Banking
Titan Trust Bank: 2 Years of Service with Power and Pride
By Opeyemi Dabiri
On October 4, 2021, one of the fastest-growing financial service providers in Nigeria, Titan Trust Bank Limited, celebrated two years of its existence.
Established with a mission to take advantage of the identified gaps in the banking sector and address the unmet needs of the retail mass market, SMEs and corporates, Titan Trust Bank, has continued to provide seamless banking experience, accurate and relevant information to its customers.
The management team led by seasoned bankers, Mudassir Amray, the group managing director/CEO, and Adaeze Udensi, PhD, executive director, in the last two years, has been able to position the bank on an upward trajectory with many unprecedented innovations.
With management focused on innovation and a unique philosophy to create, preserve and satisfy its customers, Titan Trust Bank found itself in a fiercely competitive banking environment but it remained guided by passion, resilience, innovation and brand architecture that exuded quality service, performance and sheer excellence.
The lender has found its feet quickly on the floor of the Nigerian banking sector and recorded one of the highest increases in the number of customers. It remains committed to its customers and continues to search for new heights to attain in the Nigerian banking sector and that is why the bank is considered the fastest growing bank in Nigeria.
The Titan Trust Bank story is increasingly becoming a case study in corporate governance, leadership, vision and excellence.
Amid the bank’s audacity to dare and succeed, industry watchers have continued to marvel at the amazing rise of the lender since its inception and ask: how are they doing it? The answers may not be far from the fact that at the inception of the bank’s operations in October 2019, the management team drew up a holistic and integrated approach to business modernization, which has formed the foundation for the bank’s superior customer-centric experience.
The bank has continued to deliver exceptional banking services by making financial services easy and accessible to its teeming customers.
In its determination to take financial services to every household in order to drive effective inclusion and participation in the recovery and growth of Nigeria’s economy, Titan Trust Bank has invested substantially in technology and developed fully integrated service models that enable its customers to enjoy banking services through a wide range of channels.. The bank believes in innovation, creativity and the use of technology to enhance the lives of its customers while it also strives to ensure that its products and services are meeting the changing needs of its customers.
Recently, the lender launched and deployed the latest version of Oracle’s FCCM module, powering our AML/CFT infrastructure, used in over 120+ sites by top global banks. It has also invested in top-notch infrastructure for AML/KYC, as well as the Oracle Financial Services Analytical Application (OFSAA) to ensure rigorous analysis and measurement of its risk-performance objectives.
The bank’s digital platforms which include: the Titan Mobile Application, Titan Internet Banking platform and the Titan *922# Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) solution, are seamless, fast, reliable and easy to use. Aside from the regular features, its state-of-the-art mobile banking application – the TITAN mobile app has been upgraded with new features such as the generation of referral codes whilst opening accounts, transaction status information, receipt generation for previous transactions, as well as being able to carry out traditional mobile banking services.
In furtherance of its efforts to offer customers an endearing experience by extending its reach and offer seamless banking services across the country, the bank has also opened two more branches in strategic locations in Lagos with a skilled and professional relationship team dedicated to satisfying the banking needs of the people.
The two state-of-the-art branches located at 53, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos and 17, Burma Road, Apapa, Lagos, according to the bank, are in line with its quest to provide financial service to micro, small and medium scale enterprises within Lagos State. The new branches provide a full suite of banking products and services for retail and corporate banking clients.
In his comment at the launch of one of the new branches, Mr Amray, the bank’s CEO, noted that the launch represents a translation into the concrete reality of “our determination to live by our mission and keeping to our service promise to provide simple, reliable, and quick banking solutions to all our customers.”
The federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also announced the appointment of the lender as one of the designated banks for the collection of the Nigeria export Supervision Scheme (NESS) levy, a feat industry watchers applauded as a strategic move. NESS levy is a statutory payment to the federal government, which is charged at 0.50 per cent of the export value. The apex bank collects the fees through designated banks on behalf of FG.
As part of its initiative to continuously support entrepreneurs in the country by providing financial and advisory services for the growth of their businesses, Titan Trust Bank in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), launched an online platform to empower business owners with the knowledge to manage and grow their businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the first edition of the programme held on the 18th of February 2020, participants gave positive testimonials on how relevant and rewarding they found the training.
During the training, participants numbering over 200 were taken through series of webinars by business and digital experts on how to use social media and online tools to transform businesses from the traditional space to an online digital marketplace, how to set up an online business, identifying the best ways to make product offerings available online and finding target market.
On its staff welfare, the bank has placed a premium on improving workplace culture towards making its employees happy and productive. In the past two years, the bank has launched several internal initiatives to enhance staff welfare to keep staff engaged together with an open-door approach to have every voice heard.
