The MDs/CEOs of six listed Nigerian banks received an aggregate sum of N821 million as remuneration in the first half of 2022, a 17.4% increase compared to N699 million earned in the corresponding period of 2021.
This is according to data obtained from the financial statements of the banks for the second quarter of 2022. The banks considered were Fidelity, GTB, Access, Zenith, UBA, and Stanbic IBTC Bank.
The position of the managing director/ chief executive officer of a company is often the highest position in any organization and is usually faced with the responsibility of making the hardest decisions in the company.
No wonder they receive praises whenever the company is printing impressive numbers and face criticism if the firm is not doing well, as their decisions help in driving the performance of the company. They are usually the highest paid employees in the organization.
Meanwhile, in the first half of the year, some banks have been restructured into holding companies, which meant a reshuffle in the companies’ boards. According to the list compiled by Nairalytics – the research arm of Nairametrics, the MD/CEO of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Demola Sogunle earned the highest of N245 million in the review period.
The list of banks considered in this article is based on the banks that released audited interim results for the first half of the year.
#6: Ebenezer Onyeagwu (Zenith Bank) – N70 million
Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu was appointed Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc on the 1st of June 2019, a promotion from his deputy managing director role. He earned a sum of N70 million as emolument in the first half of 2022, a marginal decline from the N73 million received in the corresponding period of 2021.
According to the profile of Mr. Onyeagwu on the company’s official website, he is an alumnus of Auchi Polytechnic, Delta State University Nigeria, the University of Oxford, England and Salford Business School, University of Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Specifically, at the University of Oxford, he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Strategy and a certificate in Macroeconomics while he received a Master’s Degree in Financial Services Management from the University of Salford. He also holds an MBA from Delta State University, Abraka.
He undertook extensive executive-level education in Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School of Columbia University, the Harvard Business School of Harvard University in the United States.
He guided Zenith Bank to a net profit of N111.4 billion in H1 2022, a 5% increase from N106.1 billion printed in the corresponding period of 2021. He had earned N230 million as emolument in 2021 full year.
#5: Herbert Wigwe (Access Bank) – N73 million
Mr. Herbert Wigwe received a sum of N73 million as emolument in the first half of the year. This represents a 5.8% increase when compared to the N69 million earned in the corresponding period of 2021.
Herbert Wigwe assumed the position of the bank’s GMD/CEO in January 2014 after joining the bank in March 2022 as deputy managing director from Guaranty Trust Bank. However, following the restructuring of the company, he was subsequently appointed a Non-Executive Director in May 2022, while Mr. Roosevelt Ogbonna took over the position as the MD/CEO.
Mr. Wigwe is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School Executive Management Programme. He holds a master’s degree in Banking and International Finance from the University College of North Wales, a master’s degree in Financial Economics from the University of London and a B.Sc. degree in accounting from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Access Holdings printed a profit after tax of N88.74 billion in H1 2022, representing a 2.1% increase when compared to N86.94 billion recorded in the same period of 2021.
#4: Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe (Fidelity Bank) – N110 million
Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe assumed office as Managing Director/CEO, Fidelity Bank on January 1, 2021. Following her role as the Executive director, Lagos and South West, overseeing the bank’s business in the six states that make up the South West region of the bank.
Mrs. Onyeali-Ikpe earned a sum of N110 million as emolument in the period under review, same as recorded in the previous year. However, it is worth noting that the bank reported it as an annual payment, rather than in the first six months of the year.
According to her profile on the bank’s official website, she is a consummate professional of over 30 years’ experience across various banks including Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and Citizens International Bank Limited, where she held several management positions in Legal, Treasury, Investment Banking, Retail/Commercial Banking, Corporate Banking.
She holds Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Master of Laws (LLM) degrees from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Kings College, London, respectively.
She has attended executive training programs at Harvard Business School, The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania, INSEAD School of Business, Chicago Booth School of Business, London Business School and IMD amongst others.
Fidelity Bank posted a 20.7% year-on-year growth in its post-tax profit, which stood at N23.31 billion in the first half of the year.
#3: Kennedy Uzoka (UBA) – N128 million
Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, is the former Group Managing Director/CEO of United Bank for Africa (UBA) after resigning from the company board effective, on July 31, 2022 and handed over to Mr. Oliver Alawuba.
In the period under review, Mr. Uzoka earned a sum of N128 million as emoluments from UBA, a significant increase from N70 million received in the corresponding period of 2021. He holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Benin, Nigeria and an MBA from the University of Lagos, Nigeria.
Mr. Uzoka has over two decades experience covering core banking, corporate marketing communication, strategy and business advisory services. Prior to his role as GMD, he was UBA Group’s deputy managing director, UBA Africa managing the bank’s subsidiaries across 18 countries in Africa as well as supervising 3 key strategic support areas in Digital Banking, Information Technology and Personal Banking.
Also, as Deputy Managing Director, he was the Executive in charge of the Group’s businesses in New York and London. He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School (AMP) in Boston USA, the International Institute of Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland and the London Business School, United Kingdom.
In the period under review, UBA posted a net profit of N70.33 billion, a 16.1% growth compared to N60.58 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
#2: Segun Agbaje (GTCO) – N195 million
Guaranty Trust is another bank, which had gone through restructuring into a holding company, known as Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc. Mr. Segun Agbaje, the GMD/CEO of the GTCO earned the sum of N195 million as emolument in the first half of the year. In 2021, he earned N171.9 million as emolument in the full year period.
Prior to becoming the Group MD/CEO of the Holding Company, he was the MD/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. Meanwhile, before joining GT Bank in 1991 as a pioneer staff, he worked with Ernst & Young, San Francisco, USA. He rose to the position of Executive Director in GT Bank in January 2000.
He was appointed Deputy Managing Director in August 2020, due to his diverse background and experience in almost all areas of the bank’s activities including commercial banking, investment banking, treasury, corporate planning and strategy, settlements and operations.
GTCO recorded a 2.3% decline in its net profit to N77.56 billion in the first half of 2022 from N79.42 billion recorded in H1 2021.
#1: Demola Sogunle (Stanbic IBTC) – N245 million
Demola Sogunle, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings earned N245 million as emolument in the first half of 2022, an increase from N205 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
Dr Demola Sogunle previously served as chief executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, chief executive of Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers and as the Head of Treasury amongst other roles in the Stanbic IBTC Group.
He holds a first-class honours degree in Agricultural Science and a PhD in Land Resource Evaluation and Management, both from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, AMP.
He also holds an MBA in Banking and Finance from ESUT Business School, Nigeria and a Treasury Dealership Certificate from the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). He is a member of the Global Association of Risk Professionals.
In terms of performance, Stanbic IBTC recorded a 36% year-on-year growth in its profit after tax to stand at N30.67 billion in H1 2022.
Kindly edit paragraph 2 on Herbert Wigwe. The information presented is mixed up.