The Lion King | 9
Ilesanmi Owoeye
Ask the Executive
I
lesanmi holds a First Class
Honours Degree in Banking
and Finance and a Master of
Business Administration (MBA),
both from the University of
Lagos, Nigeria. He is a Fellow
of Nigeria Institute of Marketing
(Chartered), Honorary Senior
member of the Chartered
Institute of Banking of Nigeria
(HCIB), and an Alumnus of
the Advanced Management
Program of Lagos Business
School (AMP14). Apart from his
experience and skills in Retail,
Consumer and Commercial
banking, Ilesanmi also has
immense practical experience
in Change Management,
Relationship Management;
Conflict Resolution; Credit
Structuring, Management and
Loan Workout. He has also
attended many courses both
locally and internationally,
including the Citibank Global
Corporate Bank Training &
Development, Long Island, New
York, and is an Associate (and
former Director) of Equipment
Leasing Association of Nigeria.
Ilesanmi has over 24 years
banking experience that
cut across Retail, Consumer/
Commercial, Public Sector
and Corporate Banking. Until
his appointment as Director
Consumer Banking Group,
he had worked in the bank
variously as the Regional Bank
Head for West and Lagos
Mainland between 2005 and
2012.
Prior to joining UBA in 2005, he
was Executive Director, Retail/
Commercial Banking of Pacific
Bank. He played a pivotal role in
the merger of Pacific Bank with
eight other banks to form the
new Unity Bank Plc. In previous
employments, he had worked
variously as Divisional Head,
Retail/Commercial Banking,
Group Head, Operations and
Technology, Head, Branch
marketing coordinator, and
was a key part of the 1992
restructuring/repositioning
of Crystal Bank (which
metamorphosed to Standard
Trust Bank)
In this exclusive interview,
Ilesanmi Phillips Owoeye -
Director Consumer Banking
Group gives insight into the
modus operandi of UBA’s
Consumer Banking.
Kindly tell us more about the
role you play as the Director of
Consumer Banking.
First, it is important to note
that the bank never stopped
playing in the consumer banking
space. The creation of CBG
only became necessary now to
provide some form of ownership
for this very important aspect of
banking especially in a country
like Nigeria with over 150 million
people. My job therefore is to
ensure UBA attains leadership
(not later than 2015) in Low
cost deposit and make the
bank number one choice in
banking for individuals and small
Businesses.
What are the major challenges
you face in the discharge of your
duties and how do you manage
a healthy work-life balance?
With many RMs used (over the
years) to high volume and high
income generating transactions,
my major challenge has been
(and continues to be) how to
make my colleagues see the
huge prospects in Consumer
Banking business. The message
we have been spreading is
that; “it is about the only part
of banking business that will not
diminish with time as long as
there are human beings on the
face of the earth”
On work-life balance, I try to be
as comfortable on the job as
possible since I spend over 12
hours daily at work (in and out
of office). I try to devote all other
free time to my family.
The Bank has a number of
consumer products and
services. Are these various
products and services readily
available to our customers at
our various Business Offices?
Yes, we have several products
and they are readily available
not only in our various Business
offices, but also on other
channels especially our
numerous e-channels.
How accessible are our products
and services in terms of pricing?
Our products are accessible and
on a continuous basis we review
our pricing to ensure we stay as
competitive as possible.
The highly competitive
consumer banking landscape
is awash with product promos
and freebies to attract more
patronage. Do you believe this
is a good strategy to adopt? If
yes, are there any promos and
gifts attached to any of our retail
products and services?
Yes, there are many promos and
freebies. As a bank, we also
have some as part of our growth
inducing strategies. However, it’s
my personal opinion that each
institution should be guided
more by its peculiarities and
capabilities in determining how
to get the best from the market.
My focus therefore has been on
product quality/attractiveness
(pricing and usefulness),
improved technology (to reach
more at any given time) and
impeccable service delivery
across all channels (this is the
main driver of repeat patronage
Director, Consumer Banking Group
