2019 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT

Facilitating a Sustainable Future

EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Contents z Contents...... 3 z The Access Bank z Performance z Assurance Brand...... 23 Metrics...... 78 Statement...... 125 z More Than A Bank...... 4 z Our Presence...... 24 z Community Investment z Contact Us...... 126 z Giving You More...... 6 Initiatives...... 86 z Value-added z Doing More Than the Statement...... 25 z Employee Volunteering Ordinary...... 7 Activities...... 98 z Business Model...... 26 z Board Committee on z Gender ...... 105 Sustainability...... 9 z Corporate Governance...... 45 z Environmental z More Commitment...... 13 Stewardship...... 113 z Our Approach...... 52 z More Impact...... 15 z Awards and z Our Approach to z Unveiling More Recognitions...... 117 Sustainability...... 56 Opportunities...... 18 z Supplementary z Our Partnerships and z The Issues That Information...... 122 Memberships...... 61 Matter...... 20

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More Than A Bank

Access Bank’s sustainability strategy has high-quality investors, thereby rein- continued to evolve as we constantly forcing our reputation as a responsible seek to meet the demands of a dynamic institution. This is driving us towards our and fast-changing world. We have kept vision – “To be the world’s most respect- our finger on the pulse of sustainability ed African bank.” Our reputation, which innovation, and we continue to improve includes our ability to provide a condu- performances in our core business, cive environment for innovation, is also environmental footprint and the social an incentive for attracting and retaining wellbeing of the communities where we the best talents. operate. We do this while implementing In 2019, we became the first African innovative and optimal risk management commercial bank to be nominated by the strategies. Our sustainability strategy European Organization for Sustainable is firmly aligned with our core business Development (EOSD) to join the Sus- strategy. This is how we have maintained tainability Standards and Certification our lead on the frontiers of sustainability Initiative (SSCI), thus extending our com- in the financial services industry. Our val- mitment to sustainability through new ue creation underpins the trust that has partnerships and memberships. We have been crucial in preserving the relation- maintained our previous partnerships ship between the Bank and our valued with the United Nations Global Compact stakeholders, including our esteemed (UNGC), United Nations Principles for customers and shareholders. Responsible Investment (UNPRI) and we Our risk management policy is at the have remained on the steering commit- core of our investment decisions. tee of the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Coupled with our operational efficiency, Principles (NSBP). We also continue to Access Bank has continued to attract leverage our partnership with Aspire  4  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation to machines (ATMs) in 2019, which brought fund the activities of various non-profit the total number of our solar-powered organizations that are committed to ATMs to 605. We introduced the Paper the economic and social growth of the to Pencil Initiative to foster proper man- communities where we operate. agement of branded paper that became waste as a result of Access Bank’s merg- Our employees devoted 67,867 hours of er with Diamond Bank. We also issued their time, as well as their talents and re- the first Climate Bonds Initiative-certi- sources, to support various causes and fied green bond in Africa. Proceeds from projects that brought progress in differ- the bond issuance were used to fund ent communities. These efforts, among various projects that mitigate climate others, made our stakeholders proud. change. Some of the education-focused pro- grammes carried out by our employees These and many other endeavours were the Adopt-A-School Programme, highlighted in this report earned us Lunch Out Campaign, Project L.E.A.D several local and international awards and Science Set Initiative. Furthermore, and recognitions in 2019. Among the ac- activities by the Access Women Network colades for our efforts in sustainability in (AWN), an initiative of the Bank’s female the fiscal year were the awards for Most employees, positively impacted female Sustainable Bank of the Year, Sustain- Company of the Year from the Sus- tion and best-in-class product offerings. employees at all levels. The initiative was able Transaction of the Year (Oil and Gas tainability Enterprise and Responsibility We are proud of the milestones we have also a catalyst for the retention of female sector), Sustainable Transaction of the Awards (SERAs) attained, and we continue to strive for employees in the bank. Year (Power sector), and Excellence in growth and more successes in the com- Women Economic Empowerment, all by Over the last decade of our sustainability As we continue to reduce the carbon ing years. the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). We journey, we have demonstrated commit- footprint from our operations, the num- also received the awards for the Most ment to doing our part in maintaining the ber of Access Bank branches powered by Sustainable Bank, Nigeria from World Fi- strategic partnerships we have devel- alternative or renewable energy sources nance; Best Company in Partnership for oped, evaluating our strategy to ensure have risen to 58 as of 2019, compared Development, Best Company in Climate that we remain the bank to beat when it to 12 branches in 2018. We also added Action and Most Socially-Responsible comes to sustainability, and continuously 321 solar-powered automated teller evolving our processes through innova-  5  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Giving You More

Access Bank’s 2019 Sustainability Report calendar year 2019, and in some cases, is the twelfth consecutive report of the the first half of 2020. It is complementa- Bank’s business activities and progress ry to the Annual Financial Report, 2019. on material topics that are important to Any other details from other years are our stakeholders as they relate to the stated clearly. environment and the society. This report Following the feedback from the 2018 shows our continuous commitment and report, we have reviewed the data pre- drive towards achieving sustainability. sented in this report to highlight major In this regard, it is a compendium of our aspects of our performance indicators. efforts between January and December This report communicates various 2019. improvements to our different activities. The report is prepared in accordance For instance, we included HIV testing with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and counselling services to the 2019 and Standards. It also integrates the report- 2020 Access Bank Lagos City mara- ing requirements of other sustainability thons. The report provides an overview protect the environment. to further evaluate our sustainability journey thus far and bring our esteemed standards like the UNGC, the Equator of our operations across our current The report details our memberships in stakeholders up to speed on the prog- Principles and the United Nations Envi- locations, our business model and how various organisations and partnerships ress we have made on this journey. ronment Programme Finance Initiative we ensure that sustainability is embed- with like-minded businesses and or- (UNEP-FI), using data from the reporting ded into every aspect of what we do. It ganisations with whom we have formed year. Using these standards, this report highlights our communication process stronger bonds and are able to take on discusses topics that are material to the with our various stakeholders and how bigger challenges. With these member- Bank’s stakeholders and intersect the we have, together, developed solutions ships, we are part of a force for change in business goals as presented in the Mate- that are not only mutually beneficial, but our world today. riality Matrix. It is a comprehensive report have also helped us to find better ways This report is an opportunity for us of our non-financial activities for the to do business, satisfy our people and  6  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Doing More Than the Ordinary

Sustainability has been intricately woven supporting economic growth. By provid- into the DNA of Access Bank. For us, ing more than banking, Access Bank is sustainability is not a construct for imple- supporting thousands of projects annu- menting and marketing some products ally, many of which are helping to scale and initiatives for the purpose of making up small and medium-scale enterprises a statement. From the corporate gov- (SMEs) and create employment. We have ernance of the Bank, risk management, continued to provide support for projects product design to customer service, we that are improving health and education have found creative ways to make positive outcomes, protecting the environment impacts in all the activities of the Bank, in- and enhancing social development in cluding our external engagements. I can’t Nigeria and across Africa. overemphasize how committed we are to One of the key achievements of the Bank serve the people and ensure we continue in 2019 was the issuance of the Access to champion and support causes that Bank N15 billion green bond. The green help in accelerating sustainable develop- bond was the first-ever corporate green ment. Part of our sustainability strategy is bond in Africa to be “Climate Bonds Certi- to make sure we remain a resilient institu- fied,” a certification that is provided by the tion now and in the future. Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) for assets Over the 2019 period, we launched the and projects that meet the requirements “Access More” campaign, a strategic of the Climate Bonds Standard. The debt initiative focused on unleashing more op- instrument, initially listed on the FMDQ portunities to all our stakeholders. It is an OTC Securities Exchange and the Nige- initiative that offers more than banking. It rian Stock Exchange (NSE), was subse- is a demonstration of our efforts to make quently cross-listed on the Luxembourg a valuable impact on society, including Stock Exchange (LuxSE).  7  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

have received over the years. To highlight a By becoming a much bigger bank, following our merger with few of the accolades we received in 2019, Diamond Bank, our capacity to achieve more impact and do more has we were conferred the awards for the Most Sustainable Bank in Nigeria by World been effectively enhanced. We believe that our impact will continue to Finance; the Disability Friendly Institution “ of the Year (Financial Category) by DIAL increase in the years ahead. Awards; and Best CSR Bank by the Global Brands Awards, amongst other awards that have been listed in this report. The climate bond issuance solidified Banking (PRBs), the global standard or Access” Bank’s position as a leader in benchmark for banking institutions with By becoming a much bigger bank, follow- sustainable finance in Nigeria and Africa. regard to knowing the requirement for ing our merger with Diamond Bank, our It has helped in enabling environmental- becoming responsible banks. capacity to achieve more impact and do ly-friendly investors to meet their invest- more has been effectively enhanced. We We are proud of our professionalism ment objectives whilst simultaneously believe that our impact will continue to and hardworking staff, who continue to facilitating the growth of the sustainable increase in the years ahead. We will contin- display remarkable work ethics and are finance market in Nigeria and support- ue to deliver new innovative products and ever-learning to improve productivity. By ing the development of a low carbon services, while supporting various initia- adopting sustainable innovation practices, economy. tives to combat social challenges and drive we have achieved increased efficiency much-needed societal progress. We are In underscoring the Bank’s role in pro- and better company-wide performance determined to continue to do more, never moting a sustainability culture and best as demonstrated not only in our finan- resting on our oars. practices in Nigeria and Africa, Access cial bottom line, but also in our positive Bank worked very closely with the UNEP environmental impact and the provision of Dr. Ajoritsedere Awosika FI, and other leading banks, in 2019, to social benefits. Chairman, Access Bank launch the Principles for Responsible We appreciate the many recognitions we  8  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Board Committee on Sustainability

z Mr. Paul Usoro - Chairman z Mrs. Anthonia Ogunmefun - Member z Mr. Iboroma Akpana - Member z Mr. Herbert Wigwe - Member z Mrs. Ifeyinwa Osime - Member z Dr. Okey Nwuke - Member

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Profiles Mr. Usoro is a Director at various organi- Mrs. Anthonia Olufeyikemi Canada, respectively, where she func- sations, including Airtel Network Limited Ogunmefun tioned in senior management positions. Mr. Paul Usoro, san (and Chairman of the Audit Committee She obtained her law degree from Uni- of the company’s Board of Directors), versity of Lagos in 1974 and was called Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Ma- to the Nigerian Bar and Law Society rina Securities Limited, Premium Pension of Upper Canada in 1975 and 2004, Limited and PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc. respectively. He holds a Bachelor of Laws degree She joined the Board of Access Bank in from University of Ife (1981) and was April 2011. called to the Nigerian Bar in 1982. Mr. Usoro previously represented Access Bank as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of now-defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc. He joined the Board of Access Bank in January 2014.

Mr. Paul Usoro is a Senior Advocate of Mrs. Anthonia Olufeyikemi Ogunmefun is Nigeria (SAN), Fellow of the Chartered the Managing Partner at Kemi Ogunme- Institute of Arbitrators and the Founder fun Law Office, a Canada-based private and Senior Partner of the law firm of Paul legal practice, specializing in immigration Usoro and Co. He is acknowledged as a law, family law, real estate law and corpo- highly experienced litigator and Nigeria’s rate law. She served as the Chairperson foremost communications law expert. of the Governance Committee of Kinark He has advised a wide range of Nigerian Child and Family Services, a major Cana- and foreign blue-chip companies in the dian Childcare Trust. areas of project finance, equity raising, Mrs. Ogunmefun previously had a distin- infrastructure development and man- guished banking career, having worked agement buy-outs. with Chase Merchant Bank and Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) in Nigeria and  10  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Mr. Iboroma Tamunoemi and United States of America. Mr. Herbert Wigwe He is an Alumnus of Harvard Business School Executive Management Pro- Akpana Mr. Akpana is a Notary Public of the gramme. He holds a master’s degree in Federal Republic of Nigeria. Based on his Banking and International Finance from work, he was recognized in the Cham- the University College of North Wales; bers Global 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 a master’s degree in Financial Econom- editions as ‘Leading Individual’ in Nigeria ics from the University of London and in the Corporate/Commercial section of a B.Sc. degree in Accounting from the the ranking. The International Financial University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is also a Law Review 1000 similarly ranked Mr. Ak- Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Ac- pana as a ‘Leading Lawyer’ in Nigeria in countants of Nigeria (ICAN). Mr. Wigwe its 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 editions, is the Chairman of The Access Bank (UK) while the Legal 500 Europe, Middle East Ltd. and Interim Chairman of Nigerian and Africa profiled him as a ‘Recom- Mortgage Refinance Company Plc. mended Individual.’

He is a member of the International Bar Association, American Bar Association, Mr. Herbert Wigwe started his profes- Mr. Iboroma T. Akpana is the Managing New York State Bar Association, Nigerian sional career with Coopers and Lybrand Partner of Solola & Akpana, one of the Bar Association and the Law Society of Associates, an international firm of leading commercial and oil and gas law England and Wales. Chartered Accountants. He spent over firms in Nigeria. He is a consummate 10 years at Guaranty Trust Bank (GT corporate and commercial lawyer with a Bank) where he managed several port- career spanning more than two decades. folios, including Financial institutions, Mr. Akpana has a proven track record of Corporates and Multinationals. He left academic and professional excellence. as an Executive Director to co-lead the He graduated as a top student in Law transformation of Access Bank Plc in from University of Jos and subsequently March 2002 as Deputy Managing Direc- obtained a master’s degree from Har- tor. He was appointed Group Managing vard Law School. He is licensed to prac- Director/CEO effective from January 1, tice law in Nigeria, England and Wales 2014.  11  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Mrs. Ifeyinwa Osime special needs. She is currently a Partner Dr. Okey Nwuke, FCA job training. Dr. Nwuke is deeply versed in the at Macpherson Legal Practitioners, a management of financial institutions, having Lagos-based law firm. held Executive Director position in Access Bank from 2004 to 2013. He served as the Chairman Mrs. Osime is an Independent Non-Ex- of the Board of Directors of the Bank’s subsid- ecutive Director of WAPIC Insurance Plc iaries in Rwanda and Burundi and was a pioneer and WAPIC Life Ltd. She is the former Non-Executive Director of StanbicIBTC Pension Chairperson of PHB Healthcare Limit- Managers Limited, representing Access Bank. ed; former Director, Bank PHB Plc (now Dr. Nwuke’s key competencies span across Keystone Bank Limited); and a former finance, strategy development and execution, Director, Insurance PHB Limited (now organizational restructuring and transforma- KBL Insurance). She was the Company tion, leadership and change management. He Secretary/ Legal Adviser of African De- joined the Board of Coscharis Group in August velopment Insurance Company Limited 2014 and is currently responsible for the (now NSIA Insurance) between 1989 and strategic drive to position the conglomerate for 1997. sustainability beyond the founder’s lifetime. He currently chairs the Shareholders’ Audit Com- Mrs. Ifeyinwa Osime is a versatile and She holds an LLM Degree from Universi- mittee of NASCON Plc. ty of London (1989) with specialization in Dr. Okey Nwuke has over 28 years’ experience result-oriented professional with over He holds a B.Sc. degree in Accountancy from Corporate and Commercial Law and an in finance and corporate governance, hav- 30 years’ experience in the insurance University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and an MBA (Dis- LLB Degree from the University of Benin ing worked with top corporates and leading industry and commercial legal practice commercial banks in Nigeria. He is a Fellow of tinction) in International Banking and Finance (1986). She is a member of the Institute at management and board levels. She both the Institute of Chartered Accountants from the Birmingham Business School, United of Directors and has attended several has deep knowledge and experience in of Nigeria and Chartered Institute of Taxation Kingdom. Dr. Nwuke holds a doctorate degree leadership and professional develop- the management of administrative, legal, of Nigeria. He is also an honorary member of in Business Administration (DBA) from Walden and company secretarial functions in ment programmes at globally-renowned Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria and a University, Minnesota, USA with a research fo- financial and other related institutions. institutions. member of Business Recovery and Insolvency cus on leadership transition challenges in family Practitioners. businesses. He has been exposed to leadership She had championed and established and professional development programmes at a special needs programme, which is He has considerable expertise in credit analysis globally renowned institutions. actively involved in the management and and bank financial management, which he garnered from professional training as a char- Dr. Nwuke became a Non-Executive Director of care of children and young people with tered accountant and from relevant on-the- Access Bank Plc in November 2019.  12  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

More Commitment

Since 2008, Access Bank has been Access Bank will continue to be at the cutting edge of sustainability committed to investing and attracting innovation, creating value for its investments and partnerships for stakeholders by delivering on the achievement of the Sustainable the triple bottom-line of social, Development Goals (SDGs). We are environmental and financial returns fully aware of the influence we can on investments. As the global bring to bear to encourage other investment community is increasingly stakeholders to join in the efforts to embracing the sustainability ethos of build a sustainable future. embedding environmental and social We are supporting businesses that considerations in investment decisions, are not only viable economically, but sustainable finance has gained more also have a positive impact on the recognition and the market has seen environment. We also ensure our significant growth. In Nigeria, Access clients are able to identify, mitigate and Bank is at the forefront of facilitating avoid risks in their businesses for their the growth of sustainable investing. We long-term sustainability. are proud to be the first Nigerian and African bank to issue a Climate Bonds After championing the implementation Initiative-certified green bond. of the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles (NSBP), which members of Government officials, policymakers, the Bankers’ Committee have adopted, regulators and other key stakeholders Access Bank continues to promote the have recognised that sustainable adoption of responsible banking in the finance is the key to building a Nigerian financial services industry. The more inclusive and climate-resilient Bank is also a signatory and member economies for future generations.  13  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

strengthened our operational efficiency We will not relent in our efforts towards investing in climate and provided new sources of revenue change mitigation and adaptation, financial inclusion and the for the Bank. Our innovation culture has enabled us to maintain a competitive development of communities where we operate. advantage in a complex market “ that is facing immense disruption. This has helped in increasing our brand recognition. We will not relent ” in our efforts towards investing of various global sustainability and We have continued to evolve our in climate change mitigation and responsible investment principles and governance standards to reflect adaptation, financial inclusion and the standards. emergent best practices. Our Board is development of communities where diversified in thought and gender. 28.6% The governance oversight for we operate. Given our unwavering of our Board members are outstanding sustainability at Access Bank is the commitment to create more value for women who have contributed responsibility of the Board Committee our stakeholders, we will maintain our immensely to our sustainability goals and on Sustainability. However, oversight of vigilance regarding strong and effective targets. the Bank’s economic, environmental and governance principles to guide our social impacts and risks is a shared Board As the financial services industry sustainability strategy and ramp up our responsibility. This strategic framework continues to evolve with various achievements. ensures that everyone on our Board is technological changes impacting a part of our sustainability evolution. different sectors, we see these Mr. Paul Usoro Chairman of the Board of Sustainability Not only is it a Board-approved decision developments as opportunities to Committee to investe in human capital, we also innovate and adapt our business dedicate a minimum of one percent of models to the technological our profit-before-tax to sustainability. advancements. This approach has

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More Impact

Access Bank is delighted to present and social performance, underpinned to you our 2019 Sustainability Report, by the strong financial performance being our 12th report since we began of our core business. In collaboration reporting our corporate social respon- with industry leaders, policymakers, sibility (CSR) activities in 2008 with our and non-governmental organisations CSR Report. We have attained greater (NGOs), we contributed in addressing heights and achieved way more this year economic challenges and resolved social than we did in the previous years. We problems. We provided funding to boost are honoured to share our 2019 accom- healthcare delivery, education out- plishments in this report. comes, entrepreneurial development, and supported various initiatives that Access Bank has unassailable commit- helped in reducing carbon emissions, ment to sustainability. While our achieve- among several other projects in Nigeria ments over the years are a testament to and across Africa. this fact, we are aware that our success is dependent on the hard work and the We leveraged our local and international dedication of our Board of Directors and partnerships to host a Regional Con- indefatigable staff. We are also grateful sultative Forum during the 2019 Access for the continuous support of our inves- Bank Sustainability Summit. During the tors and other stakeholders. Summit, Access Bank joined other or- ganisations and participants in the Unit- Together, we have tremendously im- ed Nations Global Compact – the world’s pacted our communities positively. This largest corporate sustainability initiative report provides various milestones in our – where we launched the first-ever joint sustainability journey through 2019 and sustainability compendium in Nigeria. provides records of our environmental These important partnerships have en-  15  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

reduction in electricity consumption in We will not relent in our efforts towards investing in climate 2019. change mitigation and adaptation, financial inclusion and the So far, we have invested N9.34 billion development of communities where we operate. in CSR activities. We carried out over “ 2,500 HIV tests during the 2019 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon. Through our partnership with Aspire Coronation Trust ” Foundation, over 90,000 beneficiaries abled us to continue to promote sustain- adapt and maintain highest standards disease, amongst others. have had access to improved healthcare. ability in the global financial sector. for delivering stakeholder value. A major initiative to increase our impact We were able to reduce our carbon by expanding more opportunities to Another key milestone that we recorded Our recent merger with Diamond Bank footprint through the implementa- our stakeholders was launched in 2019. in the review period was Access Bank’s has helped to enlarge our regional and tion of more environmentally-focused Called the “Access More” campaign, nomination by the European Organi- global presence. The merger has also initiatives, including the expansion of this strategic initiative offers more than zation for Sustainable Development to increased our capacity for more green our waste recycling initiative, through banking. We derive immense satisfac- undergo the process of implementing investment and to expand the social which we achieved a 5.5% increase in the tion in the positive impacts that our the holistic sustainability standards of benefits that we provide to our host amount of waste recycled. To improve financing and various sustainability initia- the Sustainability Standards Certifica- communities. In 2019, we made fur- our waste management system, we also tives have made. We are living up to our tion Initiative (SSCI), administered by the ther investments in alternative energy, launched the Paper to Pencil recycling role as a responsible corporate citizen, International Council of Sustainability bringing the total number of our so- initiative to convert Access Bank’s and continuously asserting our sustainability Standards of the EOSD. Access Bank lar-powered ATMs to 605. We continued Diamond Bank’s branded paper waste leadership in the financial sector, and became the first commercial bank in our interventions in the health sector, to pencils for schools. The review of our moving on to attain our vision to become Africa to sign up to the global initiative. making investments and supporting early shut-down policy and the use of the world’s most respected African bank. The standards were developed for val- programmes aimed at reducing the alternative energy sources in more of our ue-driven financial institutions that can epidemics of HIV/AIDS, malaria, kidney branches enabled us to achieve a 33.6% 2019 was indeed a notable year. We

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achieved a significant milestone in the development of the Nigerian green We will not relent in our efforts towards investing in climate finance market when we launched the change mitigation and adaptation, financial inclusion and the first green bond in Africa to be certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative. We listed development of communities where we operate. the N15 billion green bond on both the “ FMDQ Securities Exchange and on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, and subse- quently cross-listed it on the Luxem- ” Transaction of the Year (Oil and Gas), impressive performances to a responsi- with key stakeholders to ensure that bourg Stock Exchange. The Access Bank and Most Sustainable Transaction of ble and innovative approach to creating we make enormous progress towards green bond has made material contribu- the Year (Agriculture). We also went on excellent customer experience. The achieving the SDGs in Nigeria and across tion to addressing climate change and to win Best Company in Sustainability Bank and our committed workforce are Africa. providing institutional investors with a Reporting, Best Corporate Communi- well positioned to deliver on our promise means of accessing sustainable invest- Mr. Herbert Wigwe cation Team, Best Company in Climate to offer more than banking to our cus- ments using a familiar, low-risk vehicle. MD/CEO, Access Bank Action, the Best Company in Partnership tomers and indeed, all our employees. This and other sustainability efforts for Development, Most Socially Respon- On behalf of the Board of Directors of earned us several awards such as the sible Company of the Year at the 2019 Access Bank and all our staff, I would World Finance award for the Most Sus- Sustainability Enterprise and Responsi- like to thank all our stakeholders for all tainable Bank in Nigeria. The Bank also bility Awards. your support and I pledge to be com- garnered several awards at the Central Having recognized the disruptions that mitted in ensuring that Access Bank’s Bank of Nigeria’s Sustainability Awards, are underway in every industry, especially performance in the coming years exceed including Sustainable Bank of the Year, in banking and finance, Access Bank has all expectations. We will continue to Excellence in Women Economic Empow- prioritised innovation and technology strengthen our local and international erment, Most Sustainable Transaction to optimise our processes. We owe our partnerships, while forging new ones of the Year (Power), Most Sustainable  17  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Unveiling More Opportunities

The world is facing unprecedented fight against climate change all require the challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic commitment of financial institutions who threatens to jeopardize economic and must not relent. The SDGs, also known social development, thereby wiping out as the 2030 Agenda, is a bold vision that progress that was achieved over the last pledges to ensure a more inclusive world is few decades. The new coronavirus disease, achieved and the dignity of every individual which was first detected in December 2019 is recognised. But achieving this laudable in Wuhan, China, has caused widespread global framework can only be possible disruptions to efforts aimed at eradicating through integrated solutions and combined various diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis efforts. and malaria. Healthcare workers have been Access Bank’s contributions towards diverted to COVID-19 response, while achieving these goals have included efforts to control the spread of the disease forming alliances and working alongside have affected the prevention, diagnosis regulatory authorities, other businesses, and treatment of other health challenges. NGOs and stakeholders in civil society. The pandemic has also created the largest Access Bank has pioneered many innova- disruption to education in history due to tive sustainability initiatives, some of which prolonged school closures. include the the first-ever disability-friendly Financial institutions, especially banks, have inclusion hub. The aim of this initiative is an essential role to play in mitigating the to promote the access of persons with impact of COVID-19 on the prevalence of disabilities to information technology and various disease epidemics, learning and enable them acquire IT skills and opportu- generally ensuring a more inclusive soci- nities. We have also created a digital, toll- ety. Progress on the achievement of the free platform to address gender violence. Sustainable Development Goals and the We have sponsored several projects for  18  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

upcycling of waste and recycling of paper to forts of all our stakeholders on this journey pencils, among many others. during the review period. We look forward to sharing more of our achievements and Our sustainability strategies are designed progress in the years to come. to deliver long-term positive impacts, including reduction in carbon emissions to Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan mitigate global warming and social bene- Head of Sustainability, Access Bank fits that would improve the livelihoods and wellbeing of our customers and people in the communities we serve. Through our drive for excellence and sustainability, we have established a strong culture of innovation, impactful leadership, passion for our customers, and utmost profession- alism among our employees. We have also integrated top-notch risk management practices in all our processes, which are overseen by a robust and effective gover- nance structure.

A key aspect of any organization’s sus- tainability strategy is reporting. Our annual sustainability report exemplifies our compliance with this responsible business practice. The 2019 Sustainability Report conveys the results of the collaborative ef-

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The Issues That Matter

Our materiality process identifies the issues that are important to our stakeholders and those that are imperative to achieving our business goals. Through our continuous stakeholder engagements, we zero in on these crucial issues and we are continually improving on these topics.

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Materiality 9.8 Matrix graph Women Empowerment Economic Presence Human Rights

9.3 Training and Education

Customer data privacy

8.8 Occupational Safety Anti- and Health Corruption Community Investments Diversity and Equal Opportunity 8.3

Financial Inclusion

7.8 Employee Volunteering

Emissions 7.3 Market Presence

Energy, water and resource Supplier Assessment/ 6.8 Responsible Sourcing Non-discrimination/ Equal Opportunity

Procurement Practices

6.3 78 7.5 8 .5 9 9.5 10

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The Access Bank Brand

Access Bank Plc. is a leading full-service what is arguably Africa’s most success- shares were listed on the Nigerian Stock commercial bank operating through a ful banking growth trajectory in the last Exchange on November 18, 1998. The network of more than 600 branches and twelve years. Following its merger with Bank was subsequently migrated to the service outlets, serving over 36 million Diamond Bank in March 2019, Access NSE Premium Board on April 16, 2018. customers across three continents and Bank became Africa’s largest retail bank Following shareholders’ approval 12 countries. The Bank employs 30,000 by customer base. obtained on March 5, 2019, the Bank people in its operations in Nigeria, its As part of its growth strategy, Access merged with the now-defunct Diamond subsidiaries in other Sub-Saharan Afri- Bank has focused on mainstreaming Bank Plc on March 19, 2019, making the can countries, the United Kingdom, and sustainable business practices into its combined entity the largest bank in Ni- United Arab Emirates, and its repre- operations. The Bank has continued to geria by customer base and total assets, sentative offices in China, Lebanon and create shared value for its stakeholders and also the largest bank in Africa by India. by being financially profitable, envi- customer base. Access Bank’s principal Listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange ronmentally responsible and socially business activities include provision of since 1998, Access Bank is a diversified relevant. It is focused on enabling its money market products and services, financial institution that combines a corporate and individual customers to retail banking, granting of loans and strong retail banking franchise with deep achieve their goals. advances, equipment leasing, corporate corporate banking expertise. The Bank finance and foreign exchange opera- is known for its first-rate risk and capital Nature of Ownership and Legal tions. management capabilities. Access Bank Form serves its various markets through four Access Bank was incorporated as a pri- business segments, viz.: Retail, Business, vate limited liability company on February Commercial and Corporate. The Bank 8, 1989; and it commenced business op- has over 900,000 shareholders (includ- erations on May 11, same year. On March ing several Nigerian and international 24, 1998, the Bank was converted into institutional investors) and has enjoyed a public limited liability company and its  22  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

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Our Presence

United Kingdom Branches: 2

Lebanon: Rep. Office: 1 China: Rep Office: 1 Gambia: Branches: 6

India: Sierra Leone: Rep Office: 1 Branches: 4 United Arab Emirates: Rep. Office: 1

Ghana: Rwanda: Branches: 52 Branches: 8

Nigeria: Zambia: Branches: 583 Branches: 8

Democratic Republic of Congo: Branches: 5

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Value-added Statement

Value Added Statement (Group) Value Added Statement (Bank) in thousands of Naira in thousands of Naira GROUP GROUP BANK BANK December 2019 December 2018 December 2019 December 2018 % % % % Gross earnings 666,753,600 253,024,189 Gross earnings 576,347,839 212,678,259 Interest expense Interest expense Foreign (51,896,854) (14,760,897) Foreign (54,084,352) (15,299,255) Local (161,899,034) {63,553,557) Local (139,845,670) {55,220,246) 452,957,713 174,709,735 382,417,818 142,158,757 Net impairment (loss) of financial assets (21,570,098) (7,644,688) Net impairment (loss) of financial assets (22,694,279) (7,236,191) Net impairment loss on other financial assets 1,380,705 304,482 Net impairment loss on other financial assets 1,638,801 397,828 Bought-in-materials and services Bought-in-materials and services Foreign (4,615,091) (5,077,790) Foreign (4,615,091) (5,077,790) Local (163,158,795) (59,249,705) Local (146,744,603) (48,940,280) Value added 264,994,436 103,042,034 Value added 210,002,646 81,302,323 Distribution of Value Added Distribution of Value Added To Employees: To Employees: Employees costs 76,964,138 29% 26,085,304 25% Employees costs 60,712,847 29% 18,274,247 25% To Government: To Government: Government as taxes 17,868,920 7% 6,217,565 6% Government as taxes 9,097,722 4% 3,149,910 8% To providers of finance To providers of finance Interest on borrowings 46,944,180 18% 23,075,095 22% Interest on borrowings 45,521,346 22% 23,022,521 28% Dividend to shareholders 17,772,613 7% 11,571,189 11% Dividend to shareholders 17,772,613 8% 11,571,189 11% Retained in business: Retained in business: For replacement of property and equipment and intangible assets 25.707.536 10% 8,038,893 8% For replacement of property and equipment and intangible assets 21,101,674 10% 6,780,344 7% For replacement of equipment on lease - 0% - 0% For replacement of equipment on lease - 0% 1,017,137 1% Retained profit (including statutory and regulatory risk reserves 79,737,046 30% 28,053,989 27% Retained profit (including statutory and regulatory risk reserves 55,796,442 27%% 17,486,975 20% 264,994,436 100% 103,042,034 100% 210,022,646 100% 81,302,323 100%

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Business Model

Commercial Banking Division Merging Capabilities for strategies that have catalysed the Bank’s Sustainable Growth transformation. The CBD has been Access Bank began its journey to instrumental in creating the ‘more than become one of the leading financial banking’ experience that has become institutions in Africa nearly two decades Access Bank’s brand identity. ago. Over this period, the Bank has suc- The division is represented across all cessfully transformed through organic critical locations in the six geopolitical and inorganic strategies to become a zones of Nigeria where the Bank serves financial powerhouse that is making two broad market segments, viz.: enormous positive impacts in society. To become Africa’s gateway to the world, z Private sector businesses, con- the Bank leveraged the best parts of two sisting of local and foreign-owned erstwhile respectable Nigerian financial institutions that are operating in institutions to create one formidable en- various market segments with a tity with a clear vision to be “the world’s minimum annual business turnover most respected African bank” of N5 billion.

The Commercial Banking Division (CBD) z Public sector institutions at the is a subset of the Wholesale Banking federal, state and local government Group. It remains a major pillar of the levels (including ministries, depart- Bank’s success and a driving force for the ments and agencies) and govern- achievement of the Bank’s goals and ob- ment-affiliated businesses. jectives. The division has, over the years, These customers are managed through a played a pivotal role in pioneering new tested and sustainable structure that in-  26  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

corporates the core competencies of the In addition to the above core segments, very instrumental in this instance. To provide synergies for our customers’ workforce in the division, which comprises the division has, through the German global transactions, we have a system of Furthermore, the CBD’s initiative to pio- 80 teams, 26 zones and 5 Groups led by and Chinese Desks, expanded its reach utilising our international affiliations (The neer a branch at Igbesa has enabled the Relationship Managers, Zonal Heads and across Chinese and German-owned and Access Bank UK and Dubai subsidiaries), Bank to harness the full potential of the Group Heads, respectively. The goal is to managed businesses. The strong partner- representative offices (in Lebanon, India Chinese community located in various free deliver a unique experience at each service ship with the Deutsche Investitions- und and China) and our Pan-African subsidiar- trade zones across the area. touchpoint across the country. Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) has been ies (Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia). The Commercial Banking Division has, through the one-bank initiative, expanded GENERAL Core business the Bank’s international business foot- COMMERCE sectors and locations MANUFACTURING (TRADING) prints. This gives us a holistic view of our customers’ business transactions as we are better positioned to facilitate those transactions.

To further enhance the division’s business NORTH in line with international best practice, the Client Service Team (CST) model was ABUJA strategically adopted in 2019 with the

WEST Lagos Commercial Banking team used as a test case. This model is built around CONSTRUCTION LAGOS HOSPITALITY & (CONTRACTORS) LIFESTYLE a customer’s entire value chain with a SOUTH specialized Global Transaction Banking Team to provide value-added offerings at all critical touchpoints for the customer. The strategy was very successful, leading

HOSPITAL to a growth in market share for an existing AGRICULTURE PUBLIC business, helping to create new relation- SECTOR ships and generating higher revenues.

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Consequently, it was replicated across the expertise to proffer tailored and cost-ef- Our People strategy. They consist of young, vibrant, Bank, including in other CBD locations. fective solutions to meet the demands of In the Commercial Banking Division, our empowered and customer-centric our clients, both in local and foreign trades. strongest asset is our “people.” These professionals. They are armed with a Given the requirements of our diverse Overall, we provide support in internation- are dedicated and highly qualified Access relentless drive to pursue and achieve clientele for in-depth multi-industry al trade, treasury, trading products, bid Bank staff who embody the Bank’s core the Bank’s objectives, while also meeting knowledge and consistent innovation finance, as well as unique solutions as may values and have consistently been at their personal career goals. to navigate the fast-changing business be required by our clients. the vanguard of executing its winning landscape, our CBD teams have the The long-term growth and success of the division and by extension the Bank depend on our ability to attract and retain the right people. Our knack for CONTRACTOR ASIAN identifying talent and engaging peo- EXPERT FOCUSED ple solely based on merit ensures that we always have the right people. The Bank also provides upskilling and career z Accelerated Transaction Flow z Structured Finance growth opportunities for its people. z Bespoke Financial Services z Customised Solutions The Access Bank merger with Diamond z Sectorial Champions Bank has also made the team more z Specialised Lending Schemes z Robust Payment Systems diverse, and with deeper expertise. This z E-commerce and Digital is evident in the ever-increasing contri- Solutions z Differientiated Products bution of the CDB to the achievement of z Synchronized Collections the Bank’s strategic goals.. Platform LIFESTYLE GOVERNMENT z International Alliances INDUSTRY PARTNER SPECIALIST Our Corporate Social Responsibility Being a key division of Access Bank, the CBD’s operations are aligned with the sustainability strategy of the Bank. The division is a strong advocate for our sustainability initiatives. In 2019, the division was at the forefront of financing

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businesses that meet the sustainability would involve building more competen- criteria set by the bank. It also pre-qual- cies across all the cadres of staff within ified the environment-friendly projects the division and delivering cutting-edge that accessed the funds raised from the innovative products and solutions for our bank’s green bond. clients.

