2009 African Banker Awards salute resilience.The third annual African Banker Awards ceremony was held in Istanbul, Turkey, last month (October). The awards reflected the resilience resilience (r  ·zilˑ·yens),n and preparedness pre·par·ed·ness n. The state of being prepared, especially military readiness for combat. Noun 1. preparedness - the state of having been made ready or prepared for use or action (especially military action); "putting them of African banks, which helped to mitigate to a considerable extent the effects of the global economic crisis. Report by Anna Rosenberg and Omar Ben Yedder. African banking and financial institutions have not emerged totally unscathed from the global financial and economic crisis. But, as they say, fortune favours the prepared. African banks and financial institutions of the past might have surrendered amid the turmoil. However, today, with stronger capital bases and more robust regulatory bodies, they may have suffered some setbacks, but on the whole have managed to withstand these external shocks. This resilience is, in part, due to strong leadership, vision and sustained reforms at a macro and institutional level. Recognising and rewarding this strong leadership and bold action was what this year's African Banker Awards was all about. The awards ceremony this year coincided with the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF IMF See: International Monetary Fund IMF See International Monetary Fund (IMF). in Istanbul. Many of the continent's most eminent bankers and businessmen as well as government ministers and central bank governors came together with a common purpose - to recognise excellence in banking and finance in Africa and to acknowledge the people and financial institutions that are making a difference on the continent. A total of 14 awards were presented during the evening. The African Banker of the Year award went to Tayo Aderinokun, managing director and chief executive of Guaranty As a verb, to agree to be responsible for the payment of another's debt or the performance of another's duty, liability, or obligation if that person does not perform as he or she is legally obligated to do; to assume the responsibility of a guarantor; to warrant. Trust Bank (GTB GTB Global Transaction Banking GTB General Terms of Business GTB Global Trust Bank GTB Go To Bed GTB Grand Traverse Band (of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians; Michigan) GTB Ghana Tourist Board GTB Gay Teen Boys ), Nigeria, while the African Bank of the Year was awarded to Ecobank-ETI. Tito Mboweni Tito Mboweni is the eighth Governor of the South African Reserve Bank. He succeeded Dr. Christian Lodewyk Stals on 1999-08-08. External link
The Lifetime Achievement award was presented to a pioneer of African banking, Paul Derreumaux, the president of the Mali-based group, Bank of Africa Bank of Africa is a multinational bank in Africa. Its first office was founded in Bamako, Mali in 1982. Branches and subsidiaries Bank of Africa:
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Egypt's finance minister, Dr Boutrous-Ghali, was recognised for his achievements in transforming Egypt's economic landscape. By overseeing strong economic growth over the past five years, he has contributed to making the country one of the most diverse economies in Africa. Through his efforts in overhauling a moribund moribund /mor·i·bund/ (mor´i-bund) in a dying state. mor·i·bund n. At the point of death; dying. mor financial sector, Egypt's banking industry has become one of the strongest in the continent today. Boutrous-Ghali, who confessed to being "very touched" after receiving the Finance Minister of the Year award, commented: "We try hard to put Egypt on the map. I am especially proud to belong to the African continent and be honoured by my brothers and sisters of the African continent. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "We never forget our African roots and we never forget that the Nile - which is the lifeline life·line n. 1. a. An anchored line thrown as a support to someone falling or drowning. b. A line shot to a ship in distress. c. A line used to raise and lower deep-sea divers. 2. of Egypt - comes from the heart of Africa Heart of Africa is an adventure game for the Commodore 64 and unofficial sequel to The Seven Cities of Gold. Created by Ozark Softscape and published by Electronic Arts in 1985, it casts the player as an adventurer searching for the Lost Tomb of Pharaoh Ahnk Ahnk in Africa . We have deep roots in the continent and when that continent decides to honour one of us, we are particularly proud. Thank you for your consideration of what is happening in Egypt." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The World Bank showed its support for the African banking sector by sending two senior representatives to attend the event: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (born June 13, 1954) is the former Finance Minister and Foreign Minister of Nigeria, notable for being the first woman to hold either of those positions. , managing director of the World Bank, and Oby Ezekwesili, vice-president of the World Bank Africa Region. Her thought-provoking speech encouraged the audience to take charge of Africa's economic empowerment. