Bank PHB: Nigerian bank, global brand
Lanre Oyetade, Group Business Editor
Francis Atuche, MD, Bank PHB
Nigeria’s banking sector had largely been so
sparse or at best non-existent. This remained
so, until June 6, 2004, when CBN Governor, Prof. Soludo’s speech with the theme, ‘Consolidation and Strengthening of Banks’ at that special Bankers’ Committee meeting, changed the face of banking in Nigeria. “Strengthening and consolidating the banking system,” he had said, “will constitute the first phase of the reforms designed to ensure a diversified, strong and reliable banking sector which will ensure the safety of depositors’ money, play active developmental roles in the Nigerian economy, and be competent and competitive players in the African regional and global financial system.”
Three years down the road, one of the success stories is Bank PHB, which from day one, focused on being a Nigerian bank, and a global brand. Its identity as the Ideas Bank, built on and passionate about Inspired Brilliance, has taken it to search for and identify with kindred spirits along the way, organisations and individuals imbued with the same striving for excellence.
Some of these partner organisations were there before the emergence of Bank PHB, others came into the mould created at consolidation: The important constant being that there is a meeting of minds, values and strategies. The bank wanted organisations it could model its aspirations after as well as those it could in turn inspire. And there has been no shortage of value-adding partnerships that have resulted from this quest.
Indeed, leading national governments and government organs have selected the bank as the first Nigerian organisation to partner with in their flagship programmes, some dating back over 50 years.
If one were to look at it from the point of merger (recapitalisation), it would become evident that the two banks which merged into Bank PHB each had their strengths and coming together only served one to complement the other effectively. Today, the fruit of that union is seen in the evolution of well-crafted products and services, which have served to elevate the Bank PHB brand in the eyes of customers and other stakeholders.
The well-defined core values which provided the template for engendering customer and other stakeholder relationships, and which all subscribes to, is instructive of the prevailing spirit guiding the success thereafter. These values are listed as – deliver on promise, professionalism, integrity, team spirit, and respect for the individual.
The merger and attendant developments have also thrown up opportunities to pursue other affiliations in furtherance of the bank’s desire to become a top player on the national, continental and global banking stages. To attain this goal, Bank PHB has gone all out in search of value creation via strong bondings as well as sponsorships of value-laden associations that resonate locally and globally.
Global affiliations
In June 2006, the bank signed a MOU with Fortis Investments on asset management collaboration in Nigeria. This was in view of its focus on building capacity in its foreign credit confirmation lines through establishing correspondent banking relationships with major international banks and other multilateral organisations.
The Global Compact Initiative of which Bank PHB is now a member also provides various learning and engagement opportunities for member organisations. These include country and regional networks as well as international events where respective stakeholders share experiences and identify like-minded organisations for partnership.
The United Nation’s Global Compact, which is the world’s largest corporate citizenship initiative with over 3, 800 member organisations and other stakeholders located in over 100 countries the world over.
The Managing Director/CEO of Bank PHB, Mr. Francis Atuche, said the bank’s decision to identify with the Global Compact Initiative was in line with an overall strategy to continually add value to the society in which the Bank carries out profitable business and ultimately makes the world a better place.
This membership affords the bank another platform to expand its business practices that are rooted in the universal principles that help the global marketplace to be more socially and economically inclusive.
All participating companies in the UN Global Compact Initiative are expected to internalise 10 principles of global best practices within its strategies, policies and operations as well as undertake projects that will advance the broader development goals of the United Nations. These principles include leadership, empowerment, policies and strategies, impact on society, and impact on people, amongst others.
Bank PHB has also been sought out by leading international organisations for partnership in global programmes. For instance, the Fulbright Scholarship is the US government’s most prestigious scholarship, and past awardees in its 50-year history have included distinguished global icons like Chinua Achebe, Maya Angelou, Boutros Boutros Ghali, Javier Solano, Fernando Cardoso, Ingvar Carlsson, and Bill Clinton.
In recognition of Bank PHB’s commitment to capacity building as well as extending the frontiers of education, leadership and innovation, the US Embassy selected the Bank as its first Nigerian corporate partner to help sponsor its scholarship programme. It was in this capacity that Dr. Abubakar Momoh, a Senior Lecturer at the Lagos State University departed Nigeria for a research stint at the UCLA under the aegis of the Fulbright-Bank PHB Scholarship Programme.
In the same vein, the Bank, which last year had rolled out its own brand of conscious and socially relevant reality shows by the name The Intern, has since stepped it up by working with other Nigerian organisations to acquire the franchise for The Apprentice. In fact, beginning early next year, Bank PHB will assume full sponsorship of Apprentice Africa, which will be beamed round the continent via satellite and terrestrial channels.
Again, the partnership with The Apprentice is another way of collaborating with like-minded organisations to bring something positive about. In this case, young Africans will try their wits at problem solving in entrepreneurial as well as leadership situations. It is a show that is so real to life that people cannot but imbibe the lessons and deploy them in their day-to-day dealings.
The bank has also reached out to Nigerians in diaspora, a group largely misunderstood but one acknowledged to have financial clout and the influence to impact on both national as well as organisations’ financial bottom lines. Bank PHB has wooed this group aggressively, even creating a product specifically for them. The Nigerians in Diaspora Account, NIDO, allows Nigerians living abroad to open and run accounts with Bank PHB without needing any intermediary back home.
The bank’s MD, Francis Atuche, even had to go all the way to Atlanta as well as Houston, Texas to not only sell the product, but also support the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, to sell Nigeria to Nigerians abroad. At the 4th NTA Lecture Series for Nigerians in Diaspora, he sensitised these Nigerians to the potentials in Nigeria. He likened Nigeria to the biblical land flowing with milk and honey declaring that the “world has noticed, and it would be ironic for Nigerians to standby and watch foreigners reap the wealth being created from the nascent re-awakening of their own economy.”
Bank PHB’s sound sense of strategy in its careful choice of affiliations has made it a much sought after financial services solutions provider and a big player to reckon with on the various stages it chooses to play in.
Indeed, the bank has become a metaphor for the successes engendered by the consolidation as it drives the global branding across not only Nigeria, but also Africa and indeed the world with very laudable affiliations. Clearly, this is Nigeria’s emerging icon for the banking sector.
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