Jim Ovia, Nigeria’s richest banker and a key figure in Nigeria’s banking evolution, is set to receive a $12.7-million payout from his stake in Zenith Bank, Nigeria’s most profitable lender.
This payout is part of the group’s recommended total dividend of N109.89 billion ($88.3 million) for the 2023 fiscal year, reflecting the company’s robust financial performance.
The dividend, which will be paid on Wed., May 8, 2024, is a testament to Zenith Bank’s impressive fiscal results. The board of directors recommended a dividend of N3.5 ($0.01133) per share for the 2023 fiscal year.
With Ovia at the helm of Zenith Bank as chairman of the board of directors, the Lagos-based lender continues to achieve remarkable financial milestones. Its profit in 2023, which reached a record N676.91 billion ($522.03 million), burnished its reputation in the country’s financial services industry.
The bank’s remarkable triple-digit percentage surge in profit in 2023 was driven by a robust interest income growth of 111.9 percent and foreign exchange gains which amounted to N566.97 billion ($437.3 million).
Zenith Bank’s strong financial performance prompted its board to propose a dividend of N3.5 ($0.00252) per share, up 9.38 percent from the dividend of N3.2 ($0.0023) per share paid to shareholders in the previous year.
Ovia, who holds a 16.18-percent stake in Zenith Bank, equivalent to 5,072,104,311 shares, stands to receive N17,752,365,089 ($12,771,215), solidifying his position as Nigeria’s richest banker and a prominent dividend earner in the Nigerian financial services industry.
