annual growth rate of 23.7% (CAGR: 2012-2016);
• Operating expenses increased marginally by 1.9% to N50.61 billion (FY 2015: N49.7 billion) representing a compound annual growth rate of 12.2% (CAGR: 2012-2016);
• Profit before tax declined was N6.0 billion, while profit after tax was N5.2 billion;
• Total assets grew by 4.3% to N834.2 billion from N799.5 billion in December 2015 representing a 9.5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR: 2012-2016);
• Net loans and advances increased by 38.2% to N468.2 billion representing a compound annual growth rate of 19.5% (CAGR: 2012-2016);
• Customer deposits declined marginally by 1% to N584.7 billion (Dec. 2015: N590.9 billion) representing a compound annual growth rate of 6.0% (CAGR: 2012-2016);
• Shareholders’ fund was N86.7 billion from N95.6 billion in December 2015 and witnessed a compound annual growth rate of 16.4% over the four-year period from 2012 to 2016;
• Capital adequacy ratio was 120 basis points above regulatory threshold at 11.2%.

Social responsibility

The Bank carries out corporate social responsibility in three areas: education, the environment, and empowerment and entertainment.^[17]

Board Of Directors

Source:^[18]

• Asue Ighodalo – Chairman
• Abubakar Suleiman – Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer
• Olanrewaju Olugbenga Adesanya – Executive Director

• Grama Narasimhan - Executive Director
• Yemi Odubiyi - Executive Director
• Michael Jituboh – Non-Executive Director
• Olaitan Kajero - Non-Executive Director
• Tairat Tijani - Non-Executive Director
• Egbichi Akinsanya - Non-Executive Director
• Rasheed Aderemi Kolarinwa – Independent Director
• Tamarakare Yekwe, Mon – Independent Director
• Omolara Akanji, Mon – Independent Director

Mr. Abubakar Suleiman is the current Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, assuming this position on 1 April 2018. He has over two decades of relevant experience in tax advisory, business audit and financial services.

Mr. Suleiman graduated from the University of Abuja with a B.Sc in Economics. He has an M.Sc in Major Programmes Management from the University of Oxford, and is notably an alumnus of Arthur Andersen (KPMG Nigeria), Wharton School and INSEAD Business School. He has also received executive education from prestigious institutions, Harvard and Said Business School.

See also

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

References

External links

• http://www.sterlingbankng.com/index.aspx Sterling Bank (Nigeria) Homepage
• Sterling Bank Plc. Shares Recover From Recession
• Company Profile At Bloomberg.com