A large focus of our CSR efforts over The Division, in alignment with the Bank’s the past decade has been on health and overall strategic intent and aspiration, education. For instance, we partnered aspires to rank number 1 position within with PG Healthcare to carry out a free the commercial banking business seg- maternity healthcare screening exercise ment in the Nigerian Banking industry. for malaria and blood sugar. This provid- We will continue to build deep sector ed an opportunity for a lot of people to expertise in priority industries, enhance be tested and receive treatment to avert our customer-centric engagements potential complications. We are currently structure in our quest to create values focusing on education and have em- for all stakeholders, build competencies barked on a project to remodel the Ipa- amongst all cadres of staff within the di- kodo Junior Grammar School in Lagos vision, leveraging our strong service level to provide a better learning environment agreements with our customers and for over 2,000 students. deliver cutting-edge innovative prod- ucts and solutions for our clients using Looking Forward an encompassing risk management The Commercial Banking Division of Ac- framework. cess Bank aspires to rank as the number 1 in the commercial banking business Our role to ensure Access Bank be- segment of the Nigerian banking indus- comes the World’s most respected try. African Bank is pivoted to our passion and drive for success. We will continue to deepen our exper- tise in priority industries to grow our business and increase our impact. This

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Business Banking z Hotels z Professional firms Division z Transportation & Logistics

Our Value Proposition Our Products and Programmes: The Business Banking Division provides As partners to our SME customers, we bespoke financial products and services to understand that our success is tied to the customers whom we refer to as “prestige individual success of each of our custom- customers.” These are customers with an- ers. Therefore, our array of products and nual turnovers of up to N5 billion. The division programmes are tailored to suit the spe- is also strongly committed to the growth cific needs of the 15 focus SME sectors. In and expansion of small and medium scale addition to meeting the financial needs of our enterprises (SMEs), particularly through the customers, we offer: provision of loan capital and unique busi- ness support solutions. The solutions are z Tailored financial advisory services developed to suit specific market segments, z Capacity building opportunities including women-led businesses. z Business networking hubs z Timely market information We serve 15 key sectors, tagged ‘Centres of z Flexibility Excellence”, namely: Instant Business Loan z Advertising With the growth of our business, we antici- z Agency Banking pate an increasing need for credit facilities to z Educational Institutions support our customers’ businesses. The In- z Importers & Exporters stant Business Loan is a Digital Product that z Healthcare Organizations seeks to provide instant funding primarily for z Travel Agencies SMEs to enable them to meet their short- z Construction Companies term funding requirements. z Traders z Faith-based Organizations Periodic Webinar Series z Entertainment Industries The webinar series is an interactive event z Manufacturing Industries that is hosted on Microsoft Teams for the z Microfinance Banks benefit of customers in different business  30  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

sectors. The online conferences focus on Other Products different topics every month, ranging from Our other products include the Platinum financial management to skills development Credit Card, which provides traders with and macroeconomic forecasts, among access to instant credit; Diamond Business others. The events usually have in attendance Advantage (DBA) account; SME Gold Current professionals from within and outside the Account; and the MPower Biz Account. These Bank who provide insights on the topics being accounts are cost-effective accounts with discussed. During the webinars, customers various cost-saving benefits to the custom- get to ask questions and receive answers. ers. Other benefits beyond banking services include access to newsletters, training, we- Facility Upgrade Support Scheme (FUSS) binars, workshops and business clinics. Our This is a loan product designed for schools, unique products and services for SMEs put us businesses in the hospitality sector, and in a position to be the preferred SME growth healthcare providers to finance renovation/ partner in the Nigerian banking industry. upgrade of their facilities or to purchase equipment. Strategic Partnerships

Partnerships with top tier Business The CBN Creative Industry Financing Development Service Providers (BDSPs) Initiative We partnered with top BDSPs in Nigeria to The N22.9 billion intervention fund provided help our customers develop their business by the CBN is for businesses in the creative plans at discounted rates. The business plan industry (those involved in movies, music, is a prerequisite for accessing all our inter- fashion and information technology). The vention funds. These partnerships were the facility for the industry is available at an reason for the successful disbursement of interest rate of 9% per annum (p.a.) and a intervention funds to Access bank custom- repayment period of up to 10 years. This fund ers as they ensured a reduced turnaround is the cheapest in the industry and is targeted time for the development of standardised towards stimulating and supporting the business plans. creative industry. We successfully disbursed over N1.2 billion loans under the initiative as of 2019.

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Training and invest for the future. Emerging Businesses through our award-winning W Power We conducted quarterly training and Loan for women, which is significantly Our retail offerings were redesigned to The Emerging Business segment, which assessment of the workforce in the discounted below prevailing market enable clients to achieve more as they caters to micro, small and medium en- Business Banking Division on the prod- lending rates. seek to actualize their financial goals terprises (MSMEs), is an enhancement ucts and services available to customers. and lifestyle aspirations. So, whether to our retail business model following Our support for over 700 healthcare These trainings armed the staff with the they are individuals with simple banking the merger with Diamond Bank. businesses, amounting to N7 billion much-needed information to be able to needs, affluent and ultra-high-net- During the year, we designed specialized ($19.5 million) in financing, earned us offer tailor-made products and services worth individuals looking to manage their offerings for MSMEs and used best-in- recognition as the ‘Outstanding Health- to the different classes of customers. financial assets, or emerging businesses, class MSME-specific credit assessment care SME Friendly Financial Institution Personal Banking our customers are now able to access a methods. By deploying an innovative of the Year’ at the Nigerian Healthcare broader range of products and services Excellence Awards (NHEA). Despite market uncertainties, we made lending method known as the cashflow that have been designed to meet their a strong start to the year by accelerating lending methodology, we were able to Our business clients also benefited needs and reflect requirements. our growth by virtue of our merger with lend to MSMEs based on good credit from MSME clinics, capacity-building Diamond Bank. This strategic action The revamped retail business now reports and proper bookkeeping. programmes, networking opportunities marked the rebirth and reinforcement of serves clients in highly diverse segments Leveraging the scale of our revamped and discount offerings, plus access to Access Bank’s retail business. such as the unbanked and underbanked, retail business, we supported economic market solutions and visibility plat- children, youth, women, seniors, em- forms such as Ebony Life TV. We The combination of the capabilities, spe- growth in 2019 by helping more ployees, high-net-worth individuals, as recorded a 600% increase in the cializations and product portfolios of the than 11,000 thriving enterpris- well as emerging businesses. We have reach of our capacity-building two entities has enhanced our service es grow and create more jobs also emerged with an expanded network programmes to 24,000 bene- delivery and offered greater benefits to through access to finance, of over 20,000 touchpoints, including ficiaries in 2019, up from 4,000 our customers. providing over N22 billion ($61 branches, ATMs and bank agents. million) in loans to MSMEs. More beneficiaries in 2018. As a result, we emerged in 2019 as the As we continue to consolidate the gains than a third of the benefi- largest retail bank in Africa. In terms of the merger, we understand the urgent ciaries of this lending of customer base and assets, we are need to prioritise business innovation to were women-led/ also now the largest bank in Nigeria. meet the needs of our growing clientele. owned MSMEs. More than 36 million clients trust us to This group of manage their finances, facilitate their beneficiaries ac- transactions, and support them to save cessed financing  33  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Private Banking We were able to support more clients in Business Development Group Corporate and Investment Our Private Banking business is reputed achieving their financial and lifestyle goals, Banking Agency Banking for providing distinct services and person- whilst deepening financial inclusion initia- The Agency Banking business enabled Oil & Gas Group alized customer experience to high-net- tives across the country. us to increase our retail service foot- The Oil & Gas Group has sustained its worth clients. DiamondXtra Product and Xclusive prints and take banking services to standing as a market leader in the energy The business serves affluent individuals Plus Proposition customers in their communities. finance sector over the past decade. The by identifying and focusing on their wealth group’s operating model is anchored on The DiamondXtra innovative savings solution, With our increased capabilities and management needs. The offerings under a client-centric, innovative and technol- which features a prize draw aimed at deliver- expertise achieved subsequent to the Private Banking range from basic banking ogy-driven approach, which ties into the ing life-changing experiences for customers, merger, more people who were previ- products and lifestyle services to sophis- Bank’s overall strategic objective in the entered its 11th year in 2019. It’s one of the ously financially excluded are now able to ticated financing instruments, making us oil and gas industry. The group is staffed most successful deposit products in Nigeria bank with us through over 16,000 agents a one-stop-shop for the banking needs of with very experienced, motivated and and we brought new life to it by making it across Nigeria. Our goal is to increase high-net-worth individuals. competent team members who are more accessible and fully-digital. Through the the number of agents by 35% in 2020. strategically driving the mandate of the During the year, we leveraged the merger digitization of DiamondXtra, anyone across To further advance the financial inclu- Bank. with Diamond Bank to create and deploy the country can now dial *901# to open sion agenda in the country, during the innovative products and services aimed at the account in minutes and start saving and In 2019, the division worked hard to year, we leveraged our partnership with growing the wealth of our Private Banking earning rewards such as salaries for life, rent harness viable opportunities in the the Aliko Dangote Foundation to sign customers. Our clients trust that we will payments and scholarship awards. industry via bespoke financial solutions on 24,000 women. We also partnered anticipate and meet their needs and also and worked hand-in-hand with players During the year, the Xclusive Plus lifestyle with high profile agents to acquire over execute bold strategies that deliver a across the Upstream, Mid-stream and proposition, which provides both local and 500,000+ new customers in the hin- ‘beyond banking’ client experience. Downstream value chain. international premium travel and lifestyle ben- terlands. This intervention has enabled efits, was enhanced to include data bundling more Nigerians to access formal finan- In 2019, the Access Bank Oil & Gas Segments and Propositions and online medical assistance for subscribers. cial services. Group played a leading role in key We grew active customers by 7 million in To further simplify the onboarding process transactions within the energy indus- 2019. This is a reflection of the transforma- and improve service delivery, a Self-Service try, including the debt financing for the tion achieved through the merger and the Onboarding Platform was also introduced landmark Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas continued investments in strategic initiatives to clients and we upgraded a number of our (NLNG) capacity expansion project, to drive growth in key segments, especially lounges across the country. field development financing for indig- children, youth, women and seniors.  34  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

enous integrated oil companies as well Large Conglomerates as alternative capital financing solutions The Large Conglomerates division, focus- for multinational oil companies and their es on a variety of businesses covering food local counterparts. and trade, beverages and personal care, and cement and building materials. The A major development is envisaged in the division has expanded its client base and Nigerian oil and gas downstream sector continues to close high value transactions. when the Dangote Oil Refinery com- Using our Client Service Model (CSM), the mences operations in 2021. Access Bank division has driven significant improve- has proactively commenced engage- ments in the relationships with our clients ments with the various players in the by designing creative ways to meet their sector by developing a financial solution unique requirements. targeted at the entire value chain of the sector. In the interim, the Bank continues By providing end-to-end support, from the to offer a vast array of solutions, ranging importation of raw materials to production from robust payment platforms for the of finished goods, we play a critical role in purchase of products by distributors to our clients’ businesses. We are thoroughly funding options for the importation and committed to seeing our clients succeed distribution of petroleum products. in their enterprises and make positive impacts in the economy. In line with our sustainability strategy, the Oil and Gas Group operates with the In 2019, we developed additional digital highest ethical standards and global best banking platforms to provide alternative practice. As a testament to the perfor- channels to facilitate collections and mance of the division, the Bank secured payment processes. Our structured trade the CBN award for “Most Sustainable solutions, designed in partnership with Transaction in Oil & Gas” for the year international commodity trading compa- 2019. nies, underscore our understanding of our clients’ businesses.

Entering the new decade, our focus

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remains to build and strengthen client in the country, reducing medical tourism relationships, with a view to creating more and bringing quality healthcare closer to shared value for our stakeholders, includ- the masses. This is a demonstration of ing our clients. the Bank’s commitment to driving posi- tive impact by helping to improve health Infrastructure Group outcomes. The infrastructure business is charged with For the transport and logistics sector, the the task of implementing the Bank’s vision Bank developed a secure, convenient and to lead in the financing of Nigeria’s infra- efficient online payment platform to ease structure development. Our aim is to help the stress of obtaining visas from the UAE in closing the significant gaps that exist in by account holders. With our platform, three main areas, namely: power, transport our clients can pay for their visas from the and logistics, and telecommunications. We convenience of their homes or offices understand the importance of infrastruc- without visiting the consulate or designat- ture in these three critical sectors for ed agents. economic growth and development. We are at the forefront of deploying products The Bank is renowned for its partnership and services to facilitate infrastructure with the foremost telecoms infrastruc- development. ture collocation company and the leading telecommunication service provider in the In the healthcare infrastructure seg- country. Our support has helped in improv- ment, we implemented a revolutionary ing telecoms services across the country. healthcare equipment finance solution in conjunction with a foremost original equip- It is our firm belief that these sectors will ment manufacturer (OEM). This solution catalyse economic transformation in Nige- provided an opportunity for local health- ria and Africa. As we did in 2019, and in the care providers to conveniently procure years before, Access Bank will continue to state-of-the-art medical equipment. The deploy resources to support this expected solution is aimed at facilitating the availabil- transformation. ity of capital-intensive medical equipment

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Financial Institutions Group bating Financial Terrorism (AML/CFT) Insurance Advisory Service robust liquidity and customized hedging The Financial Institutions Group at training for all our customers as well as Our clients require a comprehensive solutions. Groups of firms managed by Access Bank has distinguished itself as operators in the capital markets, the in- range of services, including insurance this unit include asset managers, stock- a highly driven group that is focused on surance sector, micro-finance banks and coverage to protect their projects brokers, trustees, and registrars. growing the Bank’s profitability, boosting other key stakeholders. The aim of the against the potential crystallisation of its impact across major sectors and cre- training was to equip our customers with various foreseen and unforeseen risks. Fixed Income Prime Brokerage ating shared value. Its product portfolio knowledge on how to conduct business in In the 2019 financial year, we launched In the reporting year, we packaged is well aligned with the Bank’s sustain- accordance with the AML/CFT laws and the Insurance Compare Application, an over N100 billion in credit lines to our ability goals, thereby ensuring ethical and regulations. Equally important, we aimed online application that allows subscribers customers to partake in capital market environmental standards are maintained to help reduce the financial losses to to compare rates/prices of similar insur- transactions, including taking positions in all its processes and business dealings. society caused by perpetrators of money ance policies from different insurance in specific pre-qualified FGN bonds. laundering and the financing of terrorism. companies. Acting in line with the Sustainable Client Engagements Development Goals, we continue to To maintain our competitive edge in a Correspondent Banking Service We are constantly engaging with our explore new avenues for strategic fast-changing world where new technol- Our Correspondent Banking team part- clients to recognize and understand the multi-stakeholder partnerships, influ- ogies are causing disruptions in various ners with various financial institutions various challenges they are facing in their ence positive market transformation, economic sectors, we have ensured the to initiate, process and conclude trans- businesses and projects we invest in. contribute meaningfully to a prosperous processes of the Financial Institutions actions. In 2019, we acted as agent to The success of Access Bank is intricately and sustainable economy, and provide Group are innovation-driven. support the settlement needs of major linked to the good business perfor- long-term value for our clients. Some of the innovative solutions offered merchant and microfinance banks, in- mance of our clients. Earning the trust of our customers is cen- by the group in 2019 included: cluding over thirty Pension Fund Admin- In 2020 and beyond, we look forward to tral to the effectiveness of our value cre- istrators (PFAs). delivering more impactful solutions to Mortgage Financing ation. In fact, preserving the relationship improve our clients’ performance. We Our mortgage financing team compris- Capital Markets Operating Services between the Bank and our customers is hope to achieve this through close rela- es of highly qualified professionals with Our team of capital market experts what underpins our long-term success. tionships with our clients and designing vast knowledge in the housing finance provides investment management In order to maintain the Bank’s opera- products and services that are aligned market. In 2019, we launched Access services to clients to enable them to tional and ethical standards, in 2019, we with their needs. Mortgage Advantage, a housing finance achieve competitive returns on both collaborated with our regulatory partners product to help bridge the housing gap naira and foreign currency investments. to host an Anti-Money Laundering/Com- in Nigeria. The team’s services include provision of

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Project Structured Finance Group group, in conjunction with other teams, de- The Project Structured Finance (PSF) Group ployed over N50 billion in intervention funds is a dynamic solutions-driven financial advi- to finance eligible projects. Also, an excess of sory, debt arrangement and agency service N7 billion in low-cost funds provided by the provider. The group has been positioned to Development Bank of Nigeria was disbursed support the Bank’s clients by providing a full to support Access Bank’s flagship retail bank- range of tailored financial solutions, leverag- ing programme – the ‘W’ Initiative – to boost ing the expertise of its experienced staff and lending to female-owned SMEs. strong relationships with local and interna- tional financial institutions and professional Treasury Group service firms. Access Bank’s long-term strategy of diver- sifying its business was a key factor for the Collaborating with other Strategic Business Bank’s successful performance in 2019. As a Units and tapping our strategic relationships result, the Bank received meaningful contri- with several Development Finance Insti- butions from its traditional trading practices tutions (DFIs) and Export Credit Agencies as well as from structured products. (ECAs), the group provides medium- to long- term alternative, innovative and sustainable This strategy of diversifying its business funding solutions at very competitive pricing operations led to increased trade volumes in to eligible clients. Illustratively, PSF success- fixed income and foreign exchange transac- fully consummated a EUR69.5 million ECA tions. covered facility to support an iconic real es- Despite the significant headwinds expe- tate and land reclamation project in Nigeria; rienced in the global economy during the raised US$200 million to provide financing year, we deployed our diversified portfolio of support to different businesses involved in product offerings, including forwards, OTC manufacturing, agriculture, agro-processing futures and swaps. , intra-Africa trade, value-added exports, Also, through our suite of tailored fixed power, energy and ICT. income services, including prime brokerage, In line with the CBN’s drive to increase the repurchase agreements (REPO) and other flow of low-cost credit to the real sectors, the yield-enhancing products, we solidified our  38  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

top position as a primary dealer market maker. A key milestone during the year was the recognition of our positive impact in the development of the Nigerian fixed income, currencies and derivatives markets that re- sulted in promoting market liquidity, integrity, and transparency. To this end, we received the Fixed Income Market Liquidity Provider Award for the second consecutive year at the FMDQ Gold Awards.

We were the most active bank with re- gard to cross-border derivative transac- tions, with executed trades of about $4 billion in 2019. The transactions includ- ed total return swaps and repurchase agreements with counterparties such as JP Morgan, Société Générale, Standard Chartered Bank London, ABSA, Standard Bank SA, amongst others.

We aspire to be the market leader in all countries where Access Bank maintains a presence by offering innovative prod- ucts and creating platforms to develop innovative market solutions for our customers, whilst proactively managing risk and capital to deliver sustainable shareholder value.

