African lenders take banking education more seriously than other continents, says Lafferty

The Lafferty Bank Quality Ratings (LBQR) which recently rated Nigerian Sterling Bank among the four star lenders in quality has disclosed that African banks take banking education much more seriously than lenders from other continents.

This is coming as seven Nigerian banks are among the 54 out of 100 banks that are rated three star lenders in the bank quality rating by Lafferty.

The seven banks include Access Bank, Diamond Bank, Fidelity Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Guarantee Trust Bank, UBA, and Zenith Bank. Lafferty Group is London based and a major provider of knowledge services to the banking industry worldwide from benchmarking research and councils to professional education.

Apart from looking at the banks’ at capitalisation, profitability, and liquidity, Lafferty rating also looks at the education of the CEO and whether customers are treated fairly.

The rating agency examined the banking qualifications and experience of all of the CEOs of the 100 banks. The two of the CEOs of the four-star banks, Sterling and Barclays Africa, have educational qualifications in banking according to the report.

The report further revealed that Barclays Africa CEO Maria Ramos holds an Institute of Bankers’ Diploma (CAIB), in addition to her BCom and MSc (Economics).

And Sterling Bank CEO Yemi Adeola has a Master of Law (LLM) but gains the credit because he specialised in secured credit transactions.

Access Bank CEO Herbert Wigwe holds an MA in Banking and Finance from the University College of North Wales (now Bangor). Fidelity CEO Nnamdi Okonkwo has a Masters in Business Administration (Banking & Finance, 2000) from Enugu State University of Science and Technology. None of the CEOs of the other banks have banking qualifications.

“Barclays Africa CEO Maria Ramos holds an Institute of Bankers’ Diploma (CAIB), in addition to her BCom and MSc (Economics). And Sterling Bank CEO Yemi Adeola has a Master of Law (LLM) but gains the credit because he specialised in secured credit transactions. Access Bank CEO Herbert Wigwe holds an MA in Banking and Finance from the University College of North Wales (now Bangor).

Fidelity CEO Nnamdi Okonkwo has a Masters in Business Administration (Banking & Finance, 2000) from Enugu State University of Science and Technology.

None of the CEOs of the other banks have banking qualifications”. The Lafferty Bank Quality Ratings methodology includes financial measures, such as capital, but also qualitative measures, such as strategy. The ratings are based on the annual report, which has a unique status in the corporate world.