Zenith Bank Plc on Tuesday reaffirmed its leadership in Nigeria’s financial sector as its Founder and Chairman, Dr. Jim Ovia, CFR, and the Group Managing Director/CEO, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON, performed the ceremonial closing gong at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) in Lagos.
The event marked the formal close of the trading day and celebrated the bank’s sustained partnership with the capital market, underscoring its commitment to transparency, accountability, and investor confidence.
Speaking during the ceremony, Dr. Umeoji applauded the NGX’s innovation and praised the pivotal role of the exchange’s electronic trading platform, X-Stream, in the bank’s recent recapitalisation exercise, which recorded a 160% subscription.
“Our stock price has nearly doubled from N36.50 to N68.00 since the recapitalisation.
“We are now the most profitable bank in Nigeria and have paid the highest dividend in the industry for the half year, ” she said.
Dr. Umeoji reiterated Zenith Bank’s pledge to remain “the investors’ delight” by delivering enhanced dividends by year-end.
She emphasised the bank’s strategic expansion plan, which focuses on following customer footprints into scalable international markets to create higher shareholder value.
“We are working assiduously to ensure we do not disappoint the market.
“Our long-term strategy is built on creating value and sustaining strong partnerships that drive economic growth, ” she said.
Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama, commended capital market participants for their role in Nigeria’s recent market surge.
“When I assumed office, market capitalisation stood at N55 trillion. Today, it’s approaching N93 trillion.
“This growth didn’t happen by chance it was your commitment, vision, and transparency, ‘: he said.
Agama projected that the Nigerian capital market could reach N200 trillion in capitalisation by 2026 if the momentum continued.
In his remarks, Alhaji Rasheed Yusuf, Doyen of the NGX, lauded Dr. Ovia’s leadership, describing him as “the Doyen of the commercial banking sector.”
Zenith Bank continued to garner national and global recognition. In 2025 alone, the bank was ranked Nigeria’s number one by Tier-1 Capital for the 16th year running in The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks.
It also earned top honours at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence, The Banker’s Bank of the Year, Global Finance, International Banker, World Finance, and Ethical Boardroom awards.
The bank’s accolades spanned digital innovation, sustainability, corporate governance, and retail banking, including being named Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria and Most Responsible Organisation in Africa.
Zenith Bank’s hybrid capital offer also won Rights Issue/Public Offer of the Year at the 2025 Nairametrics Capital Market Choice Awards.
Zenith Bank maintains a focus on long-term stakeholder value and aims to leverage fresh capital to support growth, both locally and internationally, while continuing to support Nigeria’s economic transformation.
