FOLA
ADELOLA: Trust in service
Fola
Adeola is one of
Nigeria
’s
finest bankers. He is quite modest and humble about his
achievements. As
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank,
he sits atop a well run new generation bank that is the envy of
his peers. He has not
only mastered the art of managing banking business profitably but
has reaned a pace-setter.
The
45 year old brilliant banker at a stage took one year leave in
order to study at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic
Studies (NIPSS) Kuru, near Jos, to broaden his world views and
sharpen his professional skills.
He has been quite impressed with how his team headed by his
hardworking deputy, Tayo Aderinokun, ran the bank in his absence.
What
the performance of the bank in his absence taught him is that he
and Tayo have an instituton destined for greatness.
That is why Adeola said the focus of Guaranty Trust Bank is
going to be on building an institution.
He explained the vision of the management is to create a
stable bank that would continuously serve the business community
better.
One
thing that makes Adeola happy is the success of his ten-year -old
bank. This is because
when Guaranty Trust Bank was established in 1990, he was propelled
by the imperative of building a solid institution, founded on
excellence in all performance areas.
Today, Guaranty Trust Bank has not only been transformed
into a big bank, it is the first Nigerian Company to be a case
study in the Faculty of Organisational Behaviour at the
Havard
Business
School
.
Adeola,
a Chartered Accountant has indeed struggled to make it to the top.
He started his working career with D. O. Definone &
Company, a firm of Chartered Accountants.
He also worked at the Continental Merchant Bank from where
he left in 1990 to set up Guaranty Trust Bank.
Guaranty
Trust Bank Plc was licensed on
August
1, 1990
to carry out commercial banking business in
Nigeria
.
The bank commenced full banking operations in February,
1991 at “The Plaza”,
6
Adeyemo Alakija Street
,
Victoria
Island
,
Lagos
.
The bank’s net shareholding has grown from N25 Million as
at
February
28, 1991
, to about N2 Billion naira today.
Its asset base has been grown from N172 Million to N16.7
Billion over the same period.
Over
the years, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc as become synonymous with good
service. In September,
1996, Guaranty Trust Bank became a publicly quoted company.
In its first year of quotation at the Nigerian Stock
Exchange, Guaranty Trust Bank won the President’s Merit Award
which is the most prestigious annual award.
From the start, Guaranty Trust Bank has been driven by a
vision embodied in a culture of service excellence, total quality,
professionalism and adherence to the strictest ethical standards.
These values have been embraced by the Nigerian business
community which has rewarded the bank wih patronage at an
unprecedented level as evidenced by its leadership position in the
banking industry. Today,
Guaranty Trust Bank is one of the most profitable organisation in
the Nigerian banking industry.
The
bank has also been consistently rated by independent industry
analysts in Nigeria Agusto & Company as having a superior risk
rating. This is the
best categorisation availabe on this scale.
This rating is based on performance indicators such as
liquidity, capital adequacy, quality of earnings, management
efficiency and leadership position in the industry.
Newswatch Special Feature, Friday, 15 November 2002
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