Zenith Bank Plc has been named “Nigeria’s Best Bank” at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025, emerging as Nigeria’s standout performer, and clinching the biggest and most coveted country award.
The award, which was presented to the bank on Thursday, July 17, 2025 at The Peninsula, London, is a testament to its commitment to delivering exceptional banking services, innovative products and superior value to its customers and shareholders.
Euromoney’s Awards for Excellence are one of the most highly coveted awards that matter to banks and bankers who matter. The annual Awards for Excellence celebrates financial institutions that demonstrate leadership, innovation, and resilience in their markets, with this year’s edition seeing a record number of over 770 entries from world class financial institutions including HSBC, Morgan Stanley, CitiBank, Barclays, Standard Bank and Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), amongst others.
Commenting on the award, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON said, “We are absolutely thrilled to be recognized as Nigeria’s Best Bank by Euromoney. This award is not just a testament to our relentless pursuit of excellence, but also a validation of the unwavering trust and confidence our customers have placed in us. We are once again reminded that our success is not just about us, but about the impact we continue to have on the financial ecosystem. We will continue to work tirelessly to support the growth and development of our economy and uphold the highest standards of governance, integrity and transparency that has earned us this recognition”.
L-R: Former Economic Secretary to the Treasury of the United Kingdom, Ed Balls; Head of Multinationals and Financial Institutions, Zenith Bank (UK) Ltd, Natalie Andrew; Manager, Wealth Management, Zenith Bank (UK) Ltd, Noelia Pinto; Group Managing Director/CEO, Zenith Bank Plc, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON; Executive Director, Zenith Bank Plc, Dr. Mrs. Adobi Nwapa; CEO, Zenith Bank (UK) Ltd, Udu Ovbiagele; and Euromoney’s Head of Banking for US & Europe, Dominic O’Neill during the presentation of Nigeria’s Best Bank Award to Zenith Bank Plc at the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2025 at The Peninsula, London, recently.
She dedicated the award to Zenith Bank’s customers across the globe for their loyalty, and to the Founder and Chairman, Jim Ovia, CFR, for his visionary leadership and commitment to excellence which formed the foundation for the bank’s successes. She also thanked the Board for their guidance, as well as the staff for their unwavering dedication to building a formidable and best in class global financial institution that will outlive generations.
Zenith Bank’s track record of excellent performance has continued to earn the brand numerous awards including being recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for the sixteenth consecutive year in the 2025 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking, published by The Banker. The Bank was also awarded Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards for 2020, 2022 and 2024; Best Bank in Nigeria from 2020 to 2022, 2024 and 2025, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best Bank for Digital Solutions in Nigeria in the Euromoney Awards 2023; and was listed in the World Finance Top 100 Global Companies in 2023.
Further recognitions include Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria for five consecutive years from 2021 to 2025 in the World Finance Banking Awards and Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria in the International Banker 2023 and 2024 Banking Awards. Additionally, Zenith Bank has been acknowledged as the Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria, in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards for four consecutive years from 2022 to 2025 and ‘Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023 by the Ethical Boardroom.The Bank’s commitment to excellence saw it being named the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in The Banker’s Top 500 Banking Brands for 2020 and 2021, Bank of the Year 2023 and 2024 at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, and Retail Bank of the Year for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022 and in 2024 at the BAFI Awards. The Bank also received the accolades of Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation in Retail Banking, Nigeria, in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards.Zenith Bank was also named Most Responsible Organisation in Africa, Best Company in Transparency and Reporting and Best Company in Gender Equality and Women Empowerment at the SERAS CSR Awards Africa 2024; Bank of the Year 2024 by ThisDay Newspaper; Bank of the Year 2024 by New Telegraph Newspaper; and Best in MSME Trade Finance, 2023 by Nairametrics. The Bank’s Hybrid Offer was also adjudged ‘Rights Issue/ Public Offer of the Year’ at the Nairametrics Capital Market Choice Awards 2025.
