Erastus Akingbola, OON

Customers, shareholders and staff of Intercontinental Bank Plc; one of Nigeria’s leading banks, are set to commemorate the 20 years of successful banking business.
From the bank’s over 350 branches spread across the country and the overseas subsidiaries in Ghana and London, stakeholders would engage in historic drumbeats of celebrations for the 20 year-old financial institution which has recorded strings of achievements over the years.
Operating in its first ten years as Nigerian Intercontinental Merchant Bank Limited (NIMBL), the bank, according to a report by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 1993, emerged the number one investment bank in Nigeria when it was just five years old. It had also begun building a network of subsidiaries involved in other sectors of the financial industry such as discount houses, insurance, capital market etc thus becoming a financial conglomerate in its early years.
At a time when merchant banking and commercial banking dichotomy weighed heavily against the former Intercontinental Bank was able to remain among overall top 10 banks by acquiring commercial banks to play big on both sides of the divide. And coming from the disadvantages of merchant banking into the new terrain of commercial banking where its current competitors have been playing over a decade before it, Intercontinental Bank was able to amass large retail customer base within so short a time that it did not only caught up with older institutions but actually surpassed its peers that have always enjoyed commercial banking many years before it.
In recent years, at post consolidation, Intercontinental Bank had emerged one of the top five banks in Nigeria hitting the number one position in many performance indicators. In 2007 The Banker Magazine, a subsidiary of Financial Times of London rated Intercontinental number five bank in Africa and among the top 500 in the world. It also rated the bank the second fastest growing bank in the world.
It sustained this impressive positioning such that last year The Banker in London named it “Bank of the Year (Nigeria) 2008”, while The African Banker in association with Corporate Council of Africa declared Intercontinental Bank “African Bank of the Year 2008″ in Washington DC, USA.
In its letter to customers on the anniversary, the Group Chief Executive, Dr Erastus Akingbola commended them for the growing level of patronage recorded which he said enabled the bank to achieve its long term vision within a short time.
According to him “right from inception in February 1989, we have had one of the most vibrant customer supports and patronage in the Nigerian financial sector”.
For this reason the bank has lined up series of activities and events to mark the anniversary, prominent among which is the packaging of a reward bonanza for its customers, both new and existing ones with refrigerators, TV sets, DVD players, water dispensers, travel cooler bags among other gift items.
The reward spree being planned is spread across the bank’s spectrum of products and is predicated on new accounts opened; incremental growth in demand and savings account deposits and for those who activate or increase the frequency of the use of their Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).The period of the bonanza is from January 12 to March 31, 2009.
Part of the events planned for the 20th anniversary include the launch of Intercontinental Bank Foundation, a gala night to honour long serving customers and staff and an anniversary lecture expected to be delivered By the Managing Director of The World Bank, Dr( Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo Iweala.
Intercontinental Bank has evolved into one of the largest and most diversified financial services Group in Nigeria with about ten subsidiaries in all sub-sectors of the financial sector. Intercontinental Group is made up the following: Intercontinental Wapic Insurance Plc ( a leader in the insurance industry), Intercontinental Capital Markets Limited (a major player in the investment banking sub-sector), Intercontinental Homes & Savings Limited (a major player in mortgage finance sub-sector), and Intercontinental Properties Limited which is into real estate. It also has EBN Securities Limited and Intercontinental Finance and Investment Limited all involved in stock market business. Others are Intercontinental Trustees Limited, Intercontinental Registrars Limited and a majority stake in Associated Discount House Limited, a major operator in the top-tier money market.
Outside Nigeria the Group operates as Intercontinental Bank Ghana Limited and Intercontinental Bank (UK) Limited. More overseas subsidiaries in selected economies are underway in the new year.