By Tony Manuaka
The appointment of Moruf Oseni as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank in April 2023 opened a new vista in the history of the bank, having acted in that capacity for three months earlier. Before that, he was deputy managing director of the bank for four years, after serving as an executive director in charge of the Abuja and northern operations.
In the last 25 years of his carrier, Oseni has functioned at the senior and executive management level for about 16 years. He is an alumnus of the Advanced Management Programme of the Harvard Business School among others.
Prior to his banking carrier, Oseni had served as an Associate at Salomon Brothers/Citigroup Global Markets, London. From the global financial scene, he served as Vice President at Renaissance Capital before he founded MG Ineso, an investment and financial advisory services firm.
As CEO of Wema Bank, he has raised the bar for the bank. Financial results indicate that the bank surpassed its set targets in the first half of 2023. The bank has also emerged as a leading digital platform for financial services.
In less than one year since he became the CEO, Wema Bank has also witnessed transformation in staff welfare packages. The bank’s family-friendly work environment, with Purple Creche, provides succor to employees, particularly, parents of young kids. The introduction of improved monetary compensation and benefits for employees of the bank is also remarkable.
The Wema Bank MD sustained the Hackaholics Series, an annual youth empowerment programme targeted at Nigerian universities. The bank has continued to drive technology across sectors of the economy. Just a few months ago, Wema Bank’s health-tech startup programme that helps women to bridge the gap and manage breast cancer, brought smiles on participants, with N15 million cash price. In that same context, many benefited from the fintech N7 million and N10 million start-up programme.
Another dimension to Wema Bank’s youth empowerment is the ALAT Summer Internship, which is a platform for young talents to gain hands-on experience in the banking sector. Three universities also won the Wema Bank Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics endowment fund. Babcock University won N10 million; Afe Babalola University, N7 million; and Nile University, N5 million.
Oseni, within a short time, has put Wema Bank on the trajectory of return to a formidable player in the banking sector. For his ingenuity, commitment, vision and innovative style of banking, he is The Sun Banker of the Year Award 2023.