The
phenomenal growth achieved by Nigerian banks will continue
to elicit global commendations for a long time to come. And
as has been identified severally, such rare accomplishment
from an industry that was under immense distress to one that
is setting the pace in the Nigerian economy remains subject
of economic study.
Between
2006 when consolidation of the sector was concluded and now,
the boom in the financial sector continues to attract commendations
and the industry’s key players continue to receive accolades
for their ingenuity and dexterity against what appeared an
impossible task in 2004 when the policy of recapitalisation
was first announced.
In
the wake of that bold and courageous move, true giants in
the industry have emerged providing the minions in their midst
a platform upon which to stand and remain in business. Such
giants in the Nigerian banking business is Union Bank Plc;
with Dr. Bartholomew Bassey Ebong as the Group Managing Director
and Chief Executive of Nigeria’s second largest bank
and the 502nd bank in the world, confirming it as a big, strong
and reliable bank.
A
first generation bank, the symbol of the Union Bank is the
stallion and it is that symbol that its chief executive represents
among players in the industry. At 62, Barth Ebong(now, that
is to those who have known the man way back in time) has carved
an identity for himself as a reputable corporate player and
leader of men. A hard earned reputation, it began as far back
as 1977 when he joined the former Barclays Bank of Nigeria
as a management trainee. Barclays Bank of Nigeria has since
been renamed Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and is rated as the
nation’s second largest bank.
Between
the time Bartholomew Ebong was employed by Union Bank and
2006, he went through all the basic trainings that would prepare
him for the challenges ahead. He took in everything he could
and remained focused for the future that held good promises.
That future began to manifest in 1999 when he was appointed
as the bank’s Executive Director in charge of corporate
and international banking. For four years, he held this position
and in 2003 higher responsibility came calling. A typical
Barth Ebong style he took up the challenge as Executive Director
responsible for Management Services, Finance Services, Treasury,
Legal Services and later Registrars and Credit Policy and
Control.
This
new office and its added responsibilities were at the very
eve of the consolidation of the banking sector that was concluded
in 2006. The Union Bank was among the few banks who were certain
of scaling the hurdles set by the Central Bank of Nigeria
for the banks as it already was above the CBN mark as at the
time. What was left for it is to wait for banks that would
not be able to scale the Apex Bank’s hurdle and give
them the much needed fillip to continue in business.
While
other banks involved in mergers and acquisitions had a daunting
task in integrating their systems, the Union Bank experience
was different. Given the bank’s size and massive network,
it already had in place a robust network of branches interlinked
by ICT models that have remained efficient for as long as
the industry can remember.
And
just three days to Dr. Ebong’s 60th birthday anniversary
on April 1, 2006; the man with a modest background and disposition
to life was appointed the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive
of Union Bank Nigeria Plc; making him one of the most powerful
chief executives in corporate Nigeria.
Since
assuming office, the man whose young and energetic looks belies
his actual age has sustained the growth of the bank and setting
new heights for himself and the teeming staff of one of the
country’s most reliable banks. And in recognition of
this deliberate effort at raising banking standard in Nigeria,
the Union Bank has continued to receive accolades from both
local and international institutions.
Recently,
the Central Bank of Nigeria named Union Bank of Nigeria Plc
the 2006 Best Support Bank for the development of Agriculture,
Small and Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEIS).
It is an impressive record to note that the Union Bank has
consistently won the annual Agriculture awards since it was
instituted.
Growing
the assets base and investors’ fund of the bank has
continued to pre-occupy this exemplary banker as the bank
continues to record outstanding recognitions everywhere it
goes. In 2007, Union Bank was also listed among the world’s
top 1000 global banks by the highly respected The Banker Magazine,
a member of the Financial Times Group.
Such
a monumental achievement by Dr. Ebong try as much as he could
to down play his outstanding contribution to an industry that
has become the pacesetter in the Nigerian economy; honours
and recognitions continue to trail the banker of a first order.
In
2007 the exemplary leadership qualities of Dr. Ebong were
recognised and honoured by the Federal Government of Nigeria
as he was named an Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON);
in the same year, he was honoured with a doctorate degree
as Doctor of Management (Honoris Causa) of the Federal University
of Technology, Akure and on April 26, 2008; he became the
recipient of the Honorary Doctor of Science Degree of the
University of Uyo in Nigeria’s Akwa Ibom state.
A
professional through and through, he is a Fellow of the Chartered
Institute of Bankers; Fellow, Institute of Management Consultants
of Nigeria; and Fellow, Institute of Credit Administration;
among numerous others.
Educated
in some of the foremost institutions of learning in the world,
but the chief executive of Union Bank has a background that
is rooted in modesty. Born on April 4, 1946 in Ekit Itam in
the Itu Local Government Area into the royal family of late
Okuku Ebong Nkanga of Ekit Itam, his mother was late Madam
Magdalene Uduse Ebong Nkanga. This community has been made
famous by the Scottish Missionary, Mary Slessor who settled
in this community for the greater part of her missionary works.
Dr.
Ebong qualified as a teacher in Grade II at the Government
Teachers’ College, Uyo which gave him secondary education
after which he studied and passed his General Certificate
of Education, Advanced Level through the correspondence programme
of the Rapid Results College, London. With these early successes,
he moved on to the United States of America and his first
port of call was the University of Wisconsin and in 1975,
he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Accounting.
From
Wisconsin his appetite for academic excellence was transferred
to the state of Minnesota where he undertook a Masters degree
in Business Administration sustaining the Accounting drive
but with a special course in Finance and Management Information
Systems.
These
special areas will come handy in future as the banker began
his climb to the top hierarchy of Union Bank Plc. For instance,
between 1989 and 1993 he was Chief Accountant responsible
for Treasury Management, Payroll, General Head Office Bookkeeping
and Accounts, Taxation, Management Information System and
Inter-Branch Accounts Reconciliation. Always discharging his
duties diligently, what he receives for discharging his duties
is more work. Thus, between 1994 and 1997, he was Assistant
General Manager in charge of International Banking; 1997 and
1999, Deputy General Manager, Corporate and International
Banking responsible for Foreign Exchange, International Trade,
foreign representations and exports; and in all these, he
stood out.
Union
Bank as a leading financial institution in Nigeria, has grown
with numerous subsidiary companies. And to each of these companies,
Dr. Ebong serves as chairman of their Boards and he still
find time to attend to them making his verse experience available
to their management whenever it is needed. These include:
Union Homes Savings and Loans Plc; UBN Property Company Limited;
Consolidated Discounts Limited; Union Trustee Limited; Unique
Venture Capital Management Company Limited, among others.
On
the international scene, he serves as director of Union Bank
UK Plc; HFC Bank (Ghana) Limited and Banque International
Du Benin (BIBE). He has also presented papers on the banking
industry that he has mastered so well apart from world class
seminars and forums where his invaluable contributions have
been acknowledged.
Married
to an equally successful career woman, Mrs. Jane Ebong, she
is presently an Executive Manager of National Engineering
and Technical Company (NETCO), a subsidiary of the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and their union is blessed
with children some of who are already professionals in their
own rights.
Success
to Dr. Ebong also means giving back to the society and that
has informed the philanthropic gesture of the man and the
bank he heads, both on the local and national levels. To many
professional bodies, the Union Bank chief executive is a symbol
of steadfastness and commitment to quality service delivery.
There is no doubt that with this man the future of banking
and related industries in Nigeria is as bright as it could
be imagined.
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