Sanwo-Olu hails NOVA Bank expansion plans

The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, commended NOVA Bank Limited on the opening of its new business office in the Victoria Island area of Lagos.

Sanwo-Olu gave the commendation at the commissioning of the office, which is NOVA Bank’s first commercial banking branch, on Tuesday.

He said, “We need to commend them. We need to encourage them. The NOVA team have a choice to go elsewhere or to remain in the merchant banking space. But they decided to take it further, and taking it further means they have to commit additional resources that will enable them to remain competitive and to make more impact.

“So on behalf of the Lagos State government, I am here to thank you, encourage you and to say to you that we are excited with this milestone, “ the governor stated, adding that NOVA Bank Limited has a lot of multi-talented men and women.

While especially thanking the Board Chairman, Mr Philip Oduoza, for playing a significant role on the board of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund years back, he said there has been no record of bank robbery for a long time due to improvement in the security situation in the state.

Nova Bank recently transitioned to a national commercial bank after receiving its licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

In his address, the Chairman and founder of NOVA Bank, Oduoza, expressed delight about the future of the bank.

He said, “I feel very excited about it because this is something that we have been looking up to, for some time. We have been very successful in the Merchant banking space, which is the space where you attend to wholesale banking clients and corporate commercial banking. Now we have turned around, to take this success story to the retail market, and the retail market has far more population than the wholesale space. So we want to take this excellent service to many more people in Nigeria because we know it is going to make an impact on the economy.

“The impact comes in various forms. One is financial services provision, the second one is empowering the consumers through consumer credit and the third one is providing them with our suite of products that have been very, very successful, “ Obuoza stated.

According to him, of critical importance is the ‘PHYGITAL’ model of the bank which is a convergence of the physical offices and digital platforms, thus empowering customers to do so many things.

Both “from your office, your house, on the go, anywhere at all, and that’s what the digital experience gives to you, “ he assured.

He said by opening up more branches, the Bank would be supporting President Bola Tinubu’s administration in the area of job creation and stabilising the economy.

He emphasised the bank’s unwavering commitment to customer focus and delivering exceptional service.

“As we expand our services, we remain dedicated to delivering an unparalleled banking experience that seamlessly integrates the physical and digital realms.

“Our trademarked PHYGITAL experience combines a select number of strategically located physical branches with high-tech, seamless digital banking capabilities, ensuring that our customers receive the best of both worlds. This approach allows us to provide personalised, in-person service where it is most needed, while also offering the convenience and efficiency of cutting-edge digital solutions,” he explained.

Answering questions regarding the latest N500bn banking sector recapitalisation requirements, Oduoza said that shareholders who believed so much in the lender, raised capital through a rights issue last year to meet the capital requirements of the commercial banks, have committed to do it again to meet the CBN deadline.

NOVA Bank, which was established in 2018, is set to open additional branches in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano.