Access, GTB, BoI, others go head to head for ‘African Bank of the Year’

BY CHARLES ABUEDE

With over 60 nominees shortlisted in various categories for the 2022 edition of the African Banker Awards, organised by the African Banker Magazine, the stage is set for Accra, Ghana where banks from Nigeria and other African countries, including Access Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Bank of Industry, Bank of Africa and Standard Bank Group will go head to head in the battle to be crowned ‘African Bank of the Year’.

The African Banker Awards have become a landmark annual event for African banking and a part of the official programme of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings, with the theme of the overall AfDB Annual Meetings this year being, “Achieving Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition for Africa.”

The 2022 edition to be held in person in Ghana, will have efforts and remarks centred on the theme of banking sovereignty, proffering support for growth and development in the world of banking, payment systems, data and the empowerment of development institutions across the continent.

Omar Ben Yedder, publisher of African Banker magazine and chair of the awards committee, said, “We saw everyone turbocharge their digital presence and FinTechs have become key players in the banking sphere. We received a record number of nominations for this year’s edition of the Awards. My favourite categories are the Deals of the Year. They show that there is concrete action to tackle some of the most pressing issues on the continent, notably power and infrastructure.”

The organisers revealed that two more categories (FinTech of the Year and DFI of the Year) have been added to the lists and these new categories acknowledge the significant role of DFIs as key actors in the post-pandemic recovery, and also, how the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation in banking and financial services.

With a total of 64 nominees across the banks, financial institutions and technology providers from across the African continent been announced, the publisher says the discussions will “centre around the theme of banking sovereignty and ensuring we have greater autonomy to be able to support our own growth and development, be it in banking, in payment systems, in data and in empowering our development institutions on the continent.”

A list of nominees in the different categories follows below:

African Banker of the Year Award
Ade Ayeyemi – Ecobank Transnational Incorporated; Adesola Adeduntan – First Bank Nigeria; Mukwandi Chibesakunda – Zambia National Commercial Bank; Benedict Oramah – Afreximbank; Admassu Tadesse – Trade and Development Bank; Herbert Wigwe – Access Bank; Vivienne Yeda – East African Development Bank.

African Bank of the Year Award
Access Bank; Attijariwafa Bank; Bank of Africa; Bank of Industry; Ecobank; Guaranty Trust Bank; The Standard Bank Group.

SME Bank of the Year Award
ABSA, Ghana; Commercial International Bank, Egypt; Ecobank; Fidelity Bank, Ghana; The Standard Bank Group.

DFI of the Year Award
AECF; Afreximbank; BADEA; International Finance Corporation (IFC); Trade and Development Bank.

FinTech of the Year Award
Capricorn Digital Limited; Crowdyvest; Interswitch; JUMO; OPay

Deal of the Year Award – Agriculture
Expansion of Atlantic Shrimpers Limited (ASL) – Access Bank; $200 million corporate facility to BUA Industries Limited – AFC; Multicurrency Facilities Agreement in favour of Canal Sugar Company – Afreximbank/National Bank of Egypt; Ghana Cocoa Board – Nedbank.

Deal of the Year Award – Debt
Bidvest $800m 5NC2 Senior Unsecured bond – Bank of America; Bank of Industry €750 million Debut Senior Note Participation Notes due 2027 – Bank of Industry; Bank One Currency Swap – Bank One Limited; €500 million Benin SDG Bond – Citi; Access Bank $634.5 million Syndicated Facility – Mashreq Bank UAE.

Deal of the Year Award – Equity
Mutandis – Attijariwafa Bank; Momentum Metropolitan – Bank of America; Prosus’ c. $15 billion Accelerated Equity Offering in Tencent – Citi; Divestment by Sasol of a 30 percent interest in the Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Investments Company (ROMPCO) – Nedbank; MTN Nigeria IPO – Renaissance Capital.

Deal of the Year Award – Infrastructure
The Luanda Bita Water Supply Project – African Trade Insurance Agency; Tanger Alliance – Attijariwafa Bank; Lagos Free Zone Company Funding SPV – Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company; Gharably Integrated Engineering Company (GIECO) term loan – National Bank of Egypt; Kenya Roads Annuity Programme, Lots 15 and 18 – Standard Chartered.