Dr Ebenezer Onyeagwu’s appointment as the group managing director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc., in June 1, 2019, through his tenure that ends in June 1, 2024, coincided with significant global disruptions that vanquished traditional business playbooks.

The unprecedented economic conditions wrought by the global pandemic, seismic shifts on the global scene mirrored by European and North America’s new nationalism, Sino-America tensions and ongoing Russo-Ukranian conflict which continue to impact diverse planetary business eco-systems can easily be recalled.

Through the enervating storm, Zenith Bank-led Onyeagwu remained a focused turf player and a powerful financial services sector entity which has indeed earned its glittering stripes. Onyeagwu clearly brought to his job astute strategic thinking, inspirational leadership, energetic and consummate entrepreneurial skills.

demonstrably a leader in the deployment of various channels of banking technology, and the Zenith brand has become synonymous with the deployment of state-of-the-art technologies in banking.

Built upon the three principles of people, technology and service, the optimisation of experience and satisfaction across its vast customer base inspires Zenith Bank’s digitalisation strategy, which delivers innovative solutions that are consistently ahead of the local competition.

The bank proudly boasts of having deployed several firsts in cutting-edge offerings that continuously satisfy evolving customer preferences and are thus pioneering the digital-banking revolution transpiring across the country – and, indeed, the continent – currently.

While Zenith Bank’s full year 2023 financial performance is being awaited, its unaudited results for the third quarter (Q3) ended September 30, 2023, showed that it recorded a remarkable triple-digit growth of 114 per cent from N620.6 billion reported in Q3 2022 to N1.33 trillion in Q3 2023.

The performance again demonstrated the Group’s resilience and strong market share despite a very challenging macroeconomic environment. It also reflected the leadership direction Zenith Bank has been enjoying under Onyeagwu.

According to the bank’s unaudited Q3 financial results presented to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the triple-digit growth in the top-line also enhanced the bottom line, as the Group recorded a 149 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in profit before tax, growing from N202.5 billion in Q3 2022 to N505 billion in Q3 2023.

Under Onyeagwu, Zenith Bank’s profit after tax also grew remarkably by 149 per cent from N174.3 billion to N434.2 billion in the same period. The growth in the top-line arose from both interest income and non-interest income.

Interest income grew in the current period by 72 per cent to N670.9 billion from N390.8 billion in Q3 2022, while non-interest income grew by 186 per cent, from N212 billion to N607.2 billion.

The growth in profit was similarly attributable to the twin effects of the improvement in interest and non-interest income. Interest income increased because of the growth in risk assets as well as the effective pricing thereon.

A transformational leader, Onyeagwu demonstrated compelling commitment to Zenith Bank’s vision that promotes re-engineering and innovation. This scenario is expected to continue to rub off positively on all aspects of the financial institution, according to the emerging corporate consensus.

As Zenith Bank’s Onyeagwu hands over the baton in the June I transition date, it is certainly not in doubt that he has indeed changed the industry’s story