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Digital Banking increase revenue, improve operation- al efficiency, and protect the Bank’s The Bank’s Digital Strategy information assets. Some of the solu- Innovation has become the fuel for any tions deployed by Access Bank in 2019 company that must thrive in the 21st include: century. This is imperative given the dis- ruption we see across industries where z Access Africa (Creating Africa’s incumbent players are being challenged Payment Gateway): This is a fund by new entrants who are using technolo- transfer product designed to simpli- gy to undercut the market shares of the fy international payments activities incumbents. such as Person-to-Person (P2P), Business-to-Business (B2B), Person Banks are not immune from the disrup- to Business (P2B), Government to tion, hence the need for the incumbents Person (G2P) and any other pay- to recalibrate their strategies in the ment activities/flows. Using our marketplace to avoid being run out of large partner network, Access Bank business. To tackle the ongoing dis- has extended the reach of Access ruption in the banking industry, Access Africa to about 15 countries, includ- Bank launched a 5-year strategy with the ing the UK, France, Germany, China, theme: Being Digitally Led: Becoming Benin, etc. In the reporting year, Africa’s Gateway to the World. 2019 was transaction value stood at over $41 the second year of the digital journey and million from approximately 14,000 we are proud of what we achieved. We transactions. plan to do more over the coming years and provide our customers with the most z Payday Loan: This is an instant innovative services in the industry. credit solution that allows lend- ing against pay day. The loan is The Bank’s Strategic Digital Exploits available on USSD (*901*11#), Access Bank has used advanced tech- QuickBucks, mobile devices, online, nologies to develop innovative solutions etc. The solution was extended to to serve our expanding customer base, over 2 million customers, including  40  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

non-Access Bank customers. The 2019 Disrupt Conference solution also allows customers to On May 16th, 2019, Africa Fintech borrow based on their account turn- Foundry held the second edition of the over. It was extended to Ghana in Disrupt Conference, which was themed 2019. Within the year, Payday Loan Digital Gold Rush: Building a Sustain- disbursed over N63 billion to over 3 able Tech-Economy. The conference million customers. attracted over 13,000 delegates (8,000 onsite and 5,000 online), comprising z WhatsApp Banking: Built on the industry leaders, tech enthusiasts, social media platform, the solu- subject-matter experts, developers, tion allows customers to perform product and project managers, among functions such as account opening, others. The event was the largest tech balance enquiry, request for Payday conference ever held on the African Loan, etc. The solution recorded continent. It featured fireside chats, over 73% increase in transaction masterclasses, demos, exhibitions, and count and an 83% rise in transaction a line-up of start-ups showcasing how value between 2018 and 2019. technology-driven initiatives are being Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF) used to disrupt traditional industries. Africa Fintech Foundry is a Pan-African Masterclasses were held on artificial accelerator, established by Access Bank. intelligence, payments, cybersecurity, The aim of the programme is to find, blockchain and digital transformation. nurture and invest in African start-ups Interactive panel discussions were with a global outlook. The AFF is creating organised on securing seed and growth new opportunities for African startups funding, future of gaming and artificial by facilitating access to capital, markets intelligence, regtech, and disruptive and global partners. Some of the fintech banking. innovators that have benefited from the programme work with the Bank to create more value to our customers.

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Hackathons, Corporates & Tech Hub Africa’s socio-economic challenges. Collaboration The Hackathons bring together multiple Collaborations between partners in the teams of talented developers, designers, African tech ecosystem is key to fos- and problem-solvers over an intense tering innovation on the continent. AFF weekend to develop solutions to specific has become a hub for nurturing innova- challenges. Our last Hackathon was tar- tive solutions for expanding access to geted at developing a loan default pre- financial services in Africa and also for diction model to reduce non-performing attracting funding for fintech start-ups loans (NPL) and an alternative credit on the continent. scoring model driven by the transaction By facilitating the growth of the start-up details and history of all customers. ecosystem in Africa, we are at the fore- front of enabling the technological and The Bank’s Outlook for Digitalization innovative solutions for solving some of in 2020 In the coming year, we plan to do the following:

z Redefine customer experience by focusing on mobile digital products that allow customers to customize products to align with their taste.

z Leverage analytics insights to drive sales, reduce churn and support strategic decision-making.

z Upgrade branches to smart branches.

z Deepen partnerships with the fin- tech ecosystem to develop innova- tive solutions to enable us to serve our customers better.  43  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Access Bank’s Financial Performance and Socio-Economic Benefits Categories of Economic Value 2019 (‘000) Naira Direct Economic Revenues 666,753,600 Values Generated Economic Value Operating cost 253,769,788 Distributed Employees’ wages 76,964,138 and benefit Payment to 17,772,613 providers of capital Payment to 17,868,920 government Charitable 353,912 donations Economic Value Retained 225,118,811

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Corporate Governance

Access Bank’s corporate governance is Group, excluding matters designated the framework that regulates the prac- for the Bank’s general stakeholder’s tices and processes by which the Bank meeting. The Board focuses on matters navigates the external environment related to strategy, policies, corporate and engages with its shareholders in a culture, and organizational structure. transparent and accountable fashion. It It also approves and monitors the risk is a system that guides the creation of framework and appetite of the Group. sustainable long-term value. To achieve Access Bank’s governance framework this, our corporate governance, which is is guided by the Central Bank of Nige- the responsibility of the Board of Direc- ria’s Code of Corporate Governance for tors, ensures that environmental, social Banks and Discount Houses in Nigeria and governance (ESG) considerations (the CBN Code), the Securities Ex- are top priorities in decision-making change Commission Code of Corporate and factored in our operations. This is Governance for Public Companies (the because we understand that our posi- SEC Code), the Financial Reporting tive social and environmental impact will Council’s Nigerian Code of Corporate establish us as a good corporate citizen Governance and the Post-Listing Rules in the communities we serve. Sound of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. These, corporate governance practices, which as well as the Board Charter and the include excellent risk management, Bank’s Memorandum and Articles of underpin our outstanding business Association, collectively provide the performance. foundation for our sound corporate governance. Access Bank’s highest decision-making body is its Board of Directors, which The governance framework enables makes the key decisions concerning the the Board to perform its oversight  45  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

functions on the Bank and its subsidiar- and employees but also our vendors ies, while also ensuring our regulatory and suppliers – is expected to abide by. compliance. Our subsidiaries in differ- Among these principles are non-dis- ent market jurisdictions also align their crimination, equal opportunities, work- governance frameworks with that of the life balance, occupational risk-preven- Bank, in addition to complying with the tion, respect for people, compliance statutory and regulatory requirements with sustainability policies and environ- of their host countries. The Board is mental protection. aware that effective corporate gover- Our whistle-blowing system is designed nance is essential to the sustainable to boost our employees’ confidence growth of the Group. This is why it prior- in reporting any misconduct or irreg- itizes deepening the principles of cor- ularity, including any action that may porate governance across the Group. violate laws or regulations regarding Our corporate behaviour is underpinned labour practices, anti-corruption, hu- by our core values of innovation, excel- man rights, and environmental issues. lence, leadership, passion for custom- Employees can also report any action ers, professionalism and empowered that could potentially cause harm to our employees. business or reputation, or negatively Ethics, Integrity & affect the health, security or safety of Whistleblowing other employees or our customers. Ethical conduct and professionalism are To ensure anonymity in the course fundamental attributes that underlie of using our whistle-blowing system, the corporate culture at Access Bank. we outsourced it to the KPMG ethics Our corporate culture and values are line, which allows internal and external governed by ethical practices, which stakeholders to report unethical activi- are mutually reinforced by our Code of ties affecting our Bank. There is also an Conduct. We have defined organisa- avenue to lodge whistle-blower reports tional principles that everyone – includ- on the Bank’s website. Users can do this ing not only the Board, management by tapping on the Customer Service  46  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

icon and scrolling to the bottom of the programmes on new guidelines and page where complaints and allegations existing processes. We also hold that require the Bank’s urgent attention quarterly training where we emphasize can be lodged anonymously. the importance of whistleblowing and further reiterate our commitment to Whistleblowing reporting is monitored protect whistle-blowers against any act by the Chief Internal Auditor of the of retaliation or intimidation. Any em- Bank and quarterly reports are for- ployee who has suffered any detrimen- warded to the Board Audit Committee. tal action because of a disclosure they This policy has improved the faith/ made according to the provision of the support of our employees/stakehold- policy shall be entitled to compensation ers in bringing suspicious activities and/or reinstatement provided that in or misconduct that can damage the the case of compensation, the employ- reputation of the Bank, or compromise ee’s entitlement shall be computed as its operations, to our notice. It has also if he had attained the maximum age helped to reinforce the integrity and of retirement or had completed the discipline of our staff by discouraging maximum period of service, under his/ workplace misbehaviour. Without a her conditions of service. For other doubt, the whistle-blowing policy has stakeholders, the whistle-blower shall helped to maintain high ethical stan- be adequately compensated. dards amongst our people and further engendered a culture of ethical banking Channels and Procedures for at Access Bank. Whistleblowing To further ensure that the culture of The Bank has provided both internal and whistleblowing is enshrined in the Bank, external whistleblowing channels. we continue to train our new employees on how to address corruption, bribes, Internal Whistleblowing Procedure and conflicts of interest. We have also The internal whistleblowing channels appointed anti-bribery compliance are as follows: officers that coordinate awareness z Formal letter to the Group Manag-  47  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

ing Director, Access Bank Plc or the Head, Internal Audit Investigation, Head, Internal Audit, Access Bank Access Bank Plc., for prompt inves- Plc. tigation.

z Call or text messaging to dedicated z If the concerns affect the Head, phone numbers; 01-2712065 or IP Internal Audit Investigation or Chief 4160 Conduct and Compliance Officer, the Group Managing Director is z Dedicated email address – whis- to be notified. When a director or [email protected] Board member is involved, such z Via Access Bank’s website - concerns shall be directed to the https://www.accessbankplc.com/ Chairman of the Board Audit or Pages/CustomerSupport/Whis- Board Risk Management Commit- tle-Blower.aspx tee.

The Internal Whistleblowing Hotline is The concern(s) shall be presented in the available during working hours on work- following format: days only. However, the email channel z Background of the concerns (with is always available, and the information relevant dates). provided by the whistle-blower shall be kept confidential. z Reason(s) the whistle-blower is particularly concerned about the Where the concerns are received by a situation. member of staff other than the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Where there is no merit in a complaint Officer, Chief Conduct and Compliance by a whistle-blower, but the person Officer or Chief Audit Executive, the -re making such claim acted in good faith, cipient of such report shall be required the Chief Audit Executive shall ensure to: that the person suffers no reprisal. However, when a person makes a report z Immediately pass the concern in bad faith, particularly if it is based to the Chief Audit Executive and knowingly on false or misleading infor-  48  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

mation, a report of the finding should or agents shall not be entitled to have be kept without any disciplinary actions access to such tape recordings, fax against the whistle-blower. This is with- messages or email messages received out prejudice to the fundamental right from whistle-blowers. of the internal whistle-blower to seek These measures are necessary to redress in a court of law. maintain the confidentiality and ano- nymity of the whistle-blowers. Access External Whistleblowing Procedure Bank will only have access to the call The external reporting channel makes sheet memos. use of the KPMG Ethics Lines and facilities. The KPMG Ethics lines and The KPMG Ethics Lines and email: facilities are telephone lines, fax lines, z E-mail: [email protected]. and email address. The telephone lines com are open between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on workdays, while the fax number z Toll-free numbers for calls from and e-mail address are always available MTN numbers only: 0703-000- except during periods of maintenance. 0026; 0703-000-0027

Whether the whistle-blower discloses z Toll-free number for calls from Air- his/her identity, KPMG will not provide tel numbers only: 0708 060 1222; any indication of the whistle-blower’s 0808-822-8888 identity to Access Bank except KPMG z Toll-free number for calls from has a written consent from the whis- 9MOBILE numbers only: 0809 993 tle-blower to provide his/her identity to 6366 Access Bank. Telephone calls generally are recorded, and the information is Anti-Corruption transcribed into a call sheet memo by At Access Bank, we have an Anti-Brib- KPMG for transmission to designated ery and Corruption (ABC) Policy, which representatives of the Bank. Access includes the rules of conduct that must Bank, its officers, staff, representatives be followed by employees. Employees

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are availed the ABC Policy at the begin- to evaluate and critique Management’s ning of each year to re-familiarize them execution of strategy. The Bank’s per- with the contents of the document and formance on Corporate Governance to also have them re-commit to the is continuously being monitored and Bank’s ABC Policy by signing an attes- reported. We carry out quarterly and tation. In 2019, we organized quarterly annual reviews of our compliance with ABC training for our employees and at the CBN Code and the SEC Code and the end of the 4th quarter, 6,222 staff render reports to the regulators. and 4,211 support staff were trained The Board has also established a sys- on ways to recognize and report bribery tem of an independent annual evalua- and corruption incidents. The Bank also tion of its performance, and that of its extended the ABC training to our Board committees and individual directors. of Directors and vendors during the In addition to financial performance, reporting period. A total of 95 vendors the implementation of the Bank’s attended the training held in the year. environmental and social risk manage- We continued to carry out ABC risk ment framework and performance, as assessment to identify vulnerable areas conducted by the Bank’s Environmen- of our business and provide adequate tal and Social Risk Management and mitigants. Sustainability teams, are also periodi- Performance Monitoring, Audit cally assessed and audited. These audit and Evaluation functions are conducted half-yearly by the Bank’s Internal Audit Group, The Board, in the discharge of its over- across all the Bank’s strategic business sight functions, continuously engages units concerned with, and affected by, Management in the planning, definition, environmental and social risk policies. and execution of strategy. Manage- Also, the Bank is committed to an ment’s report on the execution of our external assurance of its environmental defined strategic objectives is a regular and social performance initiatives as feature of Board meetings. This often contained in our Sustainability Report, provides the Board with the opportunity  50  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

internal statements, and policy frame- we subscribe to not only portray us as works. Such external assurance, usually a responsible institution but also help conducted by an independent consul- us ensure that our risk management tant, involves an audit and evaluation of processes conform to best industry our Sustainability-related processes. practice. Some of these principles are:

Risk Management z The Equator Principles (EPs) Access Bank has developed automat- z The International Finance Corpora- ed processes, policies and guidelines tion (IFC) Performance Standard that direct its environmental and social z The United Nations Global Com- risk management, which are hinged on pact sustainability, responsibility and viability. The Bank’s culture of risk management z The United Nations Sustainable as enshrined in its governance policies Development Goals shows that we have a moderate risk ap- z The United Nations Environment petite, and this has enabled us to have Programme Finance Initiative Prin- the lowest non-performing loans in ciples of Responsible Banking Nigeria. We have developed the capaci- z The United Nations Principles for ty to comply with regulatory bodies and Responsible Investment guiding frameworks to ensure that we safeguard investors funding. z The United Nations Women Em- powerment Principles (UNWEPs) Our Environmental and Social Risk Management Policy, which is approved z The Nigerian Sustainable Banking by the Board, guides us in carrying out Principles environmental and social due diligence These principles were applied to over on our obligors and provides the insight 75% of our investments in 2019 as they necessary for us to make informed de- continued to guide our approach to cisions for our clients who seek access environmental and social risk manage- to capital. The various principles that ment.

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Our Approach

Our Corporate environmentally and socially respon- Philosophy sible. Our Vision Innovation z To be the World’s Most Respected Afri- Pioneering new ways of doing can Bank. things, new products and services, new approaches to customers.

Our Mission z Being first, testing the waters and Setting standards for sustainable busi- pushing boundaries. ness practices that unleash the talents z Anticipating and responding quickly of our employees, deliver superior value to market needs with the right to our customers and provide innovative technology, products and services solutions for the markets and communi- to achieve customer objectives. ties we serve. Leadership Our Core Values z Leading by example and leading with Excellence guts. z Surpassing ordinary standards to be z Being first, being the best and the best in all that we do. sometimes being the only one. z Setting standards for what it means z Challenging the status quo. to be exceptional.

z Our approach is not that of excel- Passion for Customers lence at all costs – it is excellence z Doing more than just delivering on all fronts, to enable us deliver excellent customer service. outcomes that are economically,  52  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

z Helping people to clearly understand Our Winning Formula how our products and services work. As a financial institution, Access Bank recognizes its role in promoting responsible z Treating customers fairly. environmental stewardship, stimulating so- z Building long-term relationships cially responsible development and, engaging based on trust, fairness and trans- in fair ethical practices. Our management parency. approach to sustainability is predicated on Professionalism best practices and covers the core areas z Putting our best foot forward in of sustainability: people, planet and ensur- everything we do, especially in ing profits of our business and that of our high-pressure situations. stakeholders. Based on these major areas, we have continued to improve our activities z Consistently bringing the best of in spheres that have positive impacts on our our knowledge and expertise to the triple bottom line that entails financial, social table in all our interactions with our and environmental performance. The areas stakeholders. we have increased our activities to boost our z Setting the highest standards in performance include community investment, work ethics and proper conduct in environmental sustainability, human rights, the way we treat our customers and employment standards, customer satisfac- one another. tion and relations, high impact products and services, and ethical supplier relations. Empowered Employees z Based on shared values and vision. As a global enterprise that is facilitating investment and championing initiatives for z Developing our people to become a more sustainable future, Access Bank is world-class professionals. committed to sustainable banking through z Encouraging a sense of ownership our delivery of value-adding products and at individual levels, whilst fostering services which improves the economic and team spirit and commitment to a social progress of the local communities shared vision.. where we operate. Our business funda-

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mentals are built on a solid foundation and composed of sound ethical principles.

Our People Access Bank has built a repository of human capital given our understanding of the value of human capital for organisational success. Therefore, we do not only nurture, effectively manage and preserve the best talent, we also invest in the wellbeing of our workforce. We constantly encourage and motivate our people to develop themselves to reach their full potential.

We recognize that continual personal im- provement and job satisfaction are important to attracting and retaining talents. Everyone plays a key role in the Bank; we encourage teamwork amongst employees; and we also encourage a commitment to excellent performance and productivity. We provide platforms for nurturing long-term relation- ships with customers. Our culturally diverse staff reflect the richness and uniqueness of the countries we do business in.

Our customers We offer a range of solutions to our customers, from the most basic to the most sophisticated of financial services. We ensure that our customers’ require-  54  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

ments are always met through the most and initiatives that have incrementally cost-effective and convenient methods. cut our carbon emissions. In 2019, we Access Bank has a banking solution to ca- achieved significant energy efficiency in ter to every customer’s need, based on our our buildings and through employee com- skilful management of client relationships. muting. We also designed new innovative We continuously monitor the opinions ways to manage our water and waste. of our customers and their experiences with Access Bank. This enables us to know Conclusion where we can improve our service offer- To maintain our position as the number ings and cultivate customer loyalty towards one bank in the competitive Nigerian Access Bank. market, Access Bank will continue to strengthen our processes and governance Community practices. We will continue to improve Our presence in the communities where banking experience for our customers and we operate is not only for business, but be at the cutting edge of financial services also to support the growth and resilience innovation. We will also expand our global of the people and businesses in the local franchise and strive to become a global communities. We maintain a strong part- payment gateway. We are also commit- nership with local communities by sup- ted to global best practices in social and porting various projects, organizations, and environmental risk management, among events that are focused on making positive other modern sustainability practices. We changes. Our priority areas of support will maintain our leadership in green finance include Health, Education, Sports, Arts, and by introducing more innovative sustainable Environment. finance solutions.

