It was yet another feather in Sterling Bank’s cap as it bagged the Most Innovative Bank Award at the annual Banking awards organized by BusinessDay recently in Lagos. The award was in recognition of Sterling Bank’s sustained attempts to provide distinctive banking products and services suitable for its “One Customer” particularly with the Kia-Kia account.

Gbenga Adegoke, the bank’s head of Retail Products who received the award on behalf of the bank described it as a reward for the bank’s hard work and painstaking research leading to innovative and widely acceptable products. He explained that Sterling Bank has been supporting the financial inclusion initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria in addition to assisting the unbanked and under-banked Nigerians.

At the event that had over one thousand guests in attendance, Adegoke expressed gratitude to BusinessDay and all those who considered Sterling Bank worthy of the award and assured the bank will never relent in its effort to meet the ever-changing needs of the bank’s “One Customer.”

Adegoke added that the Kia-Kia account has been flourishing as it gained acceptance from artisans and other categories of people who were previously left out of the formal banking system. Adegoke said, “Kia-Kia Account is distinguished by the immense ease and convenience associated with its opening process. It can be opened on the spot even without the customer being physically present at the branch with limited documentation requirement.” He attributed the increased patronage of customers in over 16 months of introduction the Kia-Kia Account to its accessibility.

With 168 branches, 422 ATMs and about 4,648 POS in the country, Sterling bank is a leading commercial bank in Nigeria. It was incorporated as NAL Bank in 1960 and acquired the operations of the erstwhile Equatorial Trust Bank in 2011 in its bid to attain growth.