by Alexander O. Onukwue

No matter where we are born or where we bloom, whatever we choose to do or aim to prove, all our endeavours across different works of life intersect around one grand theme: personal happiness and the common good.

We want to be happy as a consequence of the choices we make, whether it is the places we visit, the experiences we gain or the commitments we enter into. 2017, like many other years before, has presented us ample opportunities to make those choices which we hope would lead to good fortunes for our families, our health and our careers, even if the year also presented stern challenges along the way.

Working with Nigerians to navigate through these challenges and standing once more as a trusted partner for realizing yearly ambitions is Nigeria’s foremost and most stable financial institution, Guaranty Trust Bank. GT, which has for 27 years been a leader in financial systems innovations and an ardent driver of economic development in the country, maintained its place of stable and bold leadership in the financial sector, fortifying its structures of investment even as the country made its way back from recession and keeping faith with the Nigerian choice maker by continuing to provide valuable access to resources for a happier life.

By many metrics, 2017 was no ordinary year for the average Nigerian but GT Bank has been no ordinary partner. A relationship of trust approaching its third decade has steadily passed the test of reliability over the last two challenging years, with both bank and valuable customers well positioned to grow stronger together from the fruits of the economic recovery attained in the second quarter of the year.

This year, GT Bank maintained its standards acclaimed over the years locally, in 8 African countries and in the United Kingdom. It continued to lead the way in human resource and capital investments in diverse and inclusive ways that few enterprises in the country and around Africa could match but which everyone appreciates and wishes to emulate.

LEADING INNOVATION AND EASE OF BUSINESS

At the heart of GT’s interventions and innovations is the basic principle of providing a guaranteed platform that a usually skeptical public can trust and depend on to support their transactions and life choices.

Within the period of the last 12 months, GT’s activities across different domains from the professional and formal sectors to entertainment and the arts had significant stimulating effects on the road to recovery of the Nigerian economy. Consolidating on the stability and dependability of its banking facilities, the bank made new investments in the area of digital banking towards making transactions easier, more effective and less daunting a task for the ordinary buyer and seller.

The one-stop shop app unveiled in June was one of the leading innovations introduced by GT this year. Leveraging on the extensive use of smartphones in nearly every part of the country by persons of varying ages, abilities and transactional interests, the new app was designed based on the bank’s customer-centric digital strategy, featuring biometric authentications including facial recognition and fingerprint, and is structured to fit into a customer’s mood for when and how he or she wants to make a transaction.

The mobile banking app, GT World, features a seamless switch to GTBank Automated Payment System (GAPS) Lite, the online banking platform for small businesses, which offers a flexible and secure channel to make payments and collections anywhere in the world, according to a report by the Guardian at the time of its launch.

In one package, the innovation, which is accessible from every part of the country, provides customers with ease of access to their accounts, a quick facility for multiple transactions, with the comfort and guarantee of security through the authentication features embedded. The value of such guarantee for small businesses cannot be overestimated when the need of businesses for a dependable means of executing transactions is appreciated. It is easy to see how this solution to a major turn-off of mobile transaction – namely, security – boosted the ease of doing business in the country this year, when combined with the institutional tweaks initiated by the Government.

LEADING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND FOSTERING DIVERSITY

In addition to its CEO Segun Agbaje making history as the first person to be named “CEO of the Year” for a second time, GT Bank was recognized this year in the categories of the “Best Bank in Nigeria” and the “Best Bank for CSR in Africa.” These accolades, given recently by EMEA Finance, a leading bimonthly global industry publication reporting on major financial events from Africa, Europe and the Middle East, are a testament to the bank’s long-term consistency and commitment to building communities around the country.

From the Principals Cup and provision of sports facilities to neighbourhood schools, to partnerships with the British Council in supporting art exhibitions and funding English language training programmes, GT’s corporate flight has never been one which takes off without having “the people” on board.

This December, GT’s core interests in advancing education was highlighted when it celebrated and introduced Nkechinyere Chidi-Ogbolo, an 18-year old whiz PhD student of University of California, to the Nigerian public, showing off the cerebral ingenuity of the Nigerian to the world. In like manner, the bank has continued to show unrivalled faith in the “hustles” of young persons in different sectors around the country, providing meeting points for mentors and newcomers, and launching those previously unknown into the positive spotlight.

Renewed investments in the GT Bank Entertainment Collection provided continued support towards boosting the Nigerian arts and creative industry which remains largely under-supported but which booms with an infinity of positive possibilities. Ndani TV renewed existing series and kept viewers locked on the curious acts of established favorite stars while projecting new ones to our streaming devices. The GT Bank ‘FSHN WKND’ showed off the eccentricity of the Nigerian needle and thread, where the mix of fabrics, fibres and maverick genius from North, East, South, and West and beyond produced a one-of-a kind show which provided indubitable evidence of a local fashion industry with the potential for international acclaim.

