Mr Segun Agbaje, the Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank plc is among the four nominees shortlisted for 2018 African Banker award. Other nominees are Mohamed El Kettani of Attijariwafa Bank, Morocco, James Mwangi – Equity Group Holdings Plc, Kenya and Joshua Oigara of KCB, Kenya. A press statement made available to NewsRangers disclosed 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
