Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc has appointed former Nigerian Economic Summit Group Chief Executive Officer, Laoye Jaiyeola, and former Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Group Chief Risk Officer, Chinedu Ikwudinma, as Independent Non-Executive Directors of Sterling Bank Limited.
The appointments followed regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The holding company disclosed this in a notice filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited and signed by its Company Secretary, Sunny Kanabe.
Jaiyeola’s appointment took effect on August 17, 2026, while Ikwudinma’s appointment became effective on August 20, 2026.
Jaiyeola brings more than 35 years of experience in financial services, corporate governance, and public policy.
He previously served as Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group and President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.
He was also Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Kakawa Discount House Limited, now Quest Merchant Bank, and spent nearly two decades at the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Jaiyeola is currently a director on the boards of FMDQ Group Plc, the NESG Advisory Board, and the Policy Innovation Centre.
Ikwudinma has more than 30 years of international banking experience covering risk management, corporate and investment banking, commercial banking, transaction banking, and governance.
He previously served as Group Chief Risk Officer of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, where he oversaw enterprise-wide risk management and internal controls across the banking group.
He was also Group Chief Credit Officer at Ecobank. Before joining Ecobank, Ikwudinma spent more than two decades with Citibank, where he held senior positions in Nigeria, Zambia and Uganda, including Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Citibank Uganda.
He also served as Executive Director and Country Risk Manager at Citibank Nigeria and was the pioneer Managing Director of Nova Merchant Bank.
Meanwhile, Sterling Bank announced the retirement of Michael Ajukwu, Olusola Oworu and Olaitan Kajero from the board following the completion of their tenures.
Executive Director Tunde Adeola also retired after attaining the mandatory retirement age for executive directors.
The latest appointments come shortly after Sterling Financial Holdings received shareholders’ approval to raise up to $400 million in fresh capital.
Sterling Bank reported N55.53 billion profit before tax for the six months ended June 30, 2026, representing a 21.9 per cent increase from N45.55 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
The bank’s profit before tax for the second quarter stood at N27.62 billion, compared with N27.28 billion in Q2 2025.
The lender attributed its half-year performance to growth in net interest income and other operating income.