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "The world we are living in has changed dramatically," she told the guests. "A lot of the assumptions we took for granted cannot hold. Clearly, we have to understand that integrity is back - integrity is back big time! Integrity of institutions, integrity of individuals, integrity of firms, and integrity of nations ... I am speaking to an audience that is aware of the challenges of rebuilding trust in the financial sector because you all deal with this on a daily basis. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "But how is it that we can really rebuild this trust, especially in the case of developing countries' financial institutions? ... I come from Nigeria, a country that currently is going through its own problems in the financial sector. How do you rebuild trust in situations like this when that sector is going through a credibility crisis?" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] She challenged the assembled bankers to extend their services to stimulate value creation on 'Main Street', by delivering services to local enterprises and diversifyng away from traditionally lucrative government business. "It seems to me that we are back to the days of production and productivity. How do we use the financial sector to truly trigger value creation? How do we bring innovation, not in terms of very sharp instruments, but innovation in terms of truly making a real economy? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "How would it be if a banker saw a youthful entrepreneur and decided to bank on him and this youthful entrepreneur suddenly became the inventor of the world's next Google? It is important that banking in this continent is about production and productivity in every sector of opportunity for growth. I leave you with this challenge because many of you are doing some brilliant things in the continent. As the global economic recovery begins to step up, it may be that what will happen is a flight to quality that will also impact on you. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "The African continent really counts on restless beings like yourself. You must be the ones who have decided to vote with your feet on the continent to create something. The challenge is huge but the opportunities and rewards are extremely worthwhile." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This year's event, organised by African Banker magazine and IC Events in partnership with Businessin Africa Events, was supported by the African Development Bank, and sponsored by Ecobank, Lexmark International and Centigon. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For more information please visit www.africanbankerawards.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Congratulations to the winners of the 2009 African Banker Awards AFRICAN BANKER OF THE YEAR TAYO ADERINOKUN - MANAGING DIRECTOR/CEO, GTB NIGERIA AFRICAN BANK OF THE YEAR ECOBANK - ETI (Embed The Internet) An earlier consortium that was devoted to putting Web servers into microcontrollers used in embedded systems. Using a Web server enables access to the device via any Web browser. See Web server and microcontroller. , TOGO BEST LOCAL BANK IN AFRICA NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. , TANZANIA MOST INNOVATIVE BANK ABSA, SOUTH AFRICA South Africa, Afrikaans Suid-Afrika, officially Republic of South Africa, republic (2005 est. pop. 44,344,000), 471,442 sq mi (1,221,037 sq km), S Africa. SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE BANK OF THE YEAR NEDBANK, SOUTH AFRICA INVESTMENT BANK OF THE YEAR STANDARD BANK, SOUTH AFRICA MICROFINANCE BANK OF THE YEAR EQUITY BANK, KENYA DEAL OF THE YEAR NEDBANK CAPITAL, BAKWENA TOLL ROAD INVESTMENT FUND/PRIVATE EQUITY FUND OF THE YEAR CITADEL LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD PAUL DERREUMAUX - PRESIDENT, GROUP BANK OF AFRICA, MALI FINANCE MINISTER OF THE YEAR DR. YOUSSEF BOUTROS-GHALI - MINISTER OF FINANCE, EGYPT CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR OF THE YEAR TITO MBOWENI - GOVENOR, SOUTH AFRICAN RESERVE BANK BEST DEVELOPMENT BANK IN AFRICA AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, TUNISIA AFRICAN EXPORT - IMPORT BANK, EGYPT BEST GLOBAL BANK IN AFRICA BARCLAYS BANK ENTRIES ARE INVITED FOR THE 2010 AFRICAN BANKER AWARDS. FOR DETAILS OF HOW YOU AND YOUR FINANCIAL INSTITUTE CAN ENTER, PLEASE VISIT WWW.AFRICANBANKERAWARDS.COM [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] African Banker Awards 2009 Winners African Banker of the Year Tayo Aderinokun Managing Director/CEO, GTB Nigeria African Bank of the Year Ecobank-ETI Best Local Bank in Africa NBC, Tanzania Most Innovative Bank ABSA, South Africa Socially Responsible Bank of the Year Nedbank, South Africa Investment Bank of the Year Standard Bank, South Africa Microfinance Bank of the Year Equity Bank, Kenya Deal of the Year Nedbank Capital, Bakwena Toll Road Investment Fund/Private Equity Fund of the Year Citadel Lifetime Achievement Award Paul Derreumaux President, Group Bank of Africa, Mali Finance Minister of the Year Dr Youssef Boutros-Ghali Minister of Finance, Egypt Central Bank Governor of the Year Tito Mboweni Governor, South African Reserve Bank Best Development Bank in Africa - joint winners African Development Bank African Export-Import Bank Best Global Bank in Africa Barclays Bank [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] |
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