GTBank, Ecobank Lead African Banker Awards 2018 Nominations

May 3, 2018
GTBank, Ecobank Lead African Banker Awards 2018 Nominations

By Dipo Olowookere

Organisers of the African Banker Awards have announced nominees of the 2018 edition of the coveted and glamorous event in the banking sector.

Business Post gathered that this year’s shortlist sees another strong year for banks from Morocco, Nigeria and Kenya with Guaranty Trust Bank, Ecobank, Standard Bank and Standard Chartered having a large footprint across the continent also featuring across several categories.

The awards ceremony, held under the high patronage of the African Development Bank (AfDB), is sponsored by The African Guarantee Fund, Banco Nacional de Investimento (BNI), Groupe Crédit Agricole du Maroc and the Bank of Industry.

It was revealed that Ecobank will be the hosts of the African Banker Awards cocktail reception prior the awards with the Gala Dinner and Awards presentation taking place at the Paradise Hotel, Busan.

According to a statement issued by the organisers, the awards, hosted by African Banker magazine, would be held during the Annual Meetings of AfDB at the end of May in Busan, South Korea.

The finalists, selected by an expert judging panel of bankers and business leaders, will be announced at the African Banker Awards ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, May 22, 2018.

In addition, individual recognition will also be given in the categories for the Regional Bank winners, Central Bank Governor of the Year, Finance Minister of the Year and Lifetime Achievement.

Chair of the Awards Committee, Omar Ben Yedder, the Group Publisher and Managing Director of IC Publications Group, which publishes African Banker, said that he was once again impressed by the quality and breadth of entries this year.

“We saw McKinsey earlier in the year releasing a very positive report analysing the banking landscape in Africa.

“The entries reaffirm their findings when they say Africa’s banking market are amongst the most exciting in the world.

“The categories that caught my eye were innovation in banking – and this year’s entries reflect the transformative role of fintech and also blockchain technology – as well as deal of the year, which is every year a very competitive category.

“Equity markets were a little slower in 2017, but we saw some interesting deals on the debt side and also transformative infrastructure financing structures. The quality of the entries, and sophistication of the solutions being presented, reflect a buoyant sector in continuous evolution.”

The shortlisted entries are:

African Banker of the Year

    Mohamed El Kettani – Attijariwafa Bank, Morocco

    James Mwangi – Equity Group Holdings Plc, Kenya

    Joshua Oigara – KCB, Kenya

    Segun Agbaje – Guaranty Trust Bank, Nigeria

African Bank of the Year

    Attijariwafa Bank, Morocco

    Equity Group Holdings, Kenya

    Guaranty Trust Bank, Nigeria

    The Mauritius Commercial Bank, Mauritius

    Standard Chartered

Best Retail Bank in Africa

    Barclays, Zambia

    Ecobank

    KCB, Kenya

    Millennium BIM, Mozambique

    SBM Holdings, Mauritius

Investment Bank of the Year

    Barclays Africa Group

    Exotix

    FNBQuest Merchant Bank, Nigeria

    Standard Bank

    Standard Chartered

Award for Financial Inclusion

    Fourth Generation Capital Limited, Kenya

    Groupe Crédit Agricole du Maroc, Morocco

    Baobab Group, France

    Equity Group, Kenya

    JUMO World, South Africa

Award for Innovation in Banking

    Agricultural Finance Corporation, Kenya

    Ubuntu Coin

    Banque Nationale pour le Développement Economique, Senegal

    Ecobank

    SBM Holdings, Mauritius

Socially Responsible Bank of the Year

    Barclays Bank, Zambia

    BMCE Bank of Africa, Morocco

    Equity Group, Kenya

    First Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria

    KCB Group, Kenya

    Standard Chartered Bank Kenya, Kenya

Deal of the Year – Equity

    ADES IPO – EFG Hermes, Egypt

    First Rand Acquisition of Aldermore PLC – Rand Merchant Bank, South Africa

    GAPCO sale to Total – Standard Chartered, South Africa

    Long4Life IPO – Standard Bank, South Africa

    Steinhoff Africa Retail Listing – Rand Merchant Bank, South Africa

    Vodacom Tanzania IPO – National Bank of Commerce and Absa CIB, Tanzania

Deal of the Year – Debt

     $300m Diaspora Bond – Standard Bank/FBNQuest Merchant Bank, Nigeria

    $540 First Rand Asia Focused syndication – Standard Chartered, UK

    Cape Town Green Bond – RMB, South Africa

    Dufil Prima Foods – Standard Bank, South Africa

    Nokeng Fluorspar – Fieldstone, South Africa

    Viathan – Renaissance Capital, Nigeria

Infrastructure Deal of the Year

    Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund – Chapel Hill Denham, Nigeria

    Nacala Railway and Port Corridor – Standard Bank SA / RMB, South Africa

    FIRST – Rand Merchant Bank, South Africa

    AEE Power Project – RMB, Namibia

Dipo Olowookere

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan.

Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

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