We will continue to deliver shared value for Environment our stakeholders and be dedicated to our At the core of Access Bank’s sustainability financial sustainability. strategy is our commitment to reduce the environmental footprint in all our opera- tions. We have implemented techniques

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Our Approach to Sustainability

As we continue to blaze the trail and across Africa. lead the frontiers of sustainability in our The Sustainability Champions Network, industry, we have further deepened which was created as a form of sustain- our commitment to sustainability and ability fraternity among employees, has embedded it into our business pro- continued to expand. As of 2019, there cesses and practices. Our sustainability were over 1,900 staff members in the vision “to be the Most Sustainable and Network. They actively contributed to- Respected Bank in Africa, financing wards the success of the Bank’s sustain- and facilitating brighter futures for ability programme. all our stakeholders through innova- tive services and best in class opera- As a leader in green investment in our tions”, helps us in building sustainable industry, Access Bank has demonstrated long-term value and guides us in being our commitment to the fight against cli- more responsible and accountable to mate change, and support for financing our stakeholders, including our valued Nigeria’s achievement of the SDGs. customers, our committed employees 2019 Milestones and esteemed shareholders. z We launched the “Access More” Through our wide range of financial campaign, a strategic initiative aimed products and services, we are helping at unleashing more opportunities to individuals, businesses, institutions, and all our stakeholders and offering more governments with funding solutions and than ‘banking’. advisory services to achieve growth. The z We were appointed Africa Consultative vast number of the unbanked population Lead for the UNEP FI Principles for also benefits from our services as we Responsible Banking. foster financial inclusion in Nigeria and  56  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

z We held the first Sustainability Summit, bank’s commitment to offering more convening high-level stakeholders to access to financial inclusion, green discuss best practices and strategies products/services, support for quality for the attainment of the global Sus- education and health services, etc. tainable Development Goals. UNEP FI Appointment z We launched the Paper to Pencil In 2019, Access Bank was appointed recycling initiative, through which old Africa Consultative Lead for the Princi- branding paraphernalia (calendars, dia- ples for Responsible Banking, a common ries, notepads, etc) of Access Bank and framework that guides how banks align Diamond Bank were recycled to pencils their business with the goals of the Paris for schools. Agreement on climate change and the z We launched the first Climate Bonds SDGs. In this role, Access Bank led 6 Initiative (CBI)-certified corporate green other Nigerian banks to become signa- bond in Africa, which was also the first tories to the Principles. The Bank also green bond in Nigeria to be cross-listed organized the Access Bank Sustainability on the Nigerian and Luxembourg stock Summit, which brought together stake- exchanges. holders to increase awareness about the Principles and extract commitment from Access More Campaign the banking sector. Following the successful merger with Diamond Bank in 2019, Access Bank The Access Bank Sustainability launched the Access More campaign, Summit which was designed as a communica- Access Bank hosted key stakeholders tion strategy for the new brand promise: and industry leaders at the Victoria Is- ‘More than Banking’. The message on land head office for its first Sustainability the new brand promise communicated Summit on April 29-30, 2019. The 2-day to our 31 million customers, sharehold- summit, themed “Financing Sustain- ers, 28,000 employees, and the general able Development”, provided a unique public. More than Banking signifies the opportunity for various stakeholders

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to contribute to shaping of the United Nations Environmental Programme Finance Initiative’s Global Principles for Responsible Banking, while discussing sustainability in a broader context.

There was a total of 582 participants at the two-day summit who were representatives from regulatory bod- ies, government institutions, financial institutions, consulting firms, NGOs/civil society organizations, clients and media outlets. The event was well attended by key decision-makers that were all keen to understand the UNEP FI Princi- ples, lend their voices to improve their communities and discuss the role of the financial sector in addressing the current global challenges.

The outcomes from the Summit includ- ed a sustainability training for journalists and media practitioners, and the forma- tion of the Association of Sustainability Bank brand materials into pencils. Other Access Bank Green Bond and the Securities and Exchange Com- Practitioners. A joint statement of com- materials used for recycling were old Recognizing the growing interest of mission in 2018. Other stakeholders in mitment by participants was also issued. newspapers. The pencils were donated environmentally-conscious customers the initiative included Financial Sector to primary and secondary school stu- and stakeholders in sustainable financing Deepening (FSD), National Pension Paper to Pencil Initiative dents. A total of 1,479,850 pencils were solutions, Access Bank organized the Commission (PenCom), Central Bank of This is an initiative that involved the produced in phases, costing a total of first-ever Green Bond Market Develop- Nigeria, Development Bank of Nigeria, recycling of notebooks/paper souvenirs N36,966,250. ment Programme in partnership with Federal Ministry of Environment, and of the old Access Bank and Diamond FMDQ, Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), Federal Ministry of Finance.  58  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Access Bank became the first African reporting of the selected activities uses A total amount of NGN14.623 billion has and photovoltaic supporting assets. The bank to issue a CBI-certified green bond indicators consistent with those recom- been allocated against three eligible green annual impact of the use of proceeds is in Africa, which was launched in March mended by the Handbook and Framework activities. These include a flood defence estimated annually as disclosed below. 2019. The issuance of the N15 billion for Harmonized Impact Report published infrastructure for the Victoria Island axis bond, awarded an Aa- rating by Agusto & by ICMA in June 2019. of Lagos State, a photovoltaic system, Co, is in line with the Bank’s commitment to creating shared value as it seeks to GREENHOUSE EMISSION become “the world’s most sustainable and REDUCTIONS OF respected African bank”. The green bond also aligns with the requirements of the 11,361 Climate Bonds Standard of the CBI and the TCO2EQ/Y – WHICH EQUATES TO Green Bond Principles (GBP) hosted by the APPROXIMATELY TAKING International Capital Market Association 2,394 PASSENGER CARS OFF THE ROAD (ICMA). In alignment with its commitment RENEWABLE ENERGY INSTALLED to sustainable development, Access Bank GENERATION OF RENEWABLE produced a green bond impact report for ENERGY CAPACITY OF its stakeholders, highlighting the use of 23,817 proceeds from the bond and projected MWH/Y THAT CAN POWER 14.31 impacts of its first green bond. OVER 28,000 NIGERIAN HOUSEHOLDS MW The use of proceeds from the bond is con- sistent with the environmental objective and stated eligible activities included in Ac- cess Bank’s Green Bond Framework. Eligible assets have been reviewed and approved by the Green Bond Committee (GBC) of 900 400,000 Access Bank. The selected eligible activities HECTARES BENEFICIARIES have been classified and assessed in line PROTECTED FROM PROTECTED AGAINST FLOODING, EQUIVALENT FLOODING, COMPRISING with the eligibility requirements specified TO 1,260 FOOTBALL 250,000 RESIDENTS AND FIELDS 150,000 COMMUTERS in part B of the CBI standards. The impact

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Asset Portfolio Impact The impact reporting of the selected activities uses impact indicators consistent with those rec- ommended by the Handbook and Framework for Harmonised Impact Report published by ICMA in June 2019. The impact reported is based on ex-ante estimates of expected annual results for a representa- tive year once the eligible project is completed and operating at normal capacity. The reporting is thus not intended to provide actual results achieved in a specific year or reporting period.

Use of Proceeds Physical loca- Amount financed Date of Impact Indicators tion with proceeds from proceeds the bond (NGN) allocation Project A: Victoria Island, 12,845,114,325.79 31/05/2019 • Area resilient against Flood Defence Lagos flooding: 900 hectares • Total number of people benefitting from im- proved resilience against flooding: 400,000 Project B: Lagos Met- 1,674,600,042.00 31/12/2019 • Renewable energy Solar Energy ropolitan area installed capacity: including - Ojo, 13.39MW Magodo, Ikeja, • Renewable energy gen- Ikoyi, Ajah eration: 22,286 MWh/y • GHG emission reduc- tions: 10,631 tCO2eq/y Project C: Enugu, Jos, 103,722,982.85 31/12/2019 • Renewable energy in- Solar Energy Port Harcourt, stalled capacity: 0.92MW Lagos and • Renewable energy gen- Abuja eration: 1,531 MWh/y • GHG emission reduc- tions: 730 tCO2eq/y Project D: N/A N/A N/A • N/A Agriculture (Water management)

Unallocated Green Bond Proceeds The sum of NGN192,413,649.35, excluding interests accrued, is the unallocated green bond proceeds, which have been invested in an interest-bearing money market instrument by the Bond Trustee in line with the Green Bond prospectus.  60  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Our Partnerships and Memberships

Sustainability Standards and tion process. In 2019, the Bank actively to serve on the new Board of the UNGC the Local Network to organise a recep- Certification Initiative participated in all SSCI Council meet- Local Network. As a Board Member, we tion for the CEO and Executive Director The Sustainability Stan- ings held in Karlsruhe, Germany and contributed to the strategic plan to drive of the UNGC. The Bank launched the dard and Certification commenced the implementation of the the objectives and activities for the Local first-ever joint sustainability compen- Initiative (SSCI), driv- standards, which would lead to the Bank Network. Additionally, we continued dium in Nigeria during the event. The en by the European becoming fully SSCI-certified. adhering to the UNGC Principles with compendium documents the Bank’s Organisation for Sustain- sustainability disclosures made to the sustainability initiatives, which are ac- This initiative is currently available only able Development, is a Network. tions taken to advance the achievement to selected network members who have robust set of sustainability standards of the SDGs in Nigeria by 2030. demonstrated their capacity to imple- In October 2019, Access Bank joined designed to make value-driven financial ment the new standards and shown institutions more resilient and profit- evidence of top management commit- able. It enables certified institutions to ment to sustainability. be more innovative, achieve long-term profitability and adapt to a fast-chang- ing world. SSCI provides new opportu- nities for mobilizing funds to finance United Nations Global Compact businesses and projects, thereby (UNGC) creating high social and environmental The UNGC is an initiative of the UN. It impact. was established to encourage business- Access Bank is a member of the Inter- es to implement sustainability principles national Council for SSCI. The Bank is and support UN goals. the first African commercial bank to be As a demonstration of our commitment nominated by the EOSD and its stake- to the world’s largest corporate sustain- holders to undergo the SSCI certifica- ability initiative, Access Bank continued

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Nigerian Sustainable Banking velop the Principles for Responsible Banking. Principles (NSBP) Steering The Principles define the banking industry’s Committee roles and responsibilities in aligning financing The NSBPs were created with the Sustainable Development Goals and to enhance economically the Paris Agreement on climate change. viable, socially equita- Access Bank served as the African Lead for ble and environmentally this process and as a member of the com- sustainable practices in the Nigerian banking munications sub-group, championing con- sector. The NSBP Steering Committee co- sultations and advocacy for the Principles. ordinates industry collaboration toward the We hosted one of the three consultation successful implementation of the NSBPs. sessions in Africa during our inaugural Access We continued in our role as the Chair and Bank Sustainability Summit, which held on Interim Secretariat of the Steering Commit- April 29-30, 2019. During the programme, tee and Sustainability Champions Commit- we received feedback and additional inputs tee throughout 2019. In this capacity, we from all stakeholders. Access Bank became a supported new and existing sustainability Founding Signatory to the Principles, during champions across the banking industry and its launch at the United Nations Global organised educational seminars and training Assembly in September 2019. As part of our that addressed major challenges in the sus- efforts, Access Bank mobilized 6 other Nige- tainability field. rian Banks to join as Founding Signatories of the Principles. United Nations Environmental Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) United Nations Principles The UNEP FI is a collaborative initiative be- for Responsible Investment tween UNEP and the global financial sector. (UNPRI) UNEP FI works with partners to promote sus- In partner- tainability in the financial industry. ship with the UNGC In 2019, Access Bank remained an active and the UNEP FI, the UNPRI is a United member of UNEP FI, participating in several Nations-backed initiative, led by the initiatives. The only West African bank to do investment community to encourage so, Access Bank joined 30 other banks to de-  62  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

responsible environmental, social and In February 2019, NiBUCAA was at the governance (ESG) considerations in Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, to provide making investment decisions. HIV testing and counselling services to at- tendees at the annual sporting event. There The Principles, which provide a roadmap for were about 2,620 beneficiaries of these free a transformation to a sustainable banking services. Also, about 7,183 free male con- industry, aims to guide the role of the banking doms were distributed for safe sex practices. industry in supporting the economic and social transformation of society, and reduce In March 2019, Access Bank supported the the industry’s risks. Coalition’s commemoration of the Zero Discrimination Day by bringing together key Nigeria Business Coalition stakeholders to advocate equal treatment Against AIDS (NiBUCAA) of people living with HIV and raising aware- This is a business membership ness on the need to end stigmatisation and organization that serves discrimination. The event brought together as the voice of the pri- civil society, people living with HIV (PLHIV), vate sector response to journalists, non-governmental organizations HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. The (NGOs) and community-based organizations coalition was formed on (CBOs). ing our commitment to sustainability and sector. 108 financial institutions in 38 countries the resources and proficiencies of the private reporting the impacts of our investments and have adopted the Principles. strategic engagements. We upheld the GRI sector to drive awareness and intervention Global Reporting Initiative Access Bank reviews all prospective project efforts on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the mandate by publishing our comprehensive (GRI) finance transactions for environmental and workplace and society. The GRI is a global sustainability report based on the GRI Stan- social risks in line with the EP as well as the In- non-profit organization dards. Our status as an organizational stake- Access Bank remains co-Chair of NiBU- ternational Finance Corporation’s performance that promotes corporate holder to GRI was also maintained in 2019. CAA, providing support for organizational standards and legislation. Our application sustainability practices programmes and facilitating stakeholder Equator Principles (EP) of the Equator Principles has significantly engagements. In 2019, Access Bank led ef- through reporting. GRI The Equator improved the environmental and social risk forts to galvanize corporate organizations to does this by releasing Principles are management processes in our project finance. join NiBUCAA. To this end, a high-level CEO standards and principles on sustainability a framework We also submitted a report to the Equator event and press conference was organised in reporting. for managing Principles in 2019 in furtherance of our com- Lagos in January, with a focus on contribut- In 2019, Access Bank continued its member- mitment to sustainable project finance. ing to global efforts to eradicate HIV/AIDS. ship of the GRI GOLD Community, reaffirm- environmental and social risks in the financial  63  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

GBCHealth Africa. Access Bank serves as co-Chair, This is a coalition of leading and supporting strategic efforts more than 230 com- of CAMA to eradicate malaria in Ni- panies working geria. We participated at the half-year to improve the members’ meeting and hosted the end health of their workforce and commu- of year members’ meeting to review the nities around the world. Focus areas activities of the year and strategize on include reducing maternal, new-born the targets for 2020. and child mortality, and advancing efforts at combatting HIV, tuberculosis, WeConnect International and malaria. WeConnect is a global In 2019, Access Bank supported GB- non-profit CHealth-led programmes, particularly organization those focused on building knowledge committed to sustainable development and multi-stakeholder collaboration. through women economic empow- We also took part in creating tools that erment. WeConnect is a coalition of support companies’ ability to improve corporate members from over 70 the health and wellness of their work- countries. WeConnect makes an impact force. by encouraging, increasing and promot- ing opportunities for women-owned Corporate Alliance on Malaria in businesses. Africa (CAMA) CAMA is a group Through our strategic partnership with of private sector WeConnect, Access Bank continuously organizations with leverages its alliances, partnerships, and business interests in collaborations with reputable interna- Africa. These organi- tional organizations, to promote women zations pool efforts entrepreneurship across Africa. to combat malaria in sub-Saharan

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World Economic Forum (WEF) The World Eco- nomic Forum (WEF) is an international organization for public-private cooperation. The forum engages some of the foremost world leaders in politics, business, academia and other spheres to discuss key global agendas.

As a member of the forum, Access Bank contributed in addressing regional and industry issues, while also providing up- dates on the Bank’s key initiatives at the global platform.

Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) NCF is dedicated to nature conservation and sustain- able development in Nigeria. In this regard, the Founda- tion leads in promoting envi- ronmental conservation and natural resource management in Nigeria. As a member of the Nigerian Conser- vation Foundation, Access Bank made investments in biodiversity conservation through the Foundation.

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Progress on the workforce. This has helped in fostering creativity and resourcefulness among United Nations our employees. We have a zero tolerance Global Compact for discrimination on the basis of gender, (UNGC) Principles age, race, religion, country of origin, The UN body encourages businesses to disability and sexual orientation in our implement sustainability principles span- recruitment policy. ning the areas of human rights, labour practices, environment, and anti-corrup- Access Bank and the tion. Environment We launched the first-ever green bond Access Bank and Labour in Africa to be certified by the Climate Practices & Human Rights Bonds Initiative. We have made efforts in After becoming a signatory to the UNGC curbing our greenhouse gas emissions. in 2012, Access Bank has since aligned Our efforts include reducing our diesel its business with the UNGC principles. consumption and supplementing our Our sustainability unit collaborates with power supply with solar power at our various representatives of other strate- business locations. We have consolidat- Access Bank and Anti- Progress on UN-WEPs gic business units to examine the imple- ed efforts to reduce our water consump- Corruption The United Nations – Women Em- mentation of labour and human rights tion, reduce our paper use, and reduce Our Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy powerment Principles (UN-WEPs) are practices across the units. We ensure our waste taken to landfill sites. We have includes the rules of conduct that must focused on ensuring the full economic that our vendors/suppliers uphold labour kept our business travels to a minimum be followed by every employee of Access participation of women across all sectors laws and protect human rights in all their by embracing the use of available tech- Bank. Quarterly training sessions are and at all levels of economic activity. operations. This has helped in reducing nology to hold meetings that will other- facilitated for employees to emphasize These principles help in building stronger the risk of our suppliers and vendors wise require the physical presence of its our commitment to the global fight economies, supporting women busi- being involved in environmentally-un- participants. To guarantee compliance by against corruption. In 2018, we invested nesses, establishing more stable and just sustainable and socially-irresponsible our clients and suppliers, we have includ- in an anti-corruption tool developed by a societies, and also improving the quality practices. ed environmental impact assessments third-party. The tool aids us in assessing of life for men and women, families and and audits of prospective projects in a There is a high level of diversity in our anti-corruption risk and showing areas communities. bid to reduce our carbon footprint. that should be improved on.  66  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Access Bank, as a corporate entity, has and we do not underestimate its power Principles Initiatives by Access Bank always placed a priority on respect for to build an inclusive economy. Over the 3 Ensure the health, Our Bank has a strong commitment to health and safety. We remain committed women and empowering them with all years, we have contributed to creating a safety, and well-be- to promoting the wellbeing of all our staff, including female and male employees. they need to succeed in every area, as prosperous economy by making signifi- ing of all female and Our internal health and safety programmes and health maintenance schemes male workers. help to ensure that our employees are in good physical and mental conditions women are a huge part of our stake- cant investment in empowering wom- always. Since 2013, and throughout 2019, the Access Recreation Centre (ARC), holders. We see women empowerment en in our workplace, marketplace, and unrivalled in the industry, has provided our workers with an avenue for boosting as a vital aspect of global sustainability, communities. their work-life balance. The ARC, which comprises a gymnasium, meal rooms, and various relaxation spots, helps to boost wellness and healthy living among Access Bank’s employees. 4 Promote education, Access Bank has an undying commitment to the development, training and ca- Principles Initiatives by Access Bank training, and profes- pacity building of our workers. Indeed, these professional development packages 1 Establish high-level Access Bank is an industry leader on gender equality matters. Leading by exam- sional development are at the disposal of our male and female workers, without discrimination. Also, corporate leadership ple, our Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (GMD/CEO), Herbert for women. having recognized the potential role of women in the future of financing stronger for gender equality. Wigwe, still serves as the Bank’s lead champion on women empowerment and bigger African economies, Access Bank launched several initiatives to further initiatives. Meanwhile, Bolaji Agbaje, the Head, Group Human Resources, and catalyse the professional development, mentoring and grooming of our women Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, Head, Sustainability continue to actively represent employees. These include the Access Women Network, which was launched in the Bank on the international Leadership Group of the UN Women’s Empower- 2013 and the ‘W’ Initiative introduced in 2014. Both initiatives continue to the ment Principles. As a Bank, we also take leadership in collaborative partnerships personal and professional development for women. with other financial sector players who are committed to women empowerment. 5 Implement enter- Owing to our zero-tolerance for discrimination in terms of professional develop- In addition, we serve on the Banker’s Committee’s Sub-committee on Women prise development, ment, the proportion of the Bank’s female workers in top management and on Economic Empowerment in Nigeria. supply chain and the Bank’s Board have risen in the past few years. About 28% of our Board mem- 2 Treat all women and Our programmes and benefit packages are equally made available to both men marketing practices bers are female, having risen from 12% in 2012; and 49% of our employees are men fairly at work – and women. The Bank provides equal remuneration to both men and women that empower also female, having risen from 39% in 2012. Besides, Access Bank also promotes respect and support who work at the same level. We also continue to support female employees women. initiatives for empowering women. We will continue to remain committed to human rights and during pregnancy and after childbirth. The support includes, amongst others, the encouraging the empowerment of female entrepreneurs, through the provision non-discrimination. provisions we make for maternity leaves and more flexible post-childbirth work of value-adding financial products. options. This has put our Bank’s post-parental leave retention rates at about 6 Promote equality Access Bank’s commitment to women empowerment is also evident in our 100%. At Access Bank, we do not discriminate against either men or women; and through commu- community investment initiatives. Access Bank makes every effort to prevent the as a Bank, we are opposed to gender-based harassment. Our whistle-blowing nity initiatives and discrimination and exclusion of girls and women in communities where we donate line remains open to complaints and grievances around gender-based discrim- advocacy. our time and resources through charitable causes and employee volunteering. ination (whether against men or women). This whistle-blowing mechanism also 7 Measure and publicly Access Bank regularly reports to our stakeholders and members of the public significantly helps to deter gender-based abuses in our workplaces. report on progress about all our sustainable development initiatives. These include our communi- to achieve gender cation of progress towards achieving gender equality and women economic em- equality. powerment. We do this primarily through our annual sustainability reports such as this one. Information on the launch of new initiatives are also usually reported through other channels such as our Bank’s quarterly Customer Digests.  67  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Progress on Equator Principles the Bank’s business activities; provid- Following the adoption of the Equator ing support to strategic business units Principles by Access Bank in 2009, the (SBUs) and legal teams from an environ- bank has been conducting Environ- mental advisory perspective; controlling mental and Social Due Diligence on all budget and expenditure for the environ- prospective project finance transactions mental team; and enterprise-wide risk in line with the Equator Principles as well management . as the IFC’s Performance Standards. To demonstrate our commitment to Access Bank has a dedicated Sustain- environmental considerations in project ability and Environmental and Social Risk finance, we are the first financial insti- Management (ESRM) Team. The team is tution in Nigeria to deploy a customized comprised of 14 members of staff, with Sustainable Finance toolkit (developed in requisite skillset and experience, who conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoo- implement the Environmental and Social pers). The toolkit helps us screen proj- Management System (ESMS) procedure ects to identify potential environmental and by extension EP implementation. and social consequences. Market-facing members of staff are trained continu- The Head of Sustainability and Head ously on the business case of embed- of ESRM are responsible for ensuring ding sustainability and E&S Risk man- implementation of environmental and agement into the credit lifecycle of social (E&S) considerations in the customers. This has significantly Bank’s operations in accordance mitigated the impact of environ- with EP global best practices. mental and social risks on our Their other responsibilities balance sheet. Our staff include: training and receive regular training development of staff; through direct en- creating awareness gagement, presen- on environmental tations and internal and social risk that newsletters. may be material to  68  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Access Bank’s Environmental and Social Environmental Screening In line with our procedure, an initial and Social Risk screening exercise is conducted on the Management Policy project by our Account Officer using the Access Bank applies the Equator Bank’s Sustainable Finance toolkit. The Principles for enhanced due diligence toolkit is used to check the project in line on large-scale oil and gas, agriculture, with the Exclusion List as contained in mining and power projects exceeding our ESMS. Upon substantiation that the US$10 million. This requires an assess- project does not fall under our Exclusion ment of the E&S risks associated with List; the project is reviewed. the projects’ assets and the client’s Access Bank requires an Environmental commitment, capacity and track record and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) in managing E&S issues. report (duly prepared by an independent Access Bank’s ESRM procedures com- external consultant) for all projects we well as Projects and Structured Finance that fall within the Bank’s Exclusion List. prise five distinct phases for the man- finance. Valid permits and licenses are Team effectively supervise this process. agement of E&S risks that emerge in our also obtained to ensure that the proj- Monitoring project finance activities. These phases ect is in compliance with local laws and Decision and Documentation The objective of this procedure is to are: regulations. In line with our review and the extent of clearly identify procedures for managing compliance with environmental and social post-loan disbursement compliance z E&S Screening Environmental and Social Risk issues on the project, certain require- against agreed E&S conditions and z E&S Risk Assessment Assessment ments, conditions precedent and subse- timelines. z Decision and Documentation Under this process, the E&S risk issues quent to disbursement as well as affirma- identified in the project are categorised. tive and negative covenants for the project Reporting z Monitoring; and Due diligence visits are conducted, and are incorporated into the facility documen- In line with the Banks adoption of the z Reporting corrective action plans are agreed upon tation. Affirmative covenant entails imple- Equator Principles and being a member and put in place to mitigate all identified mentation of the agreed Environmental of the Equator Principles Financial Insti- E&S risks. Access Bank’s Environmental Management Action Plan; while negative tution, projects are regularly reported in and Social Risk Management Team as covenant entails not financing activities our Equator Principles report as follows.

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Project Financed Total Number of Projects 2 Category A B C Total 2

Sector Mining Infrastructure Oil & Gas 2 Power Others Sub total 2

Region Americas Europe, Middle East & Africa 2 Asia Pacific Sub total 2

Designated Country Designated country Non-designated country 2 Sub total 2

Independent review Yes No 2 Sub-total 2  70  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Alignment with the Principles our sustainability strategy, targets, gov- Principles High-Level Summary of Access Bank’s Progress for Responsible Banking ernance mechanisms and commitment 4 Stakeholders - Proactively and re- A key index of our sustainability strategy is continuous and Access Bank is a founding bank and to transparency. We have highlighted our sponsibly consult, engage and partner consistent engagement with employees, customers, suppliers, signatory to the Principles for Respon- progress against the Principles as shown with relevant stakeholders to achieve shareholders, investors, regulators, communities, civil society below. Assurance of our alignment to society’s goals. organizations, private sector organizations and government. sible Banking, launched in September The aim is to ensure that the strategy aligns with stakeholder 2019. The Principles reinforce Access the Principles is not currently available. expectations. However, our 2019 Sustainability Report Bank’s commitment to the Paris Climate We are also actively involved in several multi-stakeholder initi- Agreement and the SDGs, which inform is subject to limited assurance. atives, including chairing the Boards of Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa and Nigerian Business Coalition Against HIV/ AIDS, as well as being a member of the UNGC Local Network Principles High-Level Summary of Access Bank’s Progress Board, UN Women Empowerment Principles Leadership 1 Alignment - Align business strategy Access Bank’s business strategy strives to be in tune with the Group (Board Advisory Committee), Private Sector Health to be consistent with and contribute needs that are material to our stakeholders based on feed- Alliance of Nigeria, Private Sector Delegation to the Global to society’s goals, as expressed in the back. It is also designed to be consistent with industry trends Fund Board, WeConnect National Advisory Board, Nigeria, SDGs, the Paris Climate Agreement and global best practices. Our strategy is regularly assessed amongst others. and relevant frameworks. to ensure that our performance also shows a positive impact 5 Governance & Target Setting - Imple- The Bank’s sustainability policies and frameworks (e.g. ESRM, on society. ment our commitment to these Princi- Human Rights, HSSE, Employee Volunteering policies) are 2 Impact - Continuously increase our We remain committed to ensuring our products, services and ples by setting public targets relating to designed in line with various sustainability principles. These positive impacts while reducing the activities are designed to accelerate and increase our contribu- our most significant impacts. policies and frameworks are publicly stated and managed by negative impacts resulting from our tion to positive societal impact. Additionally, we also actively a strong governance structure led by the Board, which has activities, products and services. take measures to monitor and minimize our negative social governance oversight for sustainability management. and environmental footprints. 6 Transparency & Accountability - Peri- Access Bank’s business practices are underpinned by a culture 3 Clients & Customers - Work respon- At Access Bank, we place utmost priority on delivering value odically review our implementation of of fairness and transparency. This has been demonstrated sibly with our clients and customers to and innovative solutions to our customers, markets and com- these Principles and be transparent through reporting and regular disclosures as stipulated by the encourage sustainable practices and munities. We believe we have a major role to play in ensuring and accountable for our positive and guiding frameworks, which we are signatory to, and regulatory enable economic activities that create that our customers are committed to adopting and advocating negative impacts and our contribution requirements. Our performance is reported internally to Man- shared prosperity for current and future a culture that creates a sustainable future. to society’s goals. agement and to the Board on a quarterly basis to ensure that generations. the Bank is meeting its sustainability targets.

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Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs Corresponding Projects/Initiatives GOAL 1: No Poverty • Womenpreneur Pitch-a-thon 2019: Provided business grants for women; • Back on Track Programme: Skill acquisition for less privileged women; • Digitalized & Centralized Operations Group in partnership with Web of Hearts Foundation (WHF) provided skills acquisition sessions for vulnera- ble youths and migrants. GOAL 2: Zero Hunger • Lunch Out Campaign: Commemorated World Food Day with school children. GOAL 3: Good Health and • Access Bank Lagos City Marathon: Promoting health through fitness and Well-being exercise; • Abuja Fun Walk: Promoting health awareness through exercise; • World Breastfeeding Week: Encouraged breastfeeding for the healthy development of infants; • W Health Awareness Month: Raised awareness, advocacy and support for health issues that affect Nigerian women; • World Sight Day: Identified individuals with eye defects and provided corrective measures; • Zero Discrimination Day: Provided awareness on HIV stigmatization in Nigeria; • World Malaria Day: Distributed long-lasting insecticide-treated nets and sensitised people on malaria prevention; • Project Agbebi: Focused on reducing maternal and infant mortality in Nigeria; • Cerebral Palsy Awareness: Organised a walk to sensitize the public on the causes, signs and treatment of cerebral palsy. GOAL 4: Quality Education • Access Bank Polo Tournament: Raised $2 million for education; • Code4Impact: Equipped women with digital skills; • Employee Volunteering Activities: Through Adopt-A-School programme and Lunch Out Campaign, the Bank's employees helped to provide infra- structure for schools and scholarships for students. GOAL 5: Gender Equality • Womenpreneur Pitch-a-thon 2019: Provided business grants for women; • Employees earned equal amounts irrespective of gender; Access Women Network promoted personal and professional development among female employees; • Women Banking: Products designed for women; International Women's Day celebration; • Back on Track Programme: Skill acquisition for less privileged women; • International Day of the Girl Child: Promoted the rights of women and girls; • Code4Impact: Equipped women with digital skills.

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SDGs Corresponding Projects/Initiatives SDGs Corresponding Projects/Initiatives GOAL 6: Clean Water and • Employee Volunteer Initiative (Facility Upgrade): Provided portable GOAL 16: Peace, Justice • Love A Child Initiative: Commemorated Valentine’s Day with orphans; Sanitation water access points in Alli Dawodu Primary Health Care Centre. and Strong Institutions • World Day for Street Children: Reintegrated street children into the society. GOAL 7: Affordable and • Added 321 solar-powered ATMs, 58 hybrid-powered branches, solar Clean Energy energy projects funded with the green bond’s proceeds; GOAL 17: Partnerships to We have forged partnerships with public and private sector organisations and • Green Social Entrepreneurship programme: Empowered social entre- Achieve the Goal international organizations with whom we are united by a shared commitment preneurs with clean cookstoves and biofuel. to lead efforts in sustainable development across multi-sector or industry platforms. These organizations include: GOAL 8: Decent Work and • Access Women Network promoted personal and professional develop- Economic Growth ment among female employee; • United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative – Co-Chair • Employees earned equal amounts irrespective of gender; Africa; member, Global Steering Committee • Code4Impact: Equipped women with digital skills. • Board Member, United Nations Global Compact Nigerian Local Net- GOAL 9: Industry, Innova- • Africa Fintech Foundry: Nurturing and facilitating access to capital for work tion and Infrastructure Africa-focused star-ups. • Board Member, Nigerian Business Council on Sustainable Develop- ment (NBCSD) GOAL 10: Reduced In- • Financial inclusion: A vast range of products catered to every cadre of • Chair/Interim Secretariat, Steering Committee, Nigerian Sustainable equality clients; Banking Principles • Women Banking: Products designed to support women; • Member, United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment • Programme for Persons with Disability: Supported persons living with • Member, Nigerian Conservation Foundation disability with access to education. • Co-Chair, Nigerian Business Coalition Against HIV/AIDS • Partner, Convention on Business Integrity GOAL 11: Sustainable Cit- • Flood Defence Project funded with proceeds from the green bond; • Member, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Gold Community ies and Communities • ART X: Showcased and promoted contemporary and modern art to • Member, GBC Health preserve culture; • Co-chair, Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa • AFRIFF: Celebrated the diversity in the Nigerian film industry; • Leadership Group Member, United Nations Women Empowerment • BAFEST: Promoted arts and culture through music and art. Principles GOAL 12: Responsible Con- • Early Shutdown policy; No Paper Initiative; Use of LED lights; Use of • Board Advisory Committee, Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria sumption and Production water efficient taps and flush systems; • Board Member, Nigerian Business Council on Sustainable Develop- ment GOAL 13: Climate Action • Recycling Initiative: Reduced the amount of waste sent to the landfill; • Member, Private Sector Delegation to the Global Fund Board • Added 321 solar-powered ATMs; Flood Defence Project funded funds • Member, WeConnect National Advisory Board, Nigeria. from the green bond; solar energy projects funded with fund from the green bond; • Green Social Entrepreneurship programme: Empowered social entre- preneurs with clean cookstoves and biofuel; • Corporate and Investment Banking GoGreen Project: Planted trees; • Celebrated World Environment Day: Organised Kick Against Air Pollution Programme to campaign against air pollution. GOAL 14: Life Below Water • Recycling Initiative: Reduced the amount of waste sent to the landfill. GOAL 15: Life on Land • Recycling Initiative: Reduced the amount of waste sent to the landfill; • Information and Cyber Security Group organised community clean-up in Kadara community.

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Our Shared Value (Stakeholder Engagement) Stakeholders Access Bank believes that the long-term customers, employees, the local com- egies while simultaneously addressing our business goals. We, together with profitability of our business and corpo- munities where we operate and other societal needs. We periodically and/or our stakeholders, seek ways to achieve rate existence are interdependent on the stakeholders. Ultimately, we subscribe continuously engage our various stake- these goals in mutually beneficial ways. shared value we continue to create, not to the principle of optimizing revenue for holders to gain insights on matters that only for our shareholders but also for our the business through innovative strat- are important to them as they relate to

Our Engagement Process Stakeholder Why we engage Why we are engaged Modes Frequency Shareholders and Investors • To ensure transparency in our disclosure to the investor community • To provide a coherent and adequate response to • Annual and Quarterly Reports • Biennially • To deliver consistent, and timely information on the Bank’s perfor- investor/analyst enquiries • Investor Relations Page on the Bank’s • Annually mance and strategy • To provide corporate access to the Bank’s manage- Website • Biannually ment team • To position the Bank as an innovative company that is in touch with • Quarterly Results, announcement and • Quarterly both domestic and international investors calls • Daily • To ensure the image of the company is maintained at a consistently • Annual General Meetings (AGM) high standard in the investing community • Deal and non-deal roadshows • Investor conferences • Investor and Strategy Days • Investor Newsletter • Annual Factsheet Customers • For customer intimacy, complaint resolution, to pass across finan- • To assess our services • Emails • Daily cial education, and facilitate the co-creation of solutions • To provide us with input that can be used to enhance • SMS • Weekly • To improve customer experience and customer satisfaction our services • In-app messages • Monthly • To ensure we continuously maintain our world-class services • To grow and protect their investment and wealth • Push notifications • Annually • To assess the products and services they need • Contact Center/Phone calls • As required • To receive sound financial advice and financial • Social media education • Focus group sessions • Breakfast sessions/Business forums/ Webinars • Guest Frontline Initiatives  74  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Stakeholder Why we engage Why we are engaged Modes Frequency Employees • To obtain insight from an employee perspective, on how well the • To provide us with information and insights on how • Training and capacity building; • Annually Group is doing on its people management practices to make the work environment more conducive for • Retreats • Quarterly work • To foster collaboration and a sense of belonging • Townhall meetings • Monthly • To make the business practices more effective • To encourage employee wellbeing and health • Employee volunteering • Ongoing • To keep employees connected • To air and resolve challenges and difficulties in performing tasks • Employee satisfaction survey • As the need arises • To drive employee productivity • Inside Access monthly newsletter • To help employees in continuous professional development • Awards and recognition • Emails • Intranet • Happy hours • Executive director’s face-to-face with employees • Human Resources face to-face interac- tions with employees Communities • To create a partnership to drive our CSR and Sustainability agenda • To partner on initiatives that address key social and • Charitable donations and sponsorships • Community Engage- • To create awareness on our CSR and Sustainability commitment environmental issues • Community Engagement through Em- ment is an ongoing and initiatives • To collaborate on initiatives in ways that foster ployee Volunteering process • To garner feedback and obtain input from communities, non-gov- economic, environmental and social good • Community investment and develop- • Engagement is also ernmental agencies/organizations, environmental experts, CSR and • To further the achievement of the Sustainable De- ment initiatives held when required by Stakeholder Sustainability experts velopment Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement • Strategic Partnership with Non-govern- through CSR and Sustainability initiatives mental organizations and multi-lateral agencies Media • To communicate the Bank’s key messages, events and actions to • To get general information on the projects, prod- • Press conferences • Quarterly media en- various stakeholder groups using strategic media platforms ucts, and services of the Bank and create stories • Media Parleys gagements to discuss around them business matters • To promote awareness about the Bank’s products and services, • Coverage of Bank’s events and product especially among customers and investing public • To get constant updates on the different phases of launches • Media parleys for the the integration post-Diamond Bank merger sustenance of the re- • Increasing the credibility of the Bank as a stable and potentially • Interviews lucrative investment target • Getting updates on the Bank’s expansion into new lationship between the • Questionnaires Bank and media houses • Building credibility and brand awareness for the Bank over the long- markets and countries term as well as improving business outcomes by generating new • To get information on the financial results of the • Scheduled meetings to leads using targeted media outlets, to increase visibility to prospects Bank for analysis and deployment to various stake- discuss specific matters holders to enable them to make informed decisions of importance to the Bank

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Stakeholder Why we engage Why we are engaged Modes Frequency Regulators • To maintain open, honest, robust and transparent relationships and • To ensure regulatory compliance • Regulatory consultations • As required to ensure compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements • To promote the soundness and stability of the • Various industry and regulatory forums • To retain our various operating licenses and minimize our operation- domestic banking and financial system, thereby • Meetings between regulators and our al risk contributing to its financial stability Board members

Suppliers • To ensure services and products are in line with international best • Making sure that only third-party vendors that have • As and when required by practices completed all selection procedure are selected for end-users • Benchmarking sustainable business practices as indicated by our service or product delivery • Engagement could be regulatory body • To ensure that due diligence is conducted on all as a result of market • To maintain supply chains that ensure that products and services critical vendors swings needed are not affected by any political or economic headwind • To ensure pricings are regulated • Periodic Vendor/Princi- pal forum • During training organ- ised by the Bank to up- date vendors on current market realities

Issues Raised and Our Response Stakeholders Material Issues raised Our response Shareholders and Investors Strategy Strategy: To grow our footprint in Africa’s trade hubs and global gateway markets by 2022. Following the attainment of one of our key strategic priorities with the Diamond Bank merger, the imminent focus is on growing our retail franchise by leveraging digital technology. This allows the Bank to tap into the financially excluded segment of the market in line with our ambition to become Africa’s payment gateway to the world. Capital Capital: The Group has a well-designed capital management plan to maximize shareholder value. This includes optimiz- ing our capital structure to take advantage of attractive opportunities, even in a downturn. Operational efficiency Operational efficiency: This remains an imperative for the Bank given our size and future growth aspiration. Post-merger, we will intensify our cost-cutting efforts to reflect our aspiration to be more efficient and nimbler by 2022.