And the Food and Drink Fair? The 2018 edition cannot come soon enough! Not just for the food and drinks and the relaxed atmosphere available for families as a leisure spot on Workers Day, but for the immense benefits of learning from the masterclasses of seasoned and renowned chefs. We know how big a food business can become, in terms of job creation and local empowerment (and tax revenue for government), when the chef or cook knows his or her onions not only in a literal sense but professionally. Hence, GT Bank’s continued efforts in this industry are certainly not to be sniffed at.

LEADING LEADERSHIP AND EDUCATION THROUGH SPORTS

2017 gave Nigerians the quadrennial joy of anticipating a World Cup finals in which the Super Eagles are guaranteed to participate in. For GT Bank, the culture of sustainable and futuristic thinking implies setting in motion the process that will ensure Nigeria never lacks the talent pool to maintain this anticipation in every other four year cycle.

This year, no less than 400 schools participated in its now traditional Principals Cup which held between April and May, providing a broad platform for the discovery of prodigious talents in secondary schools featuring students from every part of the country. The 2017 tournament was the 8^th in its series and continues to be a breeding ground for grooming Nigerians who take responsibility for their actions, and those who reach for excellence by developing skills in teamwork, discipline and versatility.

These participants are sure to take their skills and proficiencies to various endeavours of life and will spread their leadership expertise from the bounds of the Niger and Benue, over to the Nile and Pacific as amiable ambassadors of the Nigerian spirit.

As with the 2016 edition, financial motivations were provided to the tunes of N1m, N750,000, and N500,000 to the first, second and third place winners in both boys and girls categories, while the fourth placed teams received N250,000 each.

But it did not stop at handing away cash gifts.

‘Camp GTBank’, an all-expense paid player development and coach-training programme, took place for 8 days in August for 40 outstanding young talents discovered at the bank’s football tournaments and for 60 school coaches, with former Super Eagles gaffer, Augustine Eguavoen, as one of the lead facilitators. This was the 7^th year of the camp event which has been hugely significant in kick starting the careers of as many as 120 local stars of the round-leather game.

CRITICAL ACCLAIMS – FOR GUARANTYING TRUST

And for its giant strides in defining standards and raising the bar in economic empowerment, customer relationship – generally, in facilitating ease of life and happiness, critical commendations and first-rate reviews of the bank’s achievements in its 27^th year of guarantying trust were not lacking.

The Central Bank of Nigeria confirmed GT Bank’s stature as the leading e-payments bank in Nigeria early in the year with six awards – the most of any institution – during the 2017 Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme (EPIS) awards, organized by the monetary authority in association with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS). Perhaps the most notable among the awards was the bank’s recognition as having the highest Point of Sale (PoS) transaction count in the country. That placed a plaque on the bank’s commitment to enable businesses around the country facilitate ease of payment, instilling confidence in the viability of a cashless economy. The investments made in infrastructure and quality compliance to bring about such a feat cannot be overlooked with ease.

GT’s commitment to small businesses was also acknowledged at an international level this year at the 26^th EuroMoney Awards held in London last July. The recognition as Nigeria’s Best Bank & Africa’s Best Bank for SMEs’ was justified by the bank’s ability to remain firm and formidable amidst Nigeria’s economic crisis while others struggled. More importantly, GT gained the honor due to its “tailor-made digital solutions that has made banking simpler and more accessible”.

And in the most prestigious event in Africa’s banking and finance sector, the African Banker Awards, GT Bank Nigeria and GT Bank Group were duly named the African Banker of the Year and the African Bank of the Year, being the most prestigious awards on offer and the highest number of honors collected by the same brand for the year 2017.

It’s difficult to imagine that any of the above esteemed accolades has not been fully earned. A three-decade old tradition of world class banking practice and insistence on customer-driven strategies adapted to local environments have set GT Bank apart as the inclusive bank of choice. Bearing the burden of trust and laying foundations of financial access, with investments all over the country for every current and aspiring customer to easily express their choices in the market, has remained the bank’s driving principle over the years.

Weaving in its social responsibility investments and achievements, GT Bank emphasized this year that, more than being just an institution caring for the financial and welfare benefits of staff, clients and customers, it is now the de facto choice for defining the Nigerian banker.

We could say, colloquially, that GT Bank is for the ‘akant’ and for the culture.

2017 was another epoch for The GT Bank and Nigeria story. To borrow from ‘Orange words’, many shot their shots and scored, crushed their (fruit) crushes and reaped varieties of juice. We know to expect nothing short of the same standards of commitment to excellence and customer fulfillment in the coming year.