Zenith Bank earns over N80 billion as trading gains in 2018

By: Sandra Ani

Reliable sources close to Nairametrics indicate tier one lender Zenith Bank could earn close to N100 billion or more as gains from derivatives and treasury bills trading in the 2018 financial year.

The bank has consistently made trading gains in the last few years rising from N20 billion in 2016 to over N60 billion in the 2017 financial year.

Who heads the trading desk?

The trading desk of the bank is headed by Michael Anyimah. He is a 1997 graduate of Actuarial Science from the University of Lagos. He also obtained an MBA from the same institution in 2003. In addition, he is a CFA charter holder.

From July 2005 to March 2008, he was an FX trader with Citigroup Nigeria. While there, he was responsible for developing foreign exchange risk hedges for clients. He was also responsible for the active foreign currency balance sheet management.

He joined Zenith Bank in March 2008, as the Head of Foreign Exchange trading and Derivatives Sales and Trading. At Zenith, he manages the FX Trading Unit which trades the G7 currencies and the Naira against the G7 currencies. G7 currencies comprise currencies of the 7 industrialized countries namely the United States, Germany, France, Canada, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

He also heads the unit in charge of Derivative sales and trading, taking proprietary positions and providing hedging solutions to clients foreign exchange and interest rate risks

Zenith Bank is currently trading at N24.20 in today’s trading session on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, up 1.25%.