Diamond, Sterling rewarded for supporting financial inclusion, agriculture, others

DiamondBank Plc and Sterling Bank Plc have been recognized as the Best Bank in the Financial Inclusion Services and Best Bank in Support of Agriculture, respectively.

The two lenders, among many other were awarded at the Business Day Banking Awards 2017, held recently in Lagos.

For instance, Diamond Bank clicked the Mobile Banking App of the Year apart from being the Best Bank in Financial Inclusion Services award.

Commenting on the awards, the Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Uzoma Dozie said, “This award is another validation of our digital banking strategy. Other than its contribution to our bottom line, it is heartwarming to be recognized by our peers and the media for our innovative approach to banking in the country.”

The chief host at the event and Publisher, Businessday newspapers, Frank Aigbogun, stated in his welcome address that the awards were held to recognize the great institutions and leaders in the banking industry. He pointed that a credible information gathering process was adopted by the Research and Development division of the organization to select the winners, insisting that, “Businessday will continue to promote transparency in the public space as well as healthy rivalry and competition in the banking sector.”

Dedicating the awards to the Bank’s customers, Head, Corporate Communications Division, Chioma Afe said, “We are very grateful to our customers for their confidence in us; we certainly couldn’t have won without them. Our goal is to continue to delight them with our range of cutting-edge services. The best is yet to come”.

Similarly, Executive Director, Corporate and Investment Banking, Sterling Bank, Mr. Kayode Lawal, said: “The bank’s commitment to the agriculture value chain aligns with the Federal Government’s current policy focus of diversifying the economy and re-positioning the agriculture sector to play a lead role in economic development”.

He said, “We are quite proud of our intervention in the agriculture value chain which is creating food security, stimulating job creation, while also enhancing the income of farmers in Bauchi, Abuja, Imo, Kebbi and Ogun, among other agrarian states in the country.”

On her part, Mrs. Bukola Awosanya, Group Head, Agric and Export, Sterling Bank, said “We are excited to be at the forefront of improving access to finance among farmers and uplifting agriculture from subsistence to commercial levels through the transformation of its value chain. Improved access to finance is boosting local food production, improving nutrition, fostering rural development and generating foreign exchange for the country.

She added that the bank, which also won the Agric Bank of the Year Award at the Nigeria Agriculture Awards (NAA) recently, supports the entire value chain in the agricultural sector from the farmers who are into production to input dealers, processors and transporters, among others.

Previously, the bank had consistently won awards that are related to the agriculture sector of the economy. For instance, Sterling Bank was recently named the Agric Bank of the Year (2017) at an event organized by the Nigeria Agriculture Awards Committee 2016/2017. The bank also won the Best Agric Finance Bank of the Year 2016 organised by the Zamfara branch of the CBN and Best Performing Bank under the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS).

Sterling Bank was also named the Agric Bank of the year 2014 at an award organised by Agra Innovate. In line with its commitment to the development of the agriculture sector, Sterling Bank has the enviable record of being the first commercial bank to lend under the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) scheme.

Sterling Bank has successfully financed five states of Bauchi, Osun, Kwara, Ogun and Ondo states under Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACs) and the largest soya bean milling plant in Africa, Karma Milk, as well as one of the largest rice mills in Kebbi State, Labana Rice Mill.

It is also the first commercial bank to participate in CBN’s Anchor Borrowers Programme for small holder farmers in Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kaduna and Oyo states and partnered with development financial institutions such as DFID-PropCom and DFID-MADE.

Sterling Bank is currently in partnership with NIRSAL to finance about 22, 000 rice farmers under the Anchor Borrowers Programme in Kebbi State.

Stories by Motolani Oseni