Sterling Bank Ltd., which is a full-service national commercial bank is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. On Reuters and Bloomberg terminals, it is identified as STERLNB.LG and STERLNBA:NL respectively.

The Bank provides services to individuals, small businesses (SMEs) and large corporations. As of December 2022, the Bank's branch network numbered 140, distributed throughout Nigeria with total assets valued in excess of NGN 1.85 trillion).

History
Sterling Bank originally incorporated in 1960 as Nigeria Acceptances Limited (NAL). The Bank was licensed as Nigeria's first merchant Bank in 1969. Consequent to the indigenisation decree of 1972, the Bank became fully government owned and was managed in partnership with Grindlays Bank Limited, Continental International Finance Company Illinois and American Express Bank Limited between 1974 and 1992. In 1992, the Bank was partly privatised and listed as a public company on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE). Eight years later, in 2000, the Federal Government sold its residual interest in the Bank, effectively making it a fully privatised institution.

In January 2006, as part of the consolidation of the Nigerian banking industry, NAL Bank completed a merger with four other Nigerian Banks namely, Magnum Trust Bank, NBM Bank, Trust Bank of Africa and Indo-Nigeria Merchant Bank (INMB) and adopted the name 'Sterling Bank'. The merged entities were successfully integrated and have operated as a consolidated group ever since.

In line with the Central Bank of Nigeria's repeal of universal banking, Sterling Bank now operates as a national commercial bank, disposing of holdings in subsidiaries and affiliate companies. In mid-2011, Sterling Bank acquired the franchise of the erstwhile Equatorial Trust Bank. Under a special resolution on September 19, 2022, Sterling Bank Plc transitioned to Sterling Bank Ltd, emerging as a subsidiary of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc.

Operations
The Bank's operations and products are grouped into four clusters:

Retail and Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, Institutional Banking and Corporate Banking.

Sterling has launched several initiatives under the Retail & Consumer Banking such as Agent Banking (designed to attract the underbanked/unbanked), Micro-credit for youths and Specta (an automated retail lending platform). Its Commercial Banking deals in several sectors including Agriculture for which the bank has won several awards while its Institutional Banking offers value adding advisory & collection services for government parastatals. Sterling's Corporate Banking covers several sectors including Telecommunications, Power and Steel, Food and Beverages among others.

The bank operates from:
 Head Office  20 Marina, Lagos
 140 branches across the country
 16,291 POS terminals with several merchants
 632 ATMs across the country
 Over 3 million USSD users across the country

Specialised services
 Private Banking and Wealth Management
The bank also caters to High Net Worth individuals through their Private Banking and Wealth Management arm offering products such as Trust and Fiduciary Services, Philanthropy Management, Investment Advisory, among others.

Performance highlights
Sterling Bank delivered a set of results in 2022 as follows:
	Gross earnings grew by 16.6% to N175.1 billion against N150.2 billion reported in FY 2021. The change was a combination of a 25.7% increase in non-interest income and a 13.7% growth in interest income.
	We recorded a 14.4% growth in low cost deposits leading to an improvement in the share of CASA to total deposits from 68.1% to 70.7%.
	Maintained robust capital and liquidity positions of 14.7% and 37.2%, respectively, way above the regulatory requirement.
	NPL ratio grew to 3.88%, in line with the heightened risk in the macroeconomic environment and our commitment to prudent risk management.
	Overall, the Bank grew its balance sheet by 14.4% to N1.9 trillion and achieved a growth of 28.5% in profit after taxes to reach N19.5 billion compared to the profit of N15.0 billion reported for FY 2021.
	The Bank declared a dividend of 15K per share, representing a 10% dividend yield on the average stock price over the past year and a 50% improvement on the previous year's payout.

Other non-financial highlights
Other non-financial highlights include:

•       Partnership: Our partner, Nexford university graduated more than 400 students in the middle of a nation-wide strike by ASUU.

•       Awards 2022:

 ‘Best Bank In Nigeria' - according to market research by AFRINVEST.
 'Overall Best Place to Work' title for the fifth consecutive year at the annual Great Place to Work awards.

The Bank carries out corporate social responsibility in these areas: education, the environment, health, empowerment, sports development, capacity building, among others.

Board of directors

 Asue Ighodalo – Chairman
 Abubakar Suleiman – Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Raheem Owodeyi - Executive Director
Tunde Adeola - Executive Director
 Michael Jituboh - Non-Executive Director
 Olaitan Kajero - Non-Executive Director
 Tairat Tijani - Non-Executive Director
Folasade Kilaso - Non-Executive Director
Manish Singhal - Non-Executive Director
Olatunji Mayaki - Non-Executive Director
 Michael Ajukwu - Independent Director
 Olusola Oworu - Independent Director

Mr. Abubakar Suleiman is the current Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Ltd, assuming this position on 19 September 2022.

See also
 List of Banks in Nigeria
 Central Bank of Nigeria
 Economy of Nigeria

References

External links
https://sterling.ng  Sterling Bank (Nigeria) Homepage
 Sterling Bank Plc. Shares Recover From Recession
 Company Profile At Bloomberg.com

Banks established in 1960
Companies based in Lagos
Companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange
Banks of Nigeria
Nigerian companies established in 1960