Sterling Bank Ltd.[1] is a full-service national commercial bank licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. On Reuters and Bloomberg terminals, it is identified as STERLNB.LG and STERLNBA:NL respectively.[2] The Bank provides services to individuals, small businesses, and large corporations.
As of December 2022[update], the Bank's branch network numbered 140,[3] distributed throughout Nigeria with total assets valued in excess of NGN 1.85 trillion).[3]
History
Sterling Bank originally incorporated in 1960 as Nigeria Acceptances Limited (NAL). The Bank was licensed as Nigeria's first merchant Bank in 1969. Consequent to the indigenisation 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 privatised 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 privatised institution.[4]
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'.[5] 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 acquired the franchise of the erstwhile Equatorial Trust Bank.[6] Under a special resolution on September 19, 2022, Sterling Bank Plc transitioned to Sterling Bank Ltd, emerging as a subsidiary of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc.[7]
Current executives
Abubakar Suleiman is the current Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Ltd, assuming this position on 19 September 2022.[8][9]
The Bank's operations and products are grouped into four clusters: Retail and Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, Institutional Banking and Corporate Banking.
Sterling has launched several initiatives under the Retail & Consumer Banking such as Agent Banking (designed to attract the underbanked/unbanked),[10] Micro-credit for youths and Specta (an automated retail lending platform). Its Commercial Banking deals in several sectors including Agriculture[11] for which the bank has won several awards while its Institutional Banking offers value adding advisory & collection services for government parastatals. Sterling's Corporate Banking covers several sectors including Telecommunications, Power and Steel, Food and Beverages among others.[12]
The bank operates from:
Head Office, Sterling Towers, 20 Marina, Lagos[13]
140 branches across the country
16,291 POS terminals with several merchants
632 ATMs across the country
Over 3 million USSD users across the country
Performance highlights
Sterling Bank delivered a set of results in 2022 as follows:[14]
Gross earnings grew by 16.6% to N175.1 billion against N150.2 billion reported in FY 2021. The change was a combination of a 25.7% increase in non-interest income and a 13.7% growth in interest income.[15]
The Bank declared a dividend of 15K per share, representing a 10% dividend yield on the average stock price over the past year and a 50% improvement on the previous year's payout.[16]
The Bank carries out corporate social responsibility in these areas: education, the environment, health, empowerment, sports development, capacity building, among others.[17]
Awards
Local Content Bank of the Year 2019 Award, Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN)[18]
Innovative Bank of the Year Award 2019 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems Plc[19]
Best Workplace to Work in Nigeria (Large Corporate), 2020[20]
Best in Building a Culture of Innovation (Large Corporates), 2021 Great Place to Work Institute[21]
Best in Maximising Human Potential (large Corporates), 2021 Great Place to Work Institute[22]
Best Workplace to Work in Nigeria (Large Corporates), 2021 Great Place to Work Institute[23]
2022 Overall Best Workplace in Nigeria (Large Corporates) GPTW (Great Place to Work Institute)[24]
(The Victor Ligbago Award for Best Workplace for Millennials GPTW (Great Place to Work Institute) (2022)[25]
5-Year Legends Awards for constantly making efforts to create a Great Place to Work GPTW (Great Place to Work Institute), 2022[26]
