36416 - Zenith Bank SSL

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Summary of Investment Information

Project Number

36416

Company Name

ZENITH BANK PLC

Date SPI Disclosed

Mar 9, 2015

Country

Nigeria

Region

Africa

Projected Board Date

Apr 10, 2015

Environmental Category

FI-1 - Significant

Status

Completed

Last Updated Date

Sep 16, 2023

Department

Global Industry, Financial Markets

Industry

Financial Markets

Previous Events

Approved : Apr 24, 2015
Signed : Apr 28, 2015
Invested : Jun 24, 2015

Sector

Commercial Banking - General

Project Description

Zenith Bank is a leading Nigerian bank which commenced operations in 1990 and became publicly listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2004. The bank is one of Nigeria''s largest banks by total assets and provides an array of commercial banking services to corporate, commercial and individual customers within and outside Nigeria.

IFC proposes to provide Zenith Bank with a Straight Senior Loan of up to US$ 100 million to support long-term lending including to infrastructure projects.

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	100.0
Equity

Development Impact

1. Inadequate infrastructure (especially in the power sector) is a key impediment to private sector development and improved livelihood in Nigeria. This project will contribute to reduce the funding gap for infrastructure projects.

2. The project supports the infrastructure sector which is as a major growth segment of the Nigerian economy with significant potential for creation of direct and indirect jobs.

1. This project will help Zenith Bank to provide long term funding to infrastructure projects especially in power and address existing mismatches

2. This project offers an opportunity for IFC to deepen its relationship with a strategic client

3. By virtue of this project, IFC will support management of environmental & social risks by the Zenith Bank

4. IFC''s involvement in the financial sector continues to reinforce its commitment to Nigeria''s banking sector and continuous efforts to strengthen international best practices in banking, E & S risks mitigation and corporate governance.

Indicator	Metrics	Comments	Calendar Year 2022	Calendar Year 2023	Calendar Year 2024
CORE - E and S Management Systems (Y/N)	Compliance/Enhancement		Not Available	Not Available	Not Available

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

This project has been categorized as FI-1 according to IFC's Environmental and Social Review Procedures. The project consists of a senior loan to primarily support the bank's growth of infrastructure projects. The bank's portfolio includes a significant share of project/corporate finance transactions in high E&S risk sectors such as upstream oil and gas, power and agriculture. These activities typically have potential for significant adverse E&S risks and impacts which need to be adequatelymanaged;the overall portfolio risk is thus considered high. The applicable requirements are the IFC Exclusion List and the applicable national social and environmental laws in Nigeria and the IFC Performance Standards.

The main E&S risks and impacts relate to the ability of the bank to identify and manage the E&S risks associated with its lending activities as well as the bank's labor standards as compared to the standards set forth in IFC Performance Standard 2. In line with IFC's requirements for financial intermediaries, Zenith Bank will be required to appoint an E&S Officer and implement an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS). Zenith Bank has an E&S team and an E&S Risk Management Policy which describes the process for managing the bank's direct and indirect environmental and social risks and impacts. In order to meet IFC's requirements, this policy needs to be revised to reflect the application of the Performance Standards in line with IFC thresholds as well as include an external grievance mechanism. Additional sector-specific capacity building will also be required to support the implementation of the ESMS and an implementation and training plan needs to be developed for the bank's subsidiaries. The bank will be required to retain a qualified external E&S consultant for undertaking E&S due diligence and monitoring of high risk projects. To ensure the ESMS is adequately implemented, IFC will also review the E&S assessments prepared for the first few project/corporate finance transactions and high risk projects. In relation to the bank's labor standards, a review of the labor policies and procedures revealed no major non-compliance with the requirements of Performance Standard 2.

Task Title & Description	Actual Due Date	Status	Comments	Completion Date
Nominate officers	03/30/2015	Completed	E&S Officer saved in IFCDocs	06/30/2015
Establish SEMS	04/29/2015	Completed	ESMS saved in IFCDocs	06/30/2015
Staff Training	08/29/2015	Completed	Training provided to Zenith staff	01/31/2016
Other1 Development of an Implementation and Training Plan for the SubsidiariesVerification of ESMS Implementation - Review of E&S Assessments for Projects	12/30/2015	Completed	Completed	07/31/2016

Contacts

For Inquiries About the Project, Contact

Mr Ebenezer Onyeagwu
Executive Director
Zenith Bank Plc
Plot 87 Ajose Adeogun Street,
Victoria Island, Lagos. Nigeria

+23412787000

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Local Access of Project Documentation

N/A

IFC supports its clients in addressing environmental and social issues arising from their business activities by requiring its real sector clients to set up and administer appropriate grievance mechanisms and/or procedures to address complaints from Affected Communities in relation to environmental and social issues arising from IFC's clients' business activities. Since 2012, IFC's Financial Intermediary clients applying the Performance Standards are required to develop External Communications Mechanisms to receive and review inquiries or complaints from any interested party regarding the E&S risks and impacts of their operations.

For IFC projects that are active or under consideration, individual(s), or their authorized representative(s), who allege they have been or will be adversely affected by E&S risks or impacts arising from IFC's clients' business activities, may submit a complaint to IFC directly for consideration. When receiving an E&S complaint, IFC engages with complainants and works with its clients to find solutions to E&S concerns as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Complaints can be submitted to IFC online at www.ifc.org/escomplaints or by email to EScomplaints@ifc.org.

IFC complaint response is separate from and complementary to IFC’s clients’ project level grievance mechanisms and IFC’s Independent Accountability Mechanism (CAO). Lodging a complaint directly with IFC does not, at any time, restrict access to CAO.

Affected communities have unrestricted access to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent accountability mechanism for IFC and MIGA. CAO facilitates the resolution of complaints related to IFC and MIGA projects and sub-projects, undertakes reviews of IFC’s and MIGA’s environmental and social compliance, fosters public accountability for their commitments, and enhances the environmental and social performance of IFC and MIGA.

Independent of IFC and MIGA management and reporting directly to the IFC and MIGA Boards of Executive Directors, CAO helps resolve issues raised about the environmental and social impacts of projects through a neutral, collaborative, problem-solving approach via its Dispute Resolution function. It also reviews IFC’s and MIGA’s compliance with environmental and social policies, assesses related harm, and recommends remedial actions through its Compliance function. Additionally, CAO provides advice to IFC, MIGA, and their Boards to enhance environmental and social sustainability performance and minimize the risk of harm.

Complaints may relate to environmental and social harm regarding any aspect of the planning, implementation, or impact of a project or sub-project, and can be made by any individual, group, community, entity, or other party affected or likely to be affected by the environmental or social impacts of an IFC- or MIGA-financed business activity.

Complaints can be submitted by any of the following methods:

Online form: available at https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/
Mail/Hand Delivery to: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA
Voice mail: +1 202 458 1973
Email: cao@worldbankgroup.org
SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal: +1 202 650 2627

CAO receives and addresses complaints in accordance with the CAO Policy, which can be accessed at: https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/policies-guidelines.

This Summary of Investment Information (SII) is prepared by IFC to disclose a factual summary of the main elements of the potential investment. It also includes findings and recommendations related to environmental and social considerations regarding this potential investment. The purpose of the SII is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities. For any project documentation or data included or attached herein, whether prepared by the project sponsor or otherwise, authorization has been given for public release by the project sponsor. IFC considers that this SII is of adequate quality for release to the public, but has not necessarily independently verified all of the project information therein. It is distributed in advance of IFC Board of Directors’ consideration and may be periodically updated thereafter. Board dates are estimates only and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board Directors’ decision. The following SII is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy (AIP) that went into effect on January 1, 2012.

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