GT Bank named 2013 Africa’s best bank

Nigeria’s Guarantee Trust Bank has been named the 2013 Bank of the Year at this year’s African Bankers Awards.

Organised by IC Events, the awards which was held in Marrakech, Morocco during the just-ended African Development Bank’s Annual Meetings, also witnessed Nigeria’s Sanusi Lamido Sanusi taking home the Central Bank Governor of the Year prize.

South African banking group, Standard Bank won the award for Fixed Income Deal of the Year on a Ghana Seawater Desalination Project. The bank helped raise funds for the $120 million desalination water project.

Mr Nizar Baraka of Morocco was declared Minister of Finance of the Year while two bankers – Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, CEO of Access Bank, and Joao Figueiredo, CEO of Banco Unico, were recognised as African Bankers of the Year.

Guests were treated to a star-studded cast of performances during the night. Grammy Award-winner John Legend, Senegalese singer and politician Youssou N’Dour and Senegalese-American R&B artist Akon all performed during the night.

Below are the full list of the winners:

African Bank of the Year
Guaranty Trust Bank, Nigeria

African Banker of the Year
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, GMD and Chief Executive, Access Bank
Joao Figueiredo, CEO and Chairman, Unico Bank

Best Bank in North Africa
Attijariwafa Bank, Morocco

Best Bank in Southern Africa
Afrasia Bank, Mauritius

Best Bank in West Africa
FirstBank Nigeria

Best Bank in East Africa
Equity Bank, Kenya

Best Bank in Central Africa
BGFI, Gabon

Central Bank Governor of the Year
Sanusi Lanido Sanusi, Nigeria

Finance Minister of the Year
Nizar Baraka, Morocco

Lifetime Achievement Award
Jean-Louis Ekra, President, Afreximbank

African Banker Icon
Michael Joseph, former CEO Safaricom and founder of M-Pesa

Investment Bank of the Year
Rand Merchant Bank, South Africa

Award for Innovation in Banking
Ecobank Transnational, Togo

Socially Responsible Bank of the Year
Nedbank, South Africa

Award for Financial Inclusion
Africa Guarantee Fund, Kenya

Fixed Income Deal of the Year
Ghana Seawater Desalination Project – Standard Bank, South Africa

Deal of the Year
Umeme IPO – cfc Stanbic (Kenya) and Fieldstone (South Africa)

Private Equity Fund of the Year
Citadel Capital, Egypt

Best Retail Bank in Africa
Groupe Banque Centrale Populaire, Morocco

Best Islamic Finance Initiative
Gulf African Bank, Kenya

Mortgage Bank of the Year
THUIF, South Africa

Brokerage House of the Year
African Alliance, Kenya

Made in Africa Foundation Special Recognition Award
Donald Kaberuka, President, African Development Bank Group

By Ekow Quandzie back from Marrakech, Morocco