Union Bank of Nigeria, a leading financial service provider, has released its 2022 Citizenship, Sustainability, and Innovation (CSI) report, outlining the bank’s efforts across three pivotal areas – Citizenship, Sustainability, and Innovation.
The 7th edition of the report, titled ‘Driving Inclusive Growth; Impacting Lives, Enabling Success,’ provides an extensive overview of Union Bank’s ongoing commitment to fostering a sustainable future.
It chronicles the bank’s dedication to embedding responsible business practices and making a positive difference in the lives of individuals and communities, and it offers an in-depth examination of the bank’s activities for the year in review, shedding light on its strategies, performance, and processes in the implementation of various projects and initiatives.
Aligned with its overarching theme for the year, Union Bank focused its efforts on five of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These include Quality Education (SDG 4), Gender Equality (SDG 5), Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), Climate Action (SDG 13), and Partnership to Achieve Goals (SDG 17).
These goals served as a guide, steering the bank’s dedication towards positively impacting the lives of its stakeholders and society.
Speaking on the 2022 CSI report, Union Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Mudassir Amray, emphasised the bank’s commitment to driving inclusive growth.
He highlighted key partnerships that helped achieve this. He said: “We firmly believe that small businesses are the engine house of economic growth. This is why we entered a $30 million partnership agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets.
This partnership aims to enhance access to finance for smaller businesses in Nigeria, supporting increased trade and enabling us to expand lending to businesses in critical sectors, including food, healthcare, manufacturing, and services.”
Amray also highlighted the bank’s efforts in driving financial inclusion. He said: “We are also particularly proud of our financial inclusion initiatives, such as our partnership with Wacot Rice Limited, which enabled us to reach around 7,000 farmers across five Local Government Areas in Kebbi State.
Furthermore, our unwavering commitment to gender equality in lending was evident as we disbursed over 17 billion naira in loans to nearly 16,000 women in 2022.
Our vision remains resolute in building a more robust and expansive bank, underpinned by a digital-centric strategy and elevated governance standards geared toward fostering sustainable growth and contributing to Nigerian society.”
Also speaking about the report, Union Bank’s Chief Brand and Marketing Officer Olufunmilola Aluko highlighted the bank’s collaborative approach to sustainability and corporate responsibility.
She said: “Throughout the year, Union Bank has actively collaborated with partners to enhance our performance, particularly on our material issues. We aim to sustain this momentum by building on partnerships with peers and across industries to support our customers, communities, and society.
Our initiatives aimed at empowering underprivileged populations, promoting education, and advancing gender equality have yielded significant results, positively impacting thousands of lives and nurturing the potential of future generations.”
Consistent with previous editions, the 2022 report adheres to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard and aligns with the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles (NSBPs) and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This commitment underscores Union Bank’s dedication to transparency and accountability in reporting on its projects.
[10/4, 10:41 AM] Peter jones: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct 03, 2023
Sterling Convenes Technology’s Brightest For Improved Cybersecurity
Lagos, Nigeria: Sterling Financial Holdings Company is actively driving collaboration and partnerships with regulators, infrastructure providers, operators, and other financial services providers to bolster the security of the Nigerian consumer and improve the safety of the financial ecosystem.
Olayinka Oni, Executive Director and Group Chief Operating Officer of Sterling Financial Holdings, issued this during his commencement speech at the recently held Sterling Thought Leadership Series for Information Technology, themed The State of FI Consumer Security. The session took place in Lagos and was attended by heads of information technology and security teams from banks, fintechs, consultancy firms, industry infrastructure providers and regulators such as KPMG NIBSS, Flutterwave, Wema Bank, Uniswitch and many more prominent players.
The event featured a keynote speech from KPMG, with two panel sessions on “Predicting The Future – Preparing For The Future of Cybercrime In The Age of AI” and “Securing The Consumer: Strengthening Partnerships Between Operators & Law Enforcement”. The first panel featured the Executive Director of the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Aminu Maina, SVP at Flutterwave, Dotun Adekunle, Mayowa Owolabi of Uniswitch, with founder of AWABAH and renowned media personality, Tunji Andrews anchoring.
In his address, Oni said: “This session, which will be the first of many,will seek to enhance our collective knowledge and inspire collaborative endeavors aimed at fortifying the digital realm, especially as an increasing number of customers turn to digital channels for value delivery.”
He underscored how this platform facilitates the exchange of ideas among thought leaders, challenges traditional norms, and charts a course toward a more secure digital environment, further describing the event as a platform to anticipate the evolving threats, adapt strategies, and promote a safer digital world marked by technological advancements and heightened cyber threats.
Oni continued by saying that, “This gathering represents a convergence of ideas, experiences, and visions that will drive advancements in securing the digital finance industry as our contributions and eventual decisions will have a direct impact on consumer rights, trust, and the continuity of our businesses.”
He concluded by saying that every organization participating directly acknowledges the evolving threats faced by operators and thought leaders in this space, and that their presence and contribution shows that they view themselves as more than just service providers, but custodians of monetary value and trust.
In a keynote address, Mr. John Anyanwu, Partner and Head of the Cyber Unit arm of KPMG Nigeria’s Risk Consulting, discussed “Strengthening the Customer and Preparing for the Emerging Digital World” by noting that disruptive technologies were already more prevalent and rapidly transforming every aspect of the world.
Anyanwu pointed out that this transformation was driven by the imperative to meet customer expectations, provide personalized and empathetic experiences, offer a unified integrated experience and anticipate issues before they arise, underscoring how these developments ultimately added value by increasing revenue, enabling faster onboarding and activation, personalizing pricing, improving customer acquisition, enhancing customer experience and loyalty, optimizing distribution and servicing channels and fostering the growth of new products and services.
However, Anyanwu cautioned that despite the numerous benefits of adopting the latest technologies, it also brought risks and concerns, including infrastructure vulnerabilities, data privacy, fraud risks, third-party risks and the need for education and awareness.
He emphasized the need for collaborative efforts among operators to address these concerns through initiatives such as cybersecurity education and awareness, cyber resilience, third-party risk management and safeguarding customer data privacy.
Outcomes of the session will include a communique that captures the submissions of the panellists and participants which will serve as the basis for the continued engagement with key stakeholders and shape policy for the delivery of service through digital channels for the financial services sector.
Sterling has maintained impressive momentum in 2023 with her citation as Africa’s Most Valuable Commercial Bank Brand for 2023 in a poll conducted by GeoPoll and Kantar for African Brand Magazine, has been named a top three employer in Nigeria by LinkedIn in the social network’s Top 25 List for 2023, and has featured on the prestigious list of the 100 fastest-growing companies in Africa for 2023, as published by the globally recognized Financial Times.
Renowned for its irreverent brand voice and enviable talent management practices, Sterling recently received three citations for Company Leadership Gender Diversity, Gender Diversity in Supply Chain, and Family-Friendly Workplace as bestowed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) at the Gender Leader Awards 2023.