JAIZ BANK APPOINTS MUSA MD.(PHOTO).

Jaiz Bank appoints Musa MD

Nigeria’s premier and largest non-interest bank, Jaiz Bank Plc has appointed Mr. Haruna Musa as the substantive managing director. The appointment has been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Musa, whose appointment took effect on November 21, 2023, succeeded Ahmed Hassan who will proceed on retirement at the end of this year.

In a regulatory filing yesterday at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the board of Jaiz Bank stated that the appointment of Musa, a former executive director at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), has been approved by relevant authorities.

The board of the bank stated that they expected Musa to lead a dynamic management that will further take Jaiz Bank to new heights.

Jaiz Bank had recorded double-digit growths across key performance indicators in third quarter 2023 with pre-tax profit rising by about 74 per cent to N6.68 billion.

Musa possesses nearly three decades of experience in banking operations. He spent 22 years of his 28-year career in GTB, retiring in October 2023 after serving two terms of eight years as an executive director. He joined Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) in March 2001 and retired in October 2023.

He had assumed the role of Executive Director & Head, Northeast & Public Sector, Abuja Divisions at GTB in October 2015. 

Musa’s experience cut across retail banking, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) banking, corporate banking, commercial banking, business banking and public sector.

He started his banking career as a banking officer at United Bank for Africa (UBA) in June 1997. He also served as a Senior Banking Officer at FSB International Bank between 1998 and 2001. He had worked as Agricultural Officer II at the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Abuja between January 1993 and June 1997.

Beyond his roles in Nigeria, Musa also served as a non-executive director at GT Bank (Cote D’Ivoire) Ltd and was the chairman of board audit committee between March 2015 and October 2023, where he was credited with significant contributions to the turnaround of the bank from a loss position to consistent profitability.

An alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Bayero University, Kano, and Cranfield University, United Kingdom, Musa is currently at the final stage of a Ph.D. programme in Islamic Banking and Finance at the Universiti Utara in Malaysia.

He holds an MSc in Finance and Management from Cranfield University; MBA from Bayero University, Kano and a Bachelor of Agriculture from Ahmadu Bello University.

Musa has also undertaken several executive-level courses including Advanced Management Programme from Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, USA (2023); Making Corporate Boards More Effective – Harvard Business School, Harvard University, USA (2015); Positive Leadership Programme – Michigan Ross Executive Education, USA (2014) and General Management Programme – Cranfield University, UK (2012).

Jaiz Bank’s new chief executive has also received several commendation letters for selflessness and meritorious service from his previous employers. He is also an honourary member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). 

Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Jaiz Bank for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2023 showed that the leading alternative bank grew its top-line by 39.6 per cent with gross earnings of N33.04 billion in third quarter 2023 as against N23.67 billion in third quarter 2022.

Total deposits rose by 63 per cent to N405 billion as against N248 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2022. The bank’s total assets also jumped by 68 per cent to N546 billion in September 2023.

The management of the bank stated that the results reflected the bank’s contribution to the growth of Nigeria’s economy through its’ Islamic financing and investment activities in the real sector.

Jaiz Bank, operating under Islamic banking principles, primarily derives its earnings from investing and financing activities

According to the management, Jaiz Bank’s strong financial performance is a positive indicator of its continued growth and success in the banking sector.

“The bank remains resolute in leveraging on continued investment in its most valued asset, its human resources, advanced technological infrastructure and more efficient processes in serving its ever growing customer base,” Jaiz Bank stated.

Market analysts said the third quarter results further strengthened the outlook for Jaiz Bank, which plans to raise about N5.41 billion from its shareholders to bolster its balance sheet to support rapid expansion.

Jaiz Bank plans to float a rights issue of about 5.41 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at offer price of N1 per share. The rights issue will be pre-allotted on the basis of 87 new ordinary shares for every 250 ordinary shares held as at the close of business on Friday, October 6, 2023.

Jaiz Bank, the only publicly quoted non-interest bank, has through its professional advisers, already applied to the NGX for the approval and subsequent listing of the rights shares upon completion.

Most analysts expected the rights issue to be oversubscribed citing Jaiz Bank’s impressive performance over the past decade.

At its last annual general meeting recently in Kano, Jaiz Bank had increased dividend payable to shareholders by 25 per cent after the alternative bank grew net profit by 68.5 per cent.

The bank paid a dividend per share of 5.0 kobo for the 2022 business year, totaling N1.727 billion. The bank had paid a dividend per share of 4.0 kobo for the 2021 business year.

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts for the period ended December 31, 2022 had shown double-digit growths across key performance indicators, underlining improvements in incomes and profitability.

The 12-month report showed that gross earnings rose by 29.4 per cent from N25.84 billion in 2021 to N33.43 billion in 2022. Profit before tax grew by 59.5 per cent from N4.16 billion in 2021 to N6.63 billion in 2022. With tax writeback of N248.54 million in 2022, net profit, grew by 68.5 per cent from N4.08 billion in 2021 to N6.88 billion in 2022. Earnings per share increased by 39.13 per cent to 19.2 kobo in 2022 as against 13.8 kobo in 2021. The issued share capital of the bank had increased from 29.46 billion shares in 2021 to 34.54 billion shares.

The balance sheet of the bank also expanded by more than one-third with total assets rising by 35.6 per cent to N378.82 billion in 2022 as against N279.27 billion in 2021. Total equity funds also increased from N24.31 billion to N29.80 billion.

Underlying ratios had shown a generally positive outlook with the bank’s net income margin (NIM) improving from 7.86 per cent in 2021 to 8.29 per cent in 2022. Cost-to-income ratio improved from 75.49 per cent in 2022 to 70.51 per cent. Return on total assets increased from 1.49 per cent to 1.75 per cent. Return on equity also grew from 17.11 per cent in 2021 to 22.25 per cent in 2022. While capital adequacy dropped from 23.66 per cent to 19.50 per cent, liquidity improved from 29.78 per cent to 38.50 per cent.