Oceanic Bank
The past two years have been a period of astonishing change in the Nigerian banking sector. A central bank decree to increase minimum capital requirements from N5.6bn to N25bn ($192m) unleashed a frenetic period of corporate action, reducing the number of banks from 89 to 25 by the deadline at the end of 2005. For any of the banks that survived, 2005 was a momentous year. And the dust has not yet settled. But which bank deserves the award? The judges had to ignore rumour and speculation, and discount lofty promises of future plans and intentions; in the end it was down to the quality and credibility of entries.
Oceanic Bank stood out. It ended 2005 with core capital of N31.1bn, three times more than a year earlier. Like other banks, it is too early to tell whether Oceanic has put its capital to productive use but it did report a 167% increase in assets at the end of 2005 and a 111% increase in profits to N7.2bn.
Oceanic has wasted little time transforming itself into a full service banking operation, doubling its branch network, structuring the bank around key strategic business units and offering ancillary services such as insurance. It has also invested heavily in technology.
Ultimately, Oceanic was singled out by judges for its willingness to lend to the real sector, especially SMEs. Given that this was a key reason to restructure the banking sector, Oceanic’s 221% growth in loans and advances during 2005 is testament to its appetite to extend credit.
