Zenith Bank Plc on Wednesday said it would pay its shareholders N97.33bn dividend for the 2021 financial period.

A statement said the shareholders of the bank unanimously approved the proposed final dividend payment of N2.80 per share during the lender’s 31stm Annual General Meeting in Lagos.

According to the bank, the approval brings the total dividend for the 2021 financial year to N3.10 per share, with a total value of N97.33bn.

The Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr Jim Ovia, thanked the shareholders for their loyalty, which he said had enabled the bank to rise to the pinnacle of the nation’s financial services industry.

He assured them of the bank’s commitment to consistently delivering superior value to its stakeholders.

Speaking on the bank’s performance, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, said, “If you look at the bank’s history over the years, Zenith Bank has always grown, and even within the pandemic, we have maintained a reasonable positive growth trajectory.

“Growth is coming from the fact that we are deploying our digital capability to grow more businesses, simplify our service processes, make our processes more efficient, and deal with customers’ complaints.

“Apart from developing new products, we are discovering new business verticals, especially within the retail segment, which have significant revenue.”

He added, “Meeting the expectation of shareholders means we have to work harder. The team is dodged, hardworking, resilient, and above all, we have a very supportive board that comes with superior guidance.”

Commenting on the dividend payout, the Chairman Emeritus of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Sunny Nwosu, said the bank’s shares remained the toast of investors because the bank has never failed to pay dividends to shareholders.

Also speaking on behalf of shareholders, the President of the Association of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders, Dr Faruk Umar, said, “The bank is doing very well.

“All the ratios and indices have gone up. And more importantly, while we were in the meeting, I got my alert of the credit of my dividend. This is very commendable. The leadership of the bank has been very effective.”