The bank understands that employees are the engine room required in making any organization work and if they are not treated right it is to the disadvantage of all. It believes that when its employees are treated right, they will always be in their best shape to keep delivering a superior customer experience.
Undoubtedly, the bank’s achievements in the last two years have not gone unnoticed even on the international stage.
The lender recently bagged two awards as the ‘Best New Commercial Banking Brand’ and ‘Fastest Growing Digital Banking Brand in Nigeria for the Year 2021’ at the 2021 annual United Kingdom-based Global Brands Magazine Awards. The bank clinched the coveted influential awards in less than two years of its commercial operations.
The bank also emerged ‘Best Trade Finance Provider in Nigeria for the year 2020’ by Global Finance Magazine World’s Best Trade Finance Providers Awards. The lender clinched the coveted influential international award previously won by only the first-tier banks in Nigeria in just 15 months of its commercial operations.
Going by the speed with which the bank is moving towards the top, one expects that in the next year it will become one of the most talked-about financial institutions in terms of delivery and impact on its customers.
Opeyemi Dabiri, a financial analyst, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
In 2025, Access Holdings Plc lowered its operational emissions by 28.47 per cent by growing its green asset portfolio to N92.15 billion, though still far from its N475 billion target.
Details of its 2025 Sustainability Report showed that operational emissions fell to 49,352 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from 57,176 tonnes in 2024, supported primarily by branch solarisation across 263 locations and the deployment of 323 solar-powered ATMs, largely across Access Bank in Nigeria.
The organisation applies the operational-control approach under the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, accounting for emissions across its African footprint, with Access Bank representing the largest share.
The report reinforces its strategic shift from scale to value by showing how sustainability is being embedded in capital allocation, risk management, product development and operations.
During the year, Access Holdings deployed N72.3 billion under its Sustainable Finance Framework to eligible environmentally beneficial projects and grew its cumulative sustainability-focused loan book to $1.269 billion.
Beyond environmental outcomes, the report highlights the group’s contribution to inclusive economic participation.
In 2025, Access Holdings extended access to finance to 2,528,117 low-income individuals and onboarded 78,438 new MSMEs onto its financing platform.
Across the institution, 2.8 billion transactions were processed during the year, underscoring its role as core financial infrastructure for Africa’s real
economy. Gender-lens lending also progressed, with 354,156 loans extended to women and women-owned businesses, totalling N67.4 billion, equivalent to 24 per cent of the relevant loan portfolio.
Its Corporate Social Investment programmes reached 2,439,480 beneficiaries across education, health, entrepreneurship and the environment, delivered with partners, including UNICEF, HACEY Health Initiative and the Kenya Forest Service.
Employees recorded 359,500 volunteer hours with 100 per cent participation, while more than 50,000 trees were planted. The group notes that 2025 community figures follow a board-mandated tightening of its impact-measurement methodology and are not directly comparable with prior years. Women represent 49 per cent of the workforce, and the Access Holdings board comprised nine directors with 44.4 per cent female representation. Employee satisfaction rose to 87 per cent against an 80 per cent target, while attrition eased from about 13 per cent to about 11 per cent.
For the second straight year, Access Holdings reported zero material regulatory penalties relating to sustainability and zero cybersecurity breaches.
It mobilised $185.38 million, equivalent to N266.83 billion, in concessional funding from development finance institutions during the year and allocated a sustainability budget of N4.8 billion from profit before tax.
Sales-facing staff in the banking subsidiary carry green-portfolio targets within their individual performance measures, linking strategic sustainability goals to day-to-day execution across governance, strategy, risk management, capital allocation, products and operations.
To strengthen credibility and comparability, the report was prepared using the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, specifically IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, as the primary framework, with the GRI Standards (2021) and the SASB Standards applied as complementary references.
“Our 2025 Sustainability Report reflects the discipline with which we are converting scale into value. We reduced operational emissions by 28.47 per cent,
grew our green asset portfolio to N92.14 billion and extended financial access to about 2.5 million low-income individuals.
“These outcomes show that sustainability is not separate from our business; it is central to how we create value, manage risk and support inclusive growth across Africa,” the chief executive of Access Holdings, Mr Innocent Ike, stated.
Looking ahead, the company promised to deepen the measurable impact of its sustainability agenda, accelerate the transition of its portfolio towards low-carbon and climate-resilient assets, and grow the green asset portfolio towards the N475 billion target.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says it has paid the insured deposits of about 700,000 customers of the defunct Heritage Bank and has commenced the reimbursement of depositors of 46 microfinance banks (MFBs) whose operating licences were recently revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The chief executive of NDIC, Mr Oludare Sunday, made this known on Wednesday during a retreat for members of the House of Representatives Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters in Lagos.