Risk management Risk and management: As a bank underpinned by the highest standards of risk management and compliance, we con- tinue to focus on robust risk management practices in line with regulatory requirements as well as global principles and standards as regards risk management. Our success greatly underscores our adherence to ethical behaviour and global standards.

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Stakeholders Material Issues raised Our response Shareholders and Investors Brand value and reputation Brand value and reputation: Access Bank has built a formidable banking brand and a reputation that transcends the local (continued) market, showing resilient and consistent growth even in uncertain times.

Human capital Human capital: The Bank is consistently supported by a highly-skilled, disciplined, ethical and diverse workforce. We are committed to the development of our people, growing a talent pool and training our team to harness their potentials. Sustainability Sustainability: We are an African bank with a global reach and a purpose to drive sustainable economic growth across our continent. Our commitment to sustainable banking is as strong as ever. We take seriously our role as a flag-bearer for re- sponsible business and we continue to work with governments to build awareness and raise standards for the industry. Customers Delayed Service We strengthened our processes to prevent future delays in service delivery. Delivery/Issue Resolution We developed more sustainable resolution mechanisms. We improved efficiency of the Ombudsman process to increase first-time resolution (FTR). Inability to access services, loans, We trained staff across functions to improve service delivery. and applications

Fraud complaints We investigated complaints where required. Employees Resistance to change post-merger The Annual CEO Awards took place in Nigeria and across our subsidiaries in other jurisdictions to recognize and reward employees for various outstanding achievements. The Bank organized a Change Management workshop involving employees in Nigeria and across our subsidiaries. Employee recognition The Head of Group HR and members of the Culture team went on a branch visitation exercise in Nigeria and in our sub- sidiaries abroad to check employee pulses and take note of issues affecting productivity. Employee productivity End-of-year Christmas party was organised to allow employees to bond and have fun after the years’ work. Training, mentorship and leadership programmes were organised by the Access Women Network. Employee welfare The HR facilitated 85 performance management workshops across 36 locations to ensure employees understood the performance management process. An employee rewards and recognition initiative – We C.L.A.P. – was introduced to increase employee engagement so that employees are happy and proud to deliver on the Bank’s promise to offer “more than banking” to both internal and external stakeholders.

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Stakeholders Material Issues raised Our response Communities Empowerment of women and We established the Girl Talk Show to address issues faced by young girls. young girls Back on Track programme was organised to empower women with skills and seed funds. Malaria, and HIV prevalence in com- Advocacy and education programmes were held to bring awareness to people in communities about malaria and HIV munities prevention. Empowerment of non-govern- Capacity building programmes were held to empower NGOs and CSOs with the right skills. mental (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) Empowerment of people living with We established the Digital Inclusion Hub to build the ICT skills of PLWDs. disabilities (PLWD) Media Issues around post-merger integra- We constantly engaged with our customers and other stakeholders, helping them understand that the Bank will continue tion and customer experience as a to invest in technology and innovative products and services to ensure customers enjoy a great experience, and have result of increased customer base access to world-class services. Regulators Fraud, corruption and money laun- We invested in improving our digital infrastructure to ensure that our processes and administrative activities are properly dering monitored. We invested in developing the skills of our employees and partner organizations through trainings on anti-corruption, bribery and money-laundering detection and prevention. Financial sustainability We ensured compliance with regulatory requirements of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Security and Exchange Commis- sion, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Financial Reporting Council and all other relevant regulators. Suppliers Pricing Responses are usually tailored to requirements by the Bank and regulatory body/bodies. Delivery period Health, safety and security mea- sures put in place Service Level Agreement Business continuity Process. Membership and alliance with OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturer) Partnership with international orga- nizations. etc

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Performance Metrics

Our Employees Employee Demography Access Bank Employees 11% 10% South-West 2% North-East Our goal is the continuous development 6% South-South of our employees to become world-class North-West 7% Percentage professionals. Together, we are setting geographical North - Central distribution the standards for exceptional delivery of South-East services, consistently bringing the best of our knowledge and expertise to the 64% table in all interactions and encouraging a 1% sense of ownership at all levels. Our “One People One Culture” is a unique 31% approach that seeks to build a fitting Percentage Under 30 years culture among employees. Our empha- by Age- sis on building the right culture includes group 30-50 years optimizing our employees’ capabilities 0ver 50 years 68% and setting behavioural expectations. We believe this is important in ensuring a profound experience for our customers Male 51% and other stakeholders. This will also at- Female tract new customers and improve loyalty Percentage Male among existing customers. by gender

We are 29,387 employees strong, with 22% of this figure in managerial positions. Female 49%

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Governance Members wage was fourteen times more than

28.60% local minimum wage. All employees, whether full-time or third-party em- ployees of the Bank, underwent training Percentage by Age- and enjoyed all the benefits that were group available, except status for cars, which

30-50 years were only offered to full-time employ-

71.40% 0ver 50 years ees.

Employee Satisfaction 28.60% Every year, we carry out an employee sat- isfaction survey to help us foster engage- Percentage ment and gain insight on how engaged and by gender committed employees are. This survey also

Female helps to obtain insights on our people man- Male agement practices and factors affecting em- 71.40% ployee motivation. The process is managed by Engaged Metrics Inc. and is carried out In 2019, 2% of open roles were filled across the parent company and subsidiaries. internally, 13% of employees assumed new roles and 6.3% of new hires were In 2019, the participation rate across the fresh graduates. The attrition rate was group was 84% of the eligible population 16%, due to the merger with Diamond size of 7,731. This is an increase from 82% Bank. All employees earned the same in 2018. The employee satisfaction index amount by employee category irre- remained constant at 3.5, which is below the spective of gender, and our entry level plan of 4.0. In percentage terms, there was a  80  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

% Participation by Country z Hosting CEO Awards for the first tainable Future’. Importantly, the week 120 time in Sierra Leone. The Rec- aimed to get people’s buy-in on the

100 ognition Competency Index also Bank’s sustainability drive and ensure experienced an increase in satis- their commitment to mainstream- 80 faction level from 71.90 to 77.26% ing sustainability in Nigeria. The SAW

60 2016 because employees believed that programme was held across the Bank’s 2017 2018 they were properly appreciated and subsidiaries from November 18-22, 40 2019 fairly recognized for their efforts, 2019 and in Nigeria from November 20 increasing the confidence employ- 25-29, 2019. ees had that their job responsibili- 0 The week featured the following pro- Nigeria Ghana UK Zambia DR Congo Gambia Sierra ties were relevant and contributed Leone grammes: to the purpose of the organization. slight reduction from 72.6% to 71.5%. This Whilst the Satisfaction Index for Nigeria, z Sustainability workshops for Access is remarkable given the merger between Ghana, DR Congo and Rwanda re- 2019 Sustainability Awareness Week Bank vendors/suppliers. Access Bank and Diamond Bank in March mained constant between 2018 and Access Bank commemorates Sus- z Sustainability workshops and 2019 and the cultural differences that posed 2019, Sierra Leone experienced a rise in tainability Awareness Week (SAW) to masterclasses for staff members a problem to employees. The decrease in satisfaction level from 73.81 to 82.06% promote understanding of sustainability on impact assessments, envi- satisfaction rate is attributable to the fact (3.5 to 4.5). This is attributable to: within the Bank and beyond. SAW is ronmental sustainability, waste that employees had challenges in building z usually a week of activities and engage- The deliberate recruitment strate- management, technology, sustain- networks within the Bank. This is evidenced ments aimed at encouraging staff and gy to grow talent from Entry Level ability communications, community by the percentage of employees who did not customers to get involved in promoting Trainee Programme (ELTP) pipeline. investments, etc. have a good understanding of the Bank’s cul- practices that advance positive environ- z Impact of engagement and vision ture and those who believed that they did not z Employee Volunteering Awareness mental impact and social good. sharing by the Executive Manage- receive constructive feedback or that their Day to raise awareness on the im- ment. The 2019 Sustainability Awareness opinions did not matter. portance of volunteering. Week was themed: ‘Together for a Sus-  81  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

public institutions like the Department to us. Satisfaction Index by Country of State Security, Lagos State Environ- Our HSSE policy is endorsed by our 6 mental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Chief Executive Officer (CEO). It is -re Lagos State Ministry of Health (LSMoH), 5 viewed and updated annually, together Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), La- with all our health and safety standards, 4 gos State Safety Commission, amongst procedures, regulations, and emergen- 3 others, to ensure the wellbeing of all 2016 cy procedures. 2017 our stakeholders. Also, the department 2 2018 In 2019, Access Bank kept its com- 2019 provides key guidelines on how we mitment to ensuring the safety of our 1 can maintain a safe and healthy work stakeholders, including customers environment for maximum productivity. 0 and employees, by improving working Nigeria Ghana UK DR Congo Gambia Sierra Rwanda Zambia At Access Bank, maintaining a safe work Leone procedures, periodically engaging in environment is of utmost importance z Internal and external communica- Occupational Health and Safety tions, for example the email on “20 We recognize that a safe work envi- Ways to Make an Impact Today”, ronment has a direct impact on the video documentary, TV interviews. wellbeing, welfare, attitude to work and efficiency of our employees and stake- z Fun activities such as quizzes, film holders. Our in-house Health, Safety, screening (for instance, Up North – Security and Environment (HSSE) de- a film focused on girl child em- partment guides us on all that relates to powerment), video interviews and compliances, standards, regulations and photo-booth sessions, amongst various health and safety matters. The other activities. department collaborates with relevant government parastatals, private and  82  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

emergency drills, enhancing our safety Our head office operates a clinic with- technologies, and consolidating our in its complex that caters to all health security services. The Bank is intentional challenges of direct and indirect em- about standardising emergency proce- ployees of Access Bank. There are also dures to enable us respond adequately in emergency equipment and vehicle to the event of an emergency. convey cases of emergency that require specialist attention. Also, a dance and All employees of Access Bank undergo a fitness workshop was introduced. This mandatory three-phase training, which involves weekly classes designed to help entails face-on training, train-the-trainer members of staff reduce the effect of (ToT) and e-training. HSSE awareness ergonomic hazards resulting from sitting presentations are done at the School for long hours. of Banking Excellence for entry-level employees during strategic safety cam- In 2019, we obtained the ISO 10007 paigns/events, in one-on-one engage- certification on Configuration Manage- ments, across electronic posters, and in ment for our I.T. unit, as a requirement leaflets. Training sessions are carried out from the Central Bank of Nigeria. We at regular intervals by experts to en- trained over 70% of our staff in health Volunteering and resources during work hours to lighten our employees on various issues and safety practices. We are currently Employee volunteering is an innovative tackle social issues in different local relating to their health. We engage in working to have an H and S policy that way for businesses to invest in their communities. The past year showed quality checks and due diligence on our covers the entire Bank. In preparation for people and local communities. Access the passion and commitment of our food vendors to ensure that the cooking the merger, we ensured that our build- Bank’s employees are guided and ad- employees to community investment environment, sources of food items and ings were well ventilated and that the vised on how to make positive impacts as reflected in the calibre of projects food processing maintain the highest sitting capacities of office rooms were in communities in various focus areas, various employee groups embarked standards of hygiene. not exceeded. including donating their time, skills on.  83  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

In 2019, our employees volunteered a total of 67,867 hours, positively impacting 27,240 lives through over 15 community initiatives across the 6 geo-political zones in Nigeria. Some of the most notable initiatives from the Employee Volunteering Initiative in 2019 are discussed under the Com- munity Investment section.

Training and Development We are interested in the continuous development of our employees. We invest in enhancing employees’ profes- sional skills to aid their career growth. In 2019, we invested over N1.8 billion in employee training and development. Service, Performance Management, ployees learn about different aspects Total hours of training were 667,230 Risk Management, Analytics and Digital of the organization and enhance their (female employees – 326,942.7 hours; Skills-Building programmes and Sus- skills to improve performance. Par- Male employees – 340,287.3 hours), tainability. ticipants were exposed to the diverse with the average hours of training per culture that they would normally not be employee being 79.02 hours. All employees received regular perfor- exposed to. mance reviews in 2019. We also held The training covered the following an employee exchange programme topics: Sales and Relationship Man- across our subsidiaries to help our em- agement, Leadership, Customer  84  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

offer a wide range of solutions to our Access Bank’s Customer Distribution by Gender Customers customers and ensure their require- ments are always met through the most Our customers are the crux of our busi- 80.00% cost-effective and convenient methods. ness. We are pleased to serve them and 66.92% We continuously monitor the opinions be their financial institution of choice. 60.00% of our customers and their experiences From the most basic to the most sophis- with us. ticated of financial services, we have 40.00% 33.08% earned the trust of over thirty-six million z Total number of customers: 36 individuals and corporates across the million plus 20.00% different countries we are operating in. z Total value of customers’ deposits: We provide banking solutions that cater N4.255 trillion 0.00% to our customers’ needs, complement- Male Female ed by a focus on client relationships. We

Customer Distribution by Age Customer Safety and Data Privacy chair ramps are in our branches to ease Customers’ health and safety is a high access for physically challenged custom- 1-15 1.66% priority in Access Bank. Our HSSE ers. policies are integrated in the design of We also have policies in place to protect 16-30 38.01% our buildings and facilities to safeguard our customers’ data and funds. We en- people’s safety at all our locations sure protection of our customers’ funds 31-45 39.75% bank-wide. Our buildings include muster and data against unauthorised access points in case of fire emergencies, first through various ways, including: 46-59 12.81% aids boxes and a hospital ambulance service. Mantrap (metal detector) doors 1. Authentication/authorization of a 60 & Above 7.77% are installed in the branches to separate customer before carrying out any non-secure areas from secure areas and activity on customer’s accounts 0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% prevent unauthorized access. Wheel- 2. Tools provided to block the account

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in the event of fraud/attempt/expo- satisfaction, and quality assurance. This Average Resolution Time sure follows from the fact that Access Bank understands that it is not immune from 16% 15% 3. Fraud escalation available 24/7 via complaints given that some customers 1 day various channels 2-3 days may have challenges with the Bank’s 4-7 days 4. Alerts regarding activities on cus- products and services. 10 days 12% tomers’ accounts A Customer Relationship Management 5. Unrestricted access to authorized (CRM) solution was implemented to persons to relevant accounts facilitate the systematic and order- ly management of complaints. The Issue Resolution platform allows customers to make Access Bank has established platforms their complaints via various channels and track the resolution of issues within and processes for handling customer 57% complaints to drive customer loyalty, defined timelines. Measured improvements after the issues were addressed Top 5 Complaints

11% Security of Mobile App & USSD 2% Failed Transactions POS AND WEB (local) Failed Bill Pay (Mobile) 3% 13% Failed Bill Payment (Mobile) ATM Cash Dispense Error Claim Security of Online Banking 7% 40% Delayed Inward Transfers

Ease of Use of Mobile App 2%

Availability/functionality of Mobile App 6%

18% Satisfaction with ATMs 4%

0% 1% 2% 3% 4% 5% 6% 7% 18%  86  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Financial Inclusion The goal for 2020 is to scale up our digital We continue to expand our products and banking to increase e-wallet acquisition. We services to the underbanked or unbanked in also aim to improve financial literacy. various communities. We have helped our We deepened financial literacy for children customers to become more informed and in the reporting year by providing offline and more financially literate. online learning platforms such as the Access Given our goal to drive financial inclusion, the Bank-MTN mPulse Planet 2019 programme Bank was able to scale up retail banking activ- and a gamification learning platform. These ities in 2019, leveraging its in-house-devel- enabled children to learn about managing oped e-wallet platform and collaborating with money and other financial instruments. telecommunication networks, NGOs, betting During our participation in annual financial companies and other merchants. The impact literacy and children celebrations such as of our efforts generated a 22 million-cus- Global Money Week, Financial Literacy Day, tomer base of wallet accounts. This is a World Savings Day, and Children’s Day, etc., significant increase from 6 million e-wallets in we organised events to bring financial literacy 2018. Also, over 15 million transactions were to thousands of children. carried out on the digital platform, increasing For the youth demographic, members of the channel’s adoption by over 100%, and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) providing a portfolio balance of N7 billion in benefited from accessing device financing 2019, up from N600 million in 2018. and getting priority service in the Bank’s With the wallet account option, we have Entry Level Trainee Programme (ELTP). The been able to conveniently increased financial programme benefited over 21,550 youths services among the unbanked and youth who banked with us during their NYSC segment. Users can sign up by simply dialling programme. We also launched the “Access *901# or *903# to open accounts without the Stars” reality programme in partnership documentation. with Nigerian Breweries Plc. The nationwide competition entailed scouting and showcas- Our e-wallet products are the Access Wallets, ing the best up-and-coming musical talents Access Yello Account, and Access Money. in the country.  87  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Community Investment Initiatives

Over the years, Access Bank has been support- Health ing the growth, development and prosperity of the communities and societies where we oper- Access Bank Lagos City Marathon ate. Through our impact investment, we have Access Bank continued its partnership with helped in mitigating social and environmental the Lagos State Government to host the risks, expended our market share and built 2019 and 2020 editions of the Access Bank goodwill. Our efforts have comprised support Lagos City Marathon. This partnership pro- for various initiatives, projects, organizations motes healthy living by maintaining physical and events that focus on positively impacting fitness and doing exercise. The partnership the communities that we live and operate. also involves providing strategic support to These investment initiatives have empowered the State Government in the area of sports. people in local communities and strengthened The marathon has drawn both local and existing relationships with our partner organi- international attention as the event has zations. been approved by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria and endorsed by the International In this regard, we have invested N9.34 billion in Association of Athletics. The marathon also various corporate social responsibility efforts drew athletes from across the globe with since 2015, working with 793 NGOs across 100,000 athletes participating in the annual 1,316 communities. These initiatives have im- event. pacted 30,075,356 lives. Our CSR priority areas have included Health, Education, Sport, Arts, The 2019 edition of the marathon, themed Environment, Women Empowerment and Social “Define Your Race,” was held on February Welfare. Our notable community investment 2nd, 2019, with athletes participating in programmes in 2019 and 2020 are as follows: 42km and 10km races. Sintayehu Legese won the grand prize of $50,000 for coming first in the 42km race with a finishing time of  88  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

