NOVA Merchant Bank to begin commercial banking, appoints Adebowale Oyedeji as CEO

NOVA Merchant Bank Limited says it is ready to begin its conversion to a full commercial banking business.

The bank, in a statement on Tuesday, said the move follows its recent requisition of the “national commercial banking license from the relevant authorities”.

This means the financial institution will begin to accept deposits from Nigerians and provide loans and other facilities.

As part of the transition, NOVA had received approval from its shareholders to transition into commercial banking on July 20, 2023.

In addition, the financial institution appointed Adebowale Oyedeji, as the new managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) to effectively stir its operations and deliver on its new mandate.

Oyedeji appointment, the bank said, has been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and takes effect from January 2, 2024.

NOVA said Oyedeji will be succeeding Nath Ude, the erstwhile MD, whose tenure expired on November 6, 2023.

The bank’s board, according to the statement, expressed its appreciation to Ude for his efforts and services to NOVA since his appointment in 2020.

Meanwhile, Oyedeji is believed to be coming on board with several years of experience at the “C-suite level from a major commercial bank in Nigeria”.

“Wale’s wealth of hands-on experience combined with strong track record of delivering revenue objectives, business turnaround, improved productivity, people management, operational efficiency and risk control makes him a perfect fit to captain the ship of NOVA Merchant Bank. He has held several executive positions in foreign and Nigerian environments giving him the global perspective to leading a financial institution to success,” the statement reads.

“He was previously the MD/CEO. Of Guaranty Trust Bank UK (a subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Bank Group) between 2008 and 2011 and was an Executive Director of Guaranty Trust Bank Group from 2011 to 2018 with supervision of various industry focused Corporate and Commercial Banking teams that transformed the Group. Just before his appointment as the MD/CEO of NOVA, Wale was on the Board of Stanbic-IBTC as an Independent Non-Executive Director (INED) from 2020 to 2023.

“Wale will lead the new executive team to implement the Bank’s Accelerated Growth Initiatives (AGI) for the next 5-year plan of the Bank commencing January 2024.

“Wale is an alumnus of University of Ibadan where he bagged a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics. He also obtained his M. Sc degree in Financial Economics from University of London and Advanced Management Program (AMP) from Havard Business School (HBS). He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) and Honorary member of Chartered Institute of Bankers (HCIB).”

Speaking on his appointment, Oyedeji expressed his excitement at the opportunity to lead the team in transforming the firm from a merchant bank to a major commercial bank.

“I am honoured to be the pioneer Chief Executive Officer of the proposed NOVA Commercial Bank which is set to positively change the entire banking landscape,” he said.

On his part, Phillips Oduoza, the chairman of the merchant bank’s board said Oyedeji’s appointment reinforces the bank’s belief that “with the right people and leadership, using technology and innovation, the Bank will compete favourably for market share in the commercial and retail banking space”.