Sterling Bank wins Deutsche Bank’s Excellence Award

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8 years ago

Sterling Bank Plc has emerged as one of the best banks in Nigeria in international trade cash payment from Deutsche Bank AG of Germany.

The bank emerged second runner-up in the 6th edition of the Straight Through Processing (STP) Excellence Award 2016/2017 Dinner held in Lagos recently.

Mr Harold Leenen, Managing Director, GTB Head Middle East & Africa of Deutsche Bank presented the award to Mr Yemi Odubiyi, Executive Director, Operations & Services and Mr Ayodele Ogumeru, Group Head, Trade Services, both of Sterling Bank.

In his response, Mr Odubiyi commended Deutsche Bank for nominating Sterling Bank for the award and expressed the hope that the bank would emerge overall winner of the award in the 2017/2018 edition.

The guest speaker on the occasion, Mrs Omolara Akanji, Vice-chairman, ICC Banking Commission said trade financing and currency management were two processes that dovetailed into payment systems which are very important and core processes in the financial services sector.

The guest speaker, who also doubles as a director of Sterling Bank, noted that Deutsche Bank had been in Nigeria since the early 1970s and had made serious impact on trade financing and currency management services as a correspondent banking service provider.

Mrs Akanji also observed that she was particularly honoured to be a guest speaker in an occasion where banks were being recognized for their roles in trade financing and currency management because the ICC Banking Commission was basically directed towards rule making for trade and trade financing.

According to her, the banking sector that greased economic activities had been struggling with non- performing loans which had risen to 14 per cent from a regulatory ratio of five per cent.

Against this backdrop, she remarked that many correspondent banks in the United States, Europe and other major centres around the globe had purged their correspondent banking relationship with Nigerian banks as part of the phenomenon known as “de-risking.”