Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Nigeria’s highest-priced banking stock, has appointed Chukwuma (Chuma) Nwokocha, a seasoned chartered accountant, as its substantive Group Chief Executive, effective immediately following regulatory approvals.
Announced on Thursday on the floor of the Nigerian Bourse, the appointment ends the year-long interim leadership of Adekunle Adedeji, who now returns to his role as Executive Director and Chief Finance and Value Management Officer.
Nwokocha brings a solid track record from other regional institutions, credited for his impressive board governance expertise, regulatory engagement, and financial oversight.
By contrast, his predecessor, Adedeji, is credited with steering the Group to its best financial performance since inception and completing a rights issue that helped the banking subsidiary meet the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recapitalisation deadline well ahead of March 2026.
Commenting on the appointment, Sola David-Borha, Chairman at Stanbic IBTC, said, “It is worthy of mention that under Adedeji’s leadership, the Group recorded its best financial performance since inception, and we are set to see the same with Nwokocha, building on his solid track record heading financial institutions.”
Nwokocha is a chartered accountant by training, with over three decades of leadership experience in African banking. His career spans retail and corporate banking, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic transformation.
He previously held several senior positions across the Standard Bank Group, including Chief Executive of Standard Bank Mozambique, where he was noted for driving growth, improving governance, and strengthening operational performance.
Nwokocha’s appointment comes as a momentum with pressure.
HI 2025 financial performance
Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, the lender has reported record growth across its balance sheet and share price. Yet, it contends with robust sanctions, eating up large sums in profit.
In its H1 2025 financials, the bank disclosed a non-contestable ₦50.15 billion ($32.32 million) penalty imposed on its investment-banking arm, Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, by the market regulator.
Although the sanction was self-inflicted – due to its use of an unapproved digital distribution channel in raising ₦392.49 billion ($252.91 million) on behalf of another lender – sanctions have been a recurring situation.
In 2024, it paid ₦159 million ($107,512) , and has also paid ₦113 million ($72,831) as of the first half of 2025.
Despite the sanctions, the stock has been one of the market’s strong performers. In July, it crossed the ₦100 ($0.06)share price mark and has held momentum since, despite cooling off around ₦98 early August.
Year-to-date, data from the Nigerian Exchange shows the lender’s share price has risen, growing by 89.2% to close at ₦109.00 ($0.75) per share on Thursday, October 2, 2025, up from ₦57.60 ($0.04) it began the year.
“Stanbic IBTC Holdings is currently the 16th most valuable stock on the NGX with a market capitalisation of ₦1.73 trillion ($1.19 billion), accounting for about 1.91% of total equity market value. Over the past four weeks, the stock has gained 9%, ranking it the 27th best-performing stock on the exchange,” said African Stock Exchanges, a real-time market data platform.
In its balance sheet, the bank has also crossed milestones and maintained growth momentum.
Just a few years after surpassing the ₦1 billion ($644,114) profit mark, it posted ₦243.7 billion ($153.07 million) in pre-tax profit during the first half of 2025, representing a 68% increase from ₦147 billion ($99.40 million) recorded in the same period last year.
This performance is anchored on the impressive weight of earnings in its core business operation. Interest income rose 56.3% to ₦384.7 billion ($247.89 million), driven by ₦239.7 billion ($154.46 million) in loans and advances to customers, ₦131.2 billion ($84.54 million) from other investments, and ₦13.7 billion ($8.83 million) from placements with banks.
Meanwhile, interest expenses eased, dropping to ₦68.7 billion ($44.27 million), down from ₦71.8 billion ($48.59 million) a year earlier.
The Group’s performance under Adedeji’s interim tenure sets a high bar. With Nwokocha now at the helm, investors may take a wait-and-see stance as they watch how he builds on the momentum and steers the Group through a changing operating environment.
Note: Financial figure converted at official average exchange rates: ₦1,478.9/$1 (2024) ,₦1,552.52 /$1 (Jan–August 2025), ₦1,551.9/$1 for the first half of 2025, and ₦1,455.42 as of Thursday, October 2, 2025.
