The African Banker Awards Committee announces the 2017 nominees – Larger banks still dominate the nominees in this year’s African Banker Awards

The African Banker Awards Committee announces the 2017 nominees

Larger banks still dominate the nominees in this year’s African Banker Awards

London/May 3^rd 2017 

Nominees for the ten categories in the 2017 African Banker Awards have been announced. The larger African banks still dominate the nominees list, with banks from Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa performing strongly across the board. The Awards, which are hosted by the African Banker Magazine, will be held during the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) on Wednesday 23^rd May at the Regency Hyatt in Ahmedabad, India.

Chair of the Awards Committee, Omar Ben Yedder, the Group Publisher and Managing Director of IC Publications Group which publishes the African Banker Magazine, said that he was once again pleasantly surprised by the caliber and strength of this year’s entries.

“Given difficult trading conditions across many African countries, we expected a slowdown across the banking sector in Africa. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the financial services sector has managed to maintain on the whole positive developments. It was also interesting to note the number of competitive entries in certain categories, notably financial inclusion, innovation and social responsibility. This shows how the banking sector in general is responding to the challenges that are facing the continent and the role they are playing in driving the continent’s transformation. The deal of the year category is always an interesting one and again showed the activity in the equity and debt side, although there was a notable slowdown in activity across both debt and equity markets in general.”

This is the first time the AfDB’s Annual meetings will be held in India, and more precisely in the Gujarat State, which is where President Modi used to be Governor. As a shareholder in the African Development Bank, the Indian government offered to host this year’s Annual Meetings with the aim of strengthening economic ties between India, one of the world’s fastest growing countries with a population of 1.4bn, and with historic trading, economic and political ties with African countries.

The awards which are held under the high patronage of the African Development Bank are sponsored by the African Guarantee Fund, the Bank of Industry, the PTA Bank, the African Trade Insurance Agency and the Ecobank-Nedbank alliance. The Gala Dinner and Awards presentation will take place at the Hyatt Regency hotel on the evening of 23^rd May.

The nominees for the different categories are:

African Bank of the Year:

African Export-Import Bank

Attijariwafa Bank, (Morocco)

Guaranty Trust Bank (Nigeria)

Mauritius Commercial Bank (Mauritius)

Standard Bank Group (South Africa)

African Banker of the Year:

Segun Agbaje, MD, GTB (Nigeria)

Jeremy Awori, MD, Barclays Bank (Kenya)

Dr Charles Kimei, MD, CRDB Bank (Tanzania)

James Mwangi, Group MD and CEO, Equity Bank (Kenya)

Joshua Nyamweya Olgara, Group CEO, KCB (Kenya)

Dr Benedict Okey Oramah, President, Afrexim Bank

Best Retail Bank in Africa:

Ecobank

Equity Bank (Kenya)

KCB (Kenya)

SBM Bank (Mauritius)

UBA (Ghana)

Investment Bank of the Year:

FBN Capital (Nigeria)

Fieldstone (South Africa)

Rand Merchant Bank (South Africa)

Standard Bank Group (South Africa)

Vetiva (Nigeria)

Award for Financial Inclusion:

African Local Currency Bond Fund

Amhara Credit and Savings Institution (Ethiopia)

Business Development Fund (Rwanda)

Caisse Centrale de Garantie (Morocco)

Verdant Capital (South Africa)

Socially Responsible Bank of the Year:

East African Development Bank

EFG Hermes (Egypt)

Guaranty Trust Bank (Nigeria)

KCB Foundation (Kenya)

Groupe Credit Agricole du Maroc (Morocco)

Award for Innovation in Banking:

African Development Bank

Ecobank

First Bank (Nigeria)

Millenium Bim (Mozambique)

Wari (Senegal)

Deal of the Year – Debt:  

Brait, $675m Acquisition Facility (RMB)

Helios Towers, $600m debut High Yield Offering (Standard Bank)

Kenya Power & Lighting Company dual tranche syndicated loan (Standard Chartered)

Neconde Energy Medium Term Facility (FBN Capital)

Standard Bank/Commercial Bank $25m Cross Currency Swap (Frontclear)

Deal of the Year – Equity: 

Pangaea CDC Equity Investment in Zambeef

Ethos Capital IPO (RMB)

Neotel Sale to Liquid Telecom (RMB)

OGP sale to Helios (Argentil)

SGI Africa fund Raising (Lazard)

Infrastructure Deal of the Year:

AFC and Harith Asset Merger (Africa Finance Corporation)

Amandi Energy IPP, Ghana (Fieldstone)

Kathu 100MW Solar Park, South Africa (RMB)

Senergy Solar Plant, Senegal (Hogan Lovells)

Zambia Electricity Supply Corp. Power projects (Standard Chartered)

Five other categories including individual recognitions will be chosen from consultations with multilateral agencies, the editorial board of African Banker and other experts. These categories are Best Regional Bank in Africa (North/East/Southern/Central/West), Finance Minister of the Year, Central Bank Governor of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, and African Banker Icon.

The winners will be selected by an expert judging panel of bankers and business leaders known and respected for their expertise on the African banking and finance industry and will be announced on the evening of the awards ceremony.

Ends//..

For further information on the awards and for interview requests, please contact:

Leila Ben Hassen ([email protected])/

Or Hassna Benseddik  (h.benseddik @icpublications.com)/