Zenith Bank Plc has emerged as Africa’s Best Bank and Nigeria’s Best Bank at the prestigious Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2026, retaining both titles for the second consecutive year.
The awards were presented in London, recognising the bank’s outstanding financial performance, digital innovation, customer service and contributions to economic development across Africa.
The Euromoney Awards for Excellence are among the banking industry’s most respected honours, assessing financial institutions based on profitability, business strategy, risk management, digital transformation and overall impact on customers and stakeholders.
Reacting to the recognition, Zenith Bank’s Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Adaora Umeoji, described the achievement as a reflection of the trust and confidence customers and stakeholders have continued to place in the bank.
“The awards reflect the confidence reposed in Zenith Bank by our customers and stakeholders and underscore the dedication of our workforce to building a globally competitive African financial institution,” she said.
Umeoji added that the latest recognition would inspire the bank to further strengthen financial inclusion, deliver greater value to customers and support business growth across Africa.
She also appreciated regulators in the countries where Zenith Bank operates for creating an enabling environment and dedicated the awards to the bank’s founder, Jim Ovia.
“I dedicate these awards to our founder, Jim Ovia, whose vision and commitment laid the foundation of excellence that continues to drive the bank’s success,” she added.
Zenith Bank also posted impressive financial results for the 2025 financial year, recording gross earnings of ₦4.19 trillion and a profit after tax of ₦1.04 trillion.
The bank also improved its asset quality by reducing its non-performing loan ratio from 4.7 per cent to 3.8 per cent.
The latest recognition comes shortly after Zenith Bank was ranked Nigeria’s number one bank by Tier-1 Capital for the 17th consecutive year in The Banker’s 2026 Top 1000 World Banks ranking.
