Zenith Bank to become holding company

Zenith Bank said Friday it has received approval-in-principle from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to convert its present operational structure to a holding company.

Once substantive authorisation is received, the bank gets a licence to veer into other businesses within financial services including pensions, insurance, asset management and fintech.

Lenders like FBN Holdings, Stanbic IBTC, FCMB Group, GTCO and Access Holdings are already leveraging those businesses to buoy up revenue.

“The CBN approved Mr Jim Ovia as the chairman of Zenith Holdco Plc (in-formation) and for Mr Jim Ovia to also continue as the chairman of Zenith Bank Plc until the commencement of Zenith Holdco Plc,” the lender said in a statement seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

Zenith Holdco will run in a non-operating capacity only overseeing the subsidiaries under it without getting actively involved in their everyday operations.

Zenith Bank, Nigeria’s biggest bank by market value, has a representative office in China.

It also operates branches in the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, where its shares are listed by way of Global Depository Receipts.