Sterling Bank Plc, which is a full service national commercial bank is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Its shares trade under the Banking sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange with the symbol STERLNBANK. On Reuters and Bloomberg terminals, it is identified as STERLNB.LG and STERLNBA:NL respectively. The bank provides services to individuals, small businesses.
History
Sterling Bank Plc originally incorporated in 1960 as Nigeria Acceptances Limited. The bank was licensed as Nigeria’s first merchant bank in 1969. Consequent to the indigenization decree of 1972, the Bank became fully government owned and was managed in partnership with Grindlays Bank Limited, Continental International Finance Company Illinois and American Express Bank Limited between 1974 and 1992. In 1992, the Bank was partly privatized and listed as a public company on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. Eight years later, in 2000, the Federal Government sold its residual interest in the bank, effectively making it a fully privatized institution. In January 2006, as part of the consolidation of the Nigerian banking industry, NAL Bank completed a merger with four other Nigerian Banks namely, Magnum Trust Bank, NBM Bank, Trust Bank of Africa and Indo-Nigeria Merchant Bank and adopted the name 'Sterling Bank'. The merged entities were successfully integrated and have operated as a consolidated group ever since. In line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s repeal of universal banking, Sterling Bank now operates as a national commercial bank, disposing of holdings in subsidiaries and affiliate companies. In mid-2011, Sterling Bank Plc acquired the franchise of the erstwhile Equatorial Trust Bank.
Operations
The Bank's operations and products are grouped in four clusters: Retail & Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, Institutional Banking and the Corporate (covering several sectors including Telecommunications, Power and Steel, Food and Beverages among others. The bank operates from:
The Bank also caters to High Net Worth individuals through their Private Banking and Wealth Management arm offering products such as Trust and Fiduciary Services, Philanthropy Management, Investment Advisory, among others.
Sterling Alternative Finance
In 2013, the Bank was licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to provide non-interest banking services after meeting the set criteria. The alternative banking products are split into three facets: Transactional, Investment, and Financing. The Bank has set up this arm of business in line with global best practice in this regard by having an Advisory Committee of Experts who approve all products and processes while ensuring they are fully compliant with the rules of Islamic commercial jurisprudence. The Bank's Advisory Committee of Experts includes Sheikh Abdulkader Thomas ; Sheikh Abubakar Musa ; and Imam Abdur-Raheem Ahmad Sayi.
2018 Performance Highlights
Sterling Bank delivered a set of results in 2018 as follows:
Gross earnings grew by 14.0% to N152.2 billion in 2018;
Interest income was a major driver of earnings contributing 82.2%, having risen by 13.5% to N125.2 billion ;
Mr. Abubakar Suleiman is the current Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, assuming this position on 1 April 2018. He has over two decades of relevant experience in tax advisory, business audit and financial services. Mr. Suleiman graduated from the University of Abuja with a B.Sc in Economics. He has an M.Sc in Major Programmes Management from the University of Oxford and is notably an alumnus of Arthur Andersen, Wharton School and INSEAD Business School. He has also received executive education from prestigious institutions, Harvard and Said Business School.
