Oceanic Wins ‘Bank of the Year’ Award

Oceanic Bank International Plc has been named the winner of the 2007 Nigerian Bank of the Year Award organised by The Banker magazine, a publication of the Financial Times of London.
The awards ceremony was held on Wednesday night at the Dorchester Hotel, London. Oceanic Bank was adjudged the Nigerian Bank of the Year for the second year running.
The bank had won the Nigerian Banker of the Year award in 2006.
Oceanic Bank, according to the organisers, was picked, among other reasons, for formulating and adopting business transformation strategies that clearly put it in the direction of making it emerge a leading banking institution in the continent.
Oceanic is also one of the 29 banks on the African continent which received the honour as well as the second, only to the Standard Bank group of South Africa, on the most capitalised of the banks. It currently ranks 14th on the table of the Top 100 Sub-Saharan African banks in the December 2007 edition of The Banker magazine.

The organisers said of the bank: “Oceanic Bank Interna-tional (OBI) expanded its service offerings by adding on new subsidiary companies in areas like life and general insurance, capital markets, securities and custodian services. The bank has continuously upgraded its systems, processes and staff competency to improve service delivery and increase efficiency using world class institutions, such as SAP.
“The adoption of the Mckinsey-Lead Strategic Transformation Project signifies a robust business transformation programme for OBI to create what it expects to be the leading financial services group in west and central Africa. It allows the group to fully capitalise on its performance and positioning, and ensures that Oceanic Bank captures the next wave of growth opportunities.”
The organisers also explained that one of the reasons they recognised the bank was because: “The bank achieved branch efficiency through expansion strategies, and alternative delivery channels through increased ATM deployment in strategic locations. It also developed value-added services, and innovative, technology-based products and solutions for high value institutional customers.”

“I am deeply blessed and honoured to be working with such talented, dedicated and hardworking team. Without them, this award will not have been possible”.
She said the award was a further challenge to her at the bank to be more innovative, responsive and more alive to the modern demands in the industry. She also said that the bank would encourage more entrepreneurship ventures and be more involved in products that would alleviate poverty in the country.
Ibru said Oceanic Bank was highly committed to delivering value to the Nigerian economy, and to its core stakeholders, “we will not relent on our high standards” she said. “This award will only spur us on as we continue with our various strategies towards being an African bank to be reckoned with in the international community.”

In his opening speech, Mr Philip Timewell, editor-in-chief of The Banker, had paid tribute to banks from the emerging markets for turning in excellent financial performances when their counterparts in Europe and America were facing serious crises as a result of the recent spate of turbulences in the financial markets.
The event was attended by representatives of banks from over 143 countries which entered for the awards. Highlights of the night included the lifetime achievement award given to William Rhodes, a 50-year veteran of Citibank.
Among those who came out to support Oceanic Bank were members of the Ibru clan, led by Olorogun Michael Ibru, as well as the Ibru children – Oboden, Obaro, Ejiro, Osio and Rode.

An elated Obaro praised her mother for making Nigeria proud. “She is truly an amazing woman, I am so happy and proud of her and wish her and Oceanic Bank continued success in the future,” he said.
From a total of 12 branches as at September 31, 2000, the bank, under the leadership of Mrs. Ibru grew its branch network to 320 business offices – 286 branches, 24 e-Banking centres and 10 collection points.
The bank currently ranks amongst the top four banks in the industry in terms of branch network. In the 2006/2007 financial year alone, it added a total of 135 business offices to its branch network while two subsidiaries – Oceanic Capital Limited and Oceanic Insurance Limited – became fully operational.
Oceanic Bank further strengthened its intervention in strategic areas of the economy, making significant interventions that have helped boost economic growth.

The bank is one of the few that have recorded outstanding successes in the funding of SMEs through the Small and Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEIS).
Though investment under the scheme has been made optional by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Oceanic Bank has continued to raise its level of commitment. As at July 2007, the bank’s SMEEIS investments had totalled N2.664 billion in about 34 enterprises, compared to N1.934 billion in 27 enterprises reported at the end of its 2005/2006 financial year.
These investments covered manufacturing, telecommunications, metal works, agriculture, information/communication technology, electronic payment services, hotel and tourism, and water treatment, amongst others.
Others present at the award ceremony included Bismarck Rewane of Financial Derivatives; Hajia Amina Abdulahi (Group General Manager in charge of investments at NNPC); Apostle Hayford Alile (Chairman of Oceanic Bank); Nkosana Moyo (Actis); Ovie Ukiri (Executive Director, Oceanic Bank); Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi and many more.