Zenith Bank Plc’s Founder and Chairman, Dr. Jim Ovia, CFR, alongside the Group Managing Director/CEO, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON, performed the prestigious Closing Gong Ceremony at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
The event, held at the NGX trading floor in Lagos, marked a significant milestone in the bank’s longstanding partnership with the capital market and the formal closing of the day’s trading session.
In her remarks, Dr. Umeoji expressed appreciation for the NGX’s leadership and innovative role in supporting the bank’s recapitalization exercise, which achieved a 160% subscription rate.
“We are delighted to perform the Closing Gong Ceremony – a symbol of shared progress and enduring partnership,” she said. “The NGX’s leadership and the introduction of the X-stream electronic trading platform played a pivotal role in our recapitalization success. Since then, our share price has doubled from ₦36.50 to ₦68, and Zenith Bank remains the most profitable bank in Nigeria, paying the highest dividend in the industry for the first half of 2025.”
Dr. Umeoji reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to transparency, stakeholder value creation, and strategic expansion.
“We are focused on following our customers’ businesses into new markets where we can scale and deliver greater shareholder returns,” she noted. “Zenith will continue to be the investors’ delight, and we plan to pay enhanced dividends at year-end in appreciation of market confidence.”
Regulators, Stakeholders Laud Zenith Bank
Speaking at the event, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama, commended the NGX and financial institutions for their contribution to Nigeria’s capital market growth.
“Without your efforts, the market wouldn’t have achieved the leap it has seen in the past 18 months—from ₦55 trillion to nearly ₦93 trillion in capitalization,” Agama said. “Our vision is to grow this to ₦200 trillion next year.”
Also speaking, the Doyen of the NGX, Alhaji Rasheed Yusuf, hailed Dr. Jim Ovia for his leadership and vision, describing him as the “Doyen of the Commercial Banking Sector.”
Zenith Bank’s Continued Leadership and Global Recognition
Zenith Bank remains focused on expanding its global footprint and leveraging capital market funding to scale operations and deliver enhanced services.
The bank’s consistent performance has earned it numerous international and local awards, including:
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Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for 16 consecutive years (The Banker, 2025 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking)
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Nigeria’s Best Bank 2025 (Euromoney Awards for Excellence)
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Bank of the Year (Nigeria) (The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards: 2020, 2022, 2024)
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Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria (2021–2025) (World Finance Banking Awards)
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Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria (2023, 2024) (International Banker Awards)
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Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria (2022–2025) (World Finance Corporate Governance Awards)
Zenith Bank was also named Most Responsible Organisation in Africa, Best in Transparency and Gender Equality (SERAS CSR Awards Africa 2024), and Bank of the Year 2024 by both ThisDay and New Telegraph newspapers.
The bank’s Hybrid Offer also won Rights Issue/Public Offer of the Year at the Nairametrics Capital Market Choice Awards 2025.
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