…as SEC targets N200trn market capitalization by 2026

Dr. Jim Ovia, Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, accompanied by the bank’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, OON, carried out the prestigious closing gong ceremony at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. 

The event underscored the bank’s strong relationship with the capital market and its dedication to transparency, accountability, and bolstering investor confidence.

​Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Umeoji highlighted the NGX’s innovative leadership, specifically citing the X-stream electronic trading platform’s pivotal role in the bank’s recent recapitalization.

​”The success of our recapitalization exercise, which achieved a 160% subscription, is a testament to the market’s confidence in Zenith Bank,” Dr. Umeoji stated. 

She noted that the bank’s stock price has since doubled, rising from N36.50 to N68 per share.

​Zenith Bank also reported impressive financial results for H1 2025, becoming the most profitable bank in Nigeria and paying the highest half-year dividend in the industry.

​Reaffirming the bank’s dedication to its shareholders, Dr. Umeoji stressed the institution’s commitment to paying quantum dividends by year-end.

​”We are working assiduously to ensure that we do not disappoint the market,” she affirmed. “We will continue to be the investors’ delight, and we assure the market that we would continue to pay enhanced dividends come end of the year.”

​She added that Zenith Bank’s expansion strategy is focused on “following our customers’ businesses” into economies where the bank can achieve scale and provide increased returns for shareholders.

​The Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama, also commented on the market’s recent performance. He praised the capital market operators, noting that the market capitalization has leaped from N55 trillion to hovering around N89 trillion and N93 trillion in the last one-and-a-half years.

​”Your ability, tenacity, courage, vision and transparency have moved the market where it is,” Dr. Agama said, setting a vision to see the market reach N200 trillion by next year.

​In his remarks, the Doyen of the NGX, Alhaji Rasheed Yusuf, lauded Dr. Jim Ovia’s vision and leadership, referring to him as the “Doyen of the Commercial banking sector.”