He said the corporation immediately began settling the insured deposits of customers after the CBN revoked the licences of the 46 microfinance banks and appointed the NDIC as their provisional liquidator.
“We are working on those. The CBN revoked the licences, and we were appointed as the provisional liquidator. We have started paying depositors of those banks, and gradually we intend to cover all the insured depositors,” he said.
Mr Sunday explained that the NDIC’s responsibility extends beyond paying insured deposits to recovering outstanding loans owed to the failed institutions and disposing of their assets to generate funds for the settlement of uninsured depositors.
“Our function as liquidator involves the payment of guaranteed sums. Thereafter, we go after those who owe the institutions and have not paid. We also ensure that we sell the available assets and realise their investments towards paying the uninsured portion of the deposits. So, we have started paying the guaranteed deposits. What we are doing now is also realising the assets of those institutions,” he stated.
Although he declined to disclose the exact number of depositors of the failed microfinance banks who had been reimbursed, Sunday said the Corporation was working with the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) to identify depositors through their Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) to ensure seamless payments.
“So, the more accounts we discover, the more payments we make,” he added.
Providing an update on the liquidation of Heritage Bank, the NDIC chief said about 700,000 depositors had already received their insured deposits, while efforts were ongoing to trace other customers whose identities could not be verified from available records.
He attributed the challenge to legacy accounts created before the introduction of the BVN system, as well as incomplete customer records inherited from banks that were later merged into Heritage Bank.
“If you know Heritage Bank, you know it is an amalgamation of several banks, including the acquisition of Enterprise Bank in 2014. So, if you think of banks like Guardian Express and Spring Bank, they are all part of Heritage Bank.
“There are depositors we have not been able to trace, and this is an opportunity for them to come forward. I am sure many of us did the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and may have left some money in an account, but there was no BVN then.
“Even the addresses we had were sometimes things like ‘opposite filling station.’ How do you trace such a person? Once they come forward, and for those we have been able to identify from the institution’s database, we have been paying them,” he explained.
Mr Sunday added that the Corporation would continue to recover outstanding loans and dispose of Heritage Bank’s assets to generate funds for the payment of liquidation dividends to depositors whose balances exceeded the insured limit.
Earlier in his remarks, he described the NDIC as a critical pillar of Nigeria’s financial safety net, stressing the need for stronger collaboration between regulators and the National Assembly as the banking sector responds to recapitalisation efforts and rapid financial technology developments.
According to him, while the ongoing banking recapitalisation programme has strengthened the resilience of financial institutions, it must be complemented by sound corporate governance, effective risk management, strict regulatory compliance and robust supervision to safeguard long-term financial system stability.
He also disclosed that more than 98 per cent of depositors, representing over 281 million accounts across insured financial institutions, are fully protected under the NDIC’s deposit insurance scheme.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Zenith Bank Plc is investigating an incident involving unauthorised access to customers’ data, noting that the breach does not involve financial information and has not compromised its banking services or digital channels.
In an email sent to customers on Wednesday, the bank stated that the incident was part of a broader global cyberattack affecting multiple international organisations across various sectors.
The lender stated that it immediately activated its incident response protocols and intensified its cybersecurity and remediation efforts upon discovering the incident.
“This incident is part of a broader, global cyber-attack targeting multiple international organisations across various sectors. Upon discovery, we promptly activated our incident response protocols, cybersecurity actions and remediation efforts,” the bank said.
The bank reassured customers that its banking services and digital channels remain secure and fully operational.
As a precautionary measure, Zenith Bank advised customers to remain alert to potential phishing attempts and other forms of social engineering.
“As a precaution, we encourage our customers to remain vigilant against phishing emails, text messages, or phone calls, and never to disclose their password, PIN, One-Time Password (OTP), or other security credentials to anyone,” the bank said.
The incident is the latest in a series of cybersecurity challenges facing Nigerian financial institutions, with banks in recent months suspending their social media operations over impersonation and other fraudulent activities.
Earlier in April, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) said it was investigating alleged data breaches involving Sterling Bank, Remita and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Nigerian banks have long been prime targets for cybercriminals because of the vast amounts of customer data and financial transactions they handle every day.
While many attacks have traditionally sought to steal funds, cybercriminals are increasingly targeting personal information, which can be used for identity theft, phishing schemes, account takeovers and other forms of financial fraud.
Cybersecurity threats have increasingly targeted Nigerian banks in recent years. In 2025, Union Bank of Nigeria warned customers about fraudulent websites and phishing campaigns designed to steal login credentials and personal information by impersonating the bank.
In August 2024, Guaranty Trust Bank experienced a domain-related security incident that temporarily disrupted access to its official website, although the lender assured customers that their deposits and banking services remained secure while it resolved the issue.
