The new management of Zenith International Bank Plc on Wednesday assured the capital market community and shareholders of enhanced financial performance and value creation.

Mr Ebenezer Onyeagwu, the new Group Managing Director of the bank, gave the assurance during a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to introduce the bank’s new management.

Onyeagwu said the bank would continue to ensure improved dividend and excellent service delivery to all stakeholders.

“We will like to assure the market that we will do everything within us to elevate the strong virtues, the values and the superior performance that Zenith Bank has always been know with,” Onyeagwu said.

“Under this new leadership, you will be rest assured that we will deliver outstanding performance.

“We will reward our shareholders and will continue to provide very strong and transparent disclosure to the market,” he added.

He said the bank had a sustainable structure and the responsibility of the new leadership was to uphold the strong legacy and outstanding pedigree that had been laid already.

He stated that the bank would come for its fact behind the figures to enable it connect effectively with the capital market community.

“Not withstanding the headwind in the market, we may not be able to predict market outcomes, we may not be able to predict the volatility but we can predict that we will deliver strong and superior results.

“The environment is getting competitive, we are not scared of competition, when we need to be combative we will be aggressively combative, when we need to collaborate, we will do it in a most efficient and intelligent manner,” Onyeagwu stated.

On the loan to deposit ratio policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), he lauded the apex bank for the initiative, saying that it would boost economic activities.

According to him, it is a laudable initiatives for CBN to see how banks can develope the SME sector and lending to the retail sector as this will bring positive impact to the economy.

He explained that the banks would not be reckless in lending but that the concern had been the attitude of borrowers towards repayment.

Onyeagwu said collateral challenges of the retail and small scale businesses had been resolved.

“Bank Verification Number (BVN) has help in solving the problem of identity and the banker’s Committee is working on building stronger capability into that.

“The capability that will enable us enforce very effective and tight credit control such that if a customer take a loan from bank A and abandon and go to bank B to open account, with the BVN, such customer can be traced.

“If the customer is owing bank A, one million naira and goes to bank B to open an account and deposits two million naira, electronically the system will recover the money from the debtor.

“We believe this will help drive descent behaviour and promote good credit process,” he said. (NAN)