0 BEST BANKS IN NIGERIA

Gone were the days when Nigerian
banks were just square/rectangular
boxes where you go to endure the
tyranny of the dreadful queue and
long downtime before you can
withdraw or deposit money. These
days, banks are able to exude an air
of magnificence and royal elegance
with their architectural edifices. The
stately buildings in turn make put
people in awe of the bank and keep
them rest assured that the bank is
the best place to keep their money.
But care should be taken here, it is
not the architectural masterpiece
that makes the bank great but the
board of management and method of
service delivery.

All banks might be equal, but some
are 'more equal' than others are, and
the feat of outperformance recorded
by some Nigerian banks is worthy of
commendation today. This is not an
advert for any bank or an attempt to
undermine the credibility of any
bank, but we cannot shy away from
stating the truth just because we do
not want to sound patronizing.
A new banking report has shown
that four Nigerian banks are among
the top 500 banks globally. The
Nigerian banks that make the list are
Access Bank Plc, Guarantee Trust
Bank, Zenith Bank Plc and First
Bank of Nigeria Limited.
The banking report, which was
written by The Banker In conjunction
with Brand Finance and The Financial
Times; all based in the United
Kingdom places the aforementioned
Nigerian banks in the annual 2015
Top 500 Banking Brands.
According to the report, First Bank
moved up the ranks from number
382 in 2014 to number 336 in 2015.
Zenith Bank moved up the ranks
from number 453 in 2014 to number
388 this year. GT Bank climbed
modestly from number 422 in 2014 to
number 417 this year. Access Bank is
the new kid on the banking bloc as
the bank makes its first appearance
in the list.
According to the report, the first 10
banks in the world are Well Fargo
(USA); ICBC (China); HSBC (UK);
China Construction Bank; Citibank,
Bank of America, Chase (USA);
Agricultural Bank of China; Bank of
China; and Santander (Spain).
Making the list of the top 500 banks
globally is no small feat, considering
the large number of banks in the
African continent alone, not to
mention the banks operating from
Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Hence, I am impressed that 4
Nigerian banks could make the list.
The fact that these Nigerian banks
make the list of top 500 global banks
suggests that they are doing
something akin to what's obtainable
in developed countries. These banks
must have met the highest
international standards and you may
want to think about that achievement
when next you want to make a
decision on the bank to patronize.