2h:17m:24s, while Joshua Kipkorir and Wil- Eko Atlantic City. HACEY Health Initiative, a liam Yegon finished second and third, winning non-governmental organization that is fo- $40,000 and $30,000, respectively. In the cused on implementing health programmes female category, Meleka Dinke Meserete fin- across Nigeria, also supported in the efforts. ished the 42km race in 2h:47m:38s to win the Counselling and testing were carried out by first prize for the cash amount of $50,000, experienced and trained counsellors and while Alennesh Herpha and Kebena Chala testers, using standard procedures and kits, finished second and third, winning $40,000 and maintaining result confidentiality. Positive and $30,000, respectively. HIV cases were referred to health facilities for The 2020 edition of the marathon was themed management. In 2019, a total of 2,620 people “More Than A Race” and held on February 8th, were counselled and tested, with 8 HIV reactive 2020. David Barmasai Tumo, Debeko Dakamo cases discovered. Also, 7,000 condoms were and Paul Waweru Chege came first, second distributed. Over 1 million people were reached and third, respectively, with finishing time of with HIV prevention messages via online chan- 2h:10m:23s, 2h:10m:55s and 2h:11m:23s, nels and through physical activities. A video thereby breaking the records set in 2018 by documentary on key activities of the testing Abraham Kiprotich. The female category had programme was produced for advocacy and Cherop Sharon Jemutai, Kebene Chala Urisa promotion after the programme. and Rodah Jepkorir Tanui taking the first, In 2020, testing and counselling were ramped second and third positions, respectively, with up and a total of 3,235 people were coun- Cherop finishing the race in 2h:31m:40s. The selled and tested, with 11 HIV reactive cases winners in both the male and female categories discovered, which have since conducted of the 42km race went home with $50,000, further tests and commenced treatment. $40,000 and $30,000 for the first, second and 10,000 condoms were distributed. In total, third positions, respectively. 33,468 people were reached with HIV pre- Access Bank also partnered with the Nige- vention messages. The HIV video documen- rian Business Coalition Against HIV/AIDS tary on the screening had over 10,000 views (NiBUCCA) in both 2019 and 2020 to provide as at mid-2020. 249 new cases of mother- HIV testing and counselling services during to-child transmission were prevented as a the marathon kit collection period at Teslim result of the awareness programme of the Balogun Stadium and on the race day at campaign.  89  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Commemoration of Zero 2019 World Malaria Day 2019 and was co-hosted by GBCHealth Project Agbebi Discrimination Day Access Bank partnered with the Corpo- and HACEY Health Initiative under Project Agbebi was created as a re- Access Bank partnered with NiBUCAA rate Alliance on Malaria in Africa, which the theme, ‘Ready To Beat Malaria’. sponse to the high incidence of maternal and HACEY Health Initiative to com- is a GBCHealth-led initiative, to drive Long-lasting insecticidal-treated nets and child mortalities in South-East Ni- memorate World Zero Discrimination partnerships for malaria control and (LLINs) were distributed to members of geria. High maternal mortality rates and Day on March 8th, 2019 at the Access elimination. The alliance serves as a plat- Ikate Elegushi and Imota Communities new-born deaths have remained a major Bank head office. form for organizations in Africa to form of Lagos State. They were also provided public health concern in Nigeria. Nigeria new partnerships and provide visibility information, communication and edu- accounts for 20% of global maternal The Zero Discrimination Day, which is to malaria control efforts across the cation materials. This initiative had over deaths with a maternal mortality ratio an annual programme, was used as an continent. The 2019 commemoration of 1,000 beneficiaries in 2019 and 1,000 of 8 deaths per 1,000 live births, which advocacy to bring awareness on the World Malaria Day was held on April 25th, insecticide treated nets were distributed. happens to be one of the highest in the rising cases of HIV stigmatization in world. Nigeria. The advocacy seeks to reduce discrimination against people living with Access Bank partnered with HACEY HIV/AIDS and promote a call for action to Health Initiative to implement the mater- change discriminatory laws and practic- nal and child health programme in Ebo- es, which are barriers to access to health nyi State. The programme consisted of and other services. 115 youth and media capacity building sessions for healthcare representatives were empowered to providers and birth attendants, stake- develop content and advocacy tools to holder engagement and distribution of reduce cases of HIV discrimination. sterilized birthing kits.

As a result, a campaign on Twitter and In- Primary health care providers and birth stagram, titled #IPledgeTo was launched attendants were trained to provide better with participants of the event pledging to service delivery, practice proper hygiene, fight against any form of discrimination. prevent infection during pregnancy and delivery, and carry out follow-ups for preg- nant women and new-borns. Information, communication and education tools such as videos, radio messages, fliers and posters were created to disseminate  90  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Physician/Nephrologist (East Africa); Professor Alain G. Assounga, Head, Nephrology Unit, Nelson Mandela Medical School (South Africa); Dr. Ebun Bamgboye, Consultant Physician/ Nephrologist (West Africa).

profit organization focused on creating 180 participants received information awareness and educating the public on on prevention and treatment of kidney kidney disease, prevention and gains disease and medical professionals of early detection of chronic kidney and health facilities were advised to disease and kidney failure. The two screen all patients with diabetes and partners hosted the “Chronic Kidney hypertension to aid the early detection Disease – Stop The Epidemic In Africa” of kidney disease. Dr. Ebun Bamgboye programme on March 12 and 13, 2020. stated that the prevalence of kidney failure in Africa is higher than any The programme featured a conference, other region of the world as Africans which was held on March 12 at Eko are four times more likely to develop life-saving information for safeguarding World Kidney Day Programme Hotel and Suites, and a walk organised kidney issues than their Caucasian the lives of pregnant women. Birthing kits Kidney disease is an increasing global on March 13. The conference and walk counterparts. He also noted that were distributed to the participants and burden, which affects 1 in 10 adults were aimed at raising awareness in kidney disease can be controlled if it is pick-up points for the birthing kits were (about 850 million people) worldwide. Nigeria on kidney disease. The events detected early. established within the communities to It is non-communicable, and it is attracted key stakeholders, including: guarantee access for women and health- projected to become the 5th most First Lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Ibironke The Lagos State Government, care providers. Lastly, there were dialogue common cause of years of life lost Sanwo-Olu; Chairman, Access represented by the First Lady, sessions between primary healthcare pro- (YLL), an indicator that measures Bank Plc, Mrs. Mosun Belo-Olusoga; committed to intensifying awareness on viders and community birth attendants to premature mortality. Ajoritsedere Awosika; Professor the deadly disease among the state’s ease the referral process between them. Mohammed M. Nars Allah, Professor residents and provide other responses. To commemorate World Kidney Day, The community leaders and other mem- and Consultant of Internal Medicine Access Bank partnered with Kidney bers were also engaged and enlightened. and Nephrology, Cairo University (North Foundation for Africa (KFA), a non- Africa); Dr. Esther Getambu, Consultant  91  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Arts ART X Lagos ART X Lagos is an annual internation- al art fair launched in 2016. The fair is designed to showcase the best contem- porary art from the African continent and its diaspora and support emerg- ing talents, while contributing to the fast-growing contemporary art sector in Nigeria. Four editions have been held in partnership with Access Bank since its debut in 2016. The events have drawn the attention of local patrons and a host of international collectors, curators and critics. About 30,000 visitors participated at the event in 2019.

The ART X Prize was launched in 2016 and was renamed in 2019 as Access Bank ART X Prize. The prize provides fi- nancial and mentoring support for com- pelling projects by emerging artists. This is an opportunity that puts the artists on the international stage. Etinosa Yvonne won the 2019 edition of the Prize, claiming a cash prize of N1.5 million and a three-month residency at Gasworks, London, in 2020, and a solo presentation at ART X Lagos in 2020.

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Born in Africa Festival Born in Africa Festival (BAFEST) is an event created to showcase Africa’s talent and creativity in music, film, fashion and art. The festival is aimed at projecting and celebrating the true, unbreakable African spirit. It also seeks to shed a positive light on the richness of African culture. The 2019 edition of the festival had more than 5,000 participants and was themed “More for Culture.”

Short-films, feature-length films and the Accelerate Filmmaker Project (AFMP) films were screened during the festival. Among the projects screened were Black Monday by Adetola Films, Blast by Tosin Ibitoye, Last by Olabisi Akinbinu and Scars by Miriam Dera. The festival ended with a music concert fea- turing Africa’s biggest musical talents.

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AFRICA ISN’T JUST A STORY … of where we’re from. It’s the story of where the world is going to. At Access Bank we are proud to inspire and connect Africa and the world. Experience more than banking with us.

Africa International Film Festival shows and film training classes. (AFRIFF) Access Bank partnered with AFRIFF in The Africa 2019 for its 9th edition, which held on International Film November 10th -16th, to celebrate Festival (AFRIFF) the diversity of African films. The was launched festival has launched a value chain for in 2010 as a writers, cinematographers, actors, and Access Bank Lagos City Marathon Art X BaFest platform to share Access the Stars Access Polo Tournament producers while promoting investment, African culture creating employment opportunities and with the world. It is an annual film festival accessbankplc.com contributing to the economy. that takes place in Nigeria and usually Africa Asia Europe Middle East spans a period of one week, featuring various programmes, including award  94  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Education Access Bank Polo Tournament The Access Bank–UNICEF Charity Shield Polo Tournament is held annually in partnership with Kaduna-based polo team, Fifth Chukker and UNICEF. The aim of the tournament is to raise funds for various community projects in north- ern Nigeria. Since inception, the tournament has raised funds that have been used to com- plete notable projects. Among these projects are well-equipped schools, literacy buildings and community boreholes. The initiative has kept over 8,000 students in continuous education. Access Bank hosted the 2019 edition of the tournament in two phases at two different locations; Kaduna, Nigeria and United King- dom. The first phase, held at the Fifth Chukker Lawns of Kangimi Resort in Kaduna, hosted 18 teams from June 6th-25th, 2019, while the second phase was held at the Guard Polo Club, Windsor, United Kingdom on July 13, 2019. The tournament attracted some of Access Bank’s Premium Banking clients and patrons who contributed in raising a total of $2 million. The amount raised is being directed toward building and equipping 120 new classrooms for children in northern Nigeria over the next three years. The Kaduna State Governor also com- mitted to building another 70 classrooms in the coming year to match the effort of Access Bank and UNICEF. The projects will contribute in educating 2,500 children.  95  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

World Day for Street Children partnered with 9ijakids, a Nigerian Entrepreneurship International Day for Street Children education technology (EduTech) (IDSC) is commemorated on April 12 company, to deliver online financial Beauty Souk annually and it is a day that has been des- literacy and educational gamifica- Access Bank partnered with Eventful, ignated for recognising the humanity, dig- tion modules to children to com- corporate event planner, to host the nity and resilience of millions of children plement other learning activities Beauty Souk programme, which show- around the world who are facing different that some schools were still able cased beauty care product makers. The forms of hardship. The theme for IDSC in to provide remotely. beauty care market is a lucrative field 2019 was “Commit to Equality”. Access that is worth $300 billion in Nigeria and The programme was launched on Bank partnered with Care Trust Initiative has expanded at 8% annually since 2014. April 10th, 2020 and six gamified to provide literacy skills to street children The event held from June 5th-6th, 2019, educational learning modules were in Ogun State. The kids were provided at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos, rolled our weekly on the Access with vocational and basic life skills training. and it was open to everyone. The 2-day Bank website over a twelve-week event created a platform for inves- The event provided the opportunity for period. The learning modules tors, manufacturers and end-users to key stakeholders to hear the street chil- included Kiddiepreneur 101, Solve Access Bank’s Financial Literacy and connect. It also featured a masterclass dren’s stories in order to aid their rehabil- That Problem, Nigerian Facts, Who Wants To Educational Gamification Programme for beauty enthusiasts. Products were itation and reintegration into society. 80 Be A Brainiac, Timmy In Charge, and 9ja Citi- for Children offered to buyers at discounted prices. street children and 31 key stakeholders, zenship Test. The top 5 players on the leader The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic representing community associations, board won exciting prizes and winners were threatened the collective health and physical government agencies, civil societies and announced three times a week. wellbeing of individuals. This led governments religious bodies were present during around the world to put stringent measures These prizes were redeemed through the the stakeholder engagement, which in place to curb the spread of the virus. Access Bank Early Savers account to further was tagged “Stakeholder Children Get Among the compulsory measures were quar- encourage an early savings culture among Together.” antine and lockdowns, which resulted in the children. Over 3,000 children were impacted There was also an awareness programme closure of schools, offices, trading centres, through this programme, which had 180 on Rainbow FM to educate the public on amongst others. winners. This initiative further reinforced the the plight of street children. Over 200 Bank’s commitment to driving financial inclu- To keep children continuously engaged and people were reached through the radio sion and literacy from an early age. educated amid the lockdowns, Access Bank programme.  96  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Empowerment Nigeria — to implement a programme for persons living with disabilities (PLWDs). Civil Society Organization Training The programme was aimed at promot- Access Bank partnered with CSR-in-Action ing sustainable lifestyles for PLWDs and to provide and facilitate a capacity building providing them with life skills training. The workshop for Civil Society Organizations initiative consisted of a capacity building (CSOs). The CSO Professionalism and Ef- session with the Joint National Associa- fectiveness Therapy (C-PET) Workshop was tion of Persons with Disabilities (JONAP- themed ‘Governance and Decision-making’. WD), Lagos Chapter, the production of a CSOs play a vital role in ensuring sustainable training handbook and exercise book, and development in all aspects of life and are im- a short film. portant in all areas of nation-building. Hence, The bank was able to train 58 participants their capacity development is an imperative. in the life skills programme, 19 of whom The training was held at the Access Bank were leaders from the Lagos State Disabil- head office, featuring a training session on ity cluster. There was also an awareness corporate governance and its applications. 60 on the programme across newspapers CSOs benefitted from this programme and and television. The short film also featured case studies on effective behaviours were PWDs as cast members. deployed in decision-making. To this end, Access Bank partnered with Pollution Ambassadors and distribution GIEE Initiative, a non-governmental or- of Information, Education and Commu- Programme for Persons with Environment ganization, to implement a programme nication (IEC) materials. Disabilities World Environment Day aimed at eliminating air pollution in La- The Bank was able to reach over one Access Bank Partnered with Centre for World Environment Day is celebrated an- gos, tagged “Kick Against Air Pollution”. million people via the social media cam- Youth Studies (CYS) — a non-govern- nually on June 5th as designated by the The programme featured a social media paign and over 200,000 people via the mental organization and a social research United Nations (UN) in 1972. It is a day campaign on “Air Pollution Facts, Solu- documentary as well as train 50 Anti-Air services outfit that employs creative for the world to reaffirm its commitment tions and Your Role”, a video documen- Pollution Ambassadors. media to disseminate information on the to the preservation and enhancement of tary showcasing actions taken by young lifestyles, patterns of behaviour, prob- the environment by increasing environ- people to combat air pollution, a capacity lems and realities among young people in mental awareness. building workshop to groom Anti-Air

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Green Social Entrepreneurship awareness that was generated. In terms Programme of its environmental impact, the pro- Access Bank partnered with SME FUNDS, a gramme contributed in eliminating esti- social enterprise which is focused on ending mated 292 tonnes of carbon emissions. poverty by promoting sustainable enterprise development, to introduce the Green Social Family Clean Cooking Support Entrepreneurship Programme (GSEP). Programme Amid the COVID-19 lockdown, which The programme empowered entre- negatively impacted the economy and preneurs with clean cookstoves, which livelihoods of many Nigerians, Access makes use of bio gels made from water Bank partnered with SME Funds to hyacinth, biocremol, caustic soda, fra- provide households across Nigeria with grance and chlorophyll. The aim of the clean cookstoves and biofuels through programme is to enable beneficiaries to the Access Bank Family Clean Cooking replace existing cooking systems that are Support Programme. harmful to health and the environment. 238 social entrepreneurs were fully em- Access Bank, in partnership with SME powered with funds to commence their Funds, distributed over 5,000 litres of clean cookstove business and 7,600 litres biofuels to 2,440 beneficiaries, including of biofuel were produced and 900 small business owners and 2,000 distributed. families and households in 100 communities. As a result of this pro- Based on the volume gramme, 598 households of biofuels distribut- now make use of ed free-of-charge, this cleaner and the programme modern cookstoves contributed in eliminat- across Nigeria. ing estimated 8,000 About 2,100 people tonnes of carbon were reached with emissions. the initiative through the  98  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Partnership with ACT Foundation In 2019, ACT Foundation provided Access Bank has partnered with ACT grants to 28 NGOs who implemented ACT Foundation Beneficiaries Foundation since 2017 to support high programmes that impacted over 91,000 3% impact initiatives in line with the SDGs. lives. The chart below shows the out- 14% Health Investment Initiatives Through this partnership, the bank comes of the 2019 grants. Entrepreneurship Initiatives Environmental Initiatives supports not-for-profit organizations Leadership Initiatives that are focused on making positive 10% impacts in various areas such health, entrepreneurship, leadership and the environment.

73%

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Employee Volunteering Activities

Access Bank’s commitment to support to 2,735,011. During this period, over people in local communities is further 320 strategic initiatives were undertaken demonstrated by the efforts put by across Nigeria’s 6 geo-political zones, our employees into various volunteer with a 100% staff participation rate. activities. Some of the most notable initiatives by the various groups of the Bank in 2019 In 2019, our employees across the are discussed below: different units of Access Bank showed great passion and commitment to var- ious projects they chose to support to Education drive positive impact in different com- Adopt A School Programme munities. The importance of education cannot be overemphasized. Education helps in reduc- Through our Employee Volunteering ing inequalities, promoting law and order, Initiative, Access Bank’s employees can eliminating poverty, promoting women contribute ideas, skills and resources empowerment, improving standards of to address social, environmental and living, among other benefits. economic issues, while being positive role models to people they engage with These multiplier benefits of education in the communities. are the reason several groups of the Bank chose the Adopt A School Programme as Employees devoted 67,867 hours in var- their employee volunteer initiative project. ious community initiatives in 2019, bring- The programme enables a group to “own” a ing the total number of hours invested school and monitor/contribute to its growth in the volunteering initiative since 2015

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they were also taught how to refuse ciaries of this project and the employees advances from sexual predators in their committed a total of 110 hours to it. communities. About 327 students were The Retail Operations Group had adopt- beneficiaries of this awareness pro- ed Community High School, Akodo, Ibeju gramme and employees spent 166 hours Lekki in 2018. So far, they have renovated on this project. the classrooms to make them more The Corporate Operations Group focused conducive for learning and supplied on the infrastructural development of Ogu- furniture and books for the classrooms du Nursery and Primary School, Ogudu, La- and the library to encourage a reading gos, as they renovated the school’s class- culture amongst the students. They rooms, roof structure and windows. Also, were also encouraged to set up a reading the school was equipped with classroom club. The senior employees of the group furniture and fittings, ceiling fans, boards, also provided counselling and career and floor tiles. 210 students were benefi- development sessions for the students. and development over a period oftime. vided classroom furniture and renovated the classrooms and toilets in Ipakodo Grammar In 2019, the Commercial Banking, Corpo- School, Ikorodu, Lagos. Over 2,000 students rate Communications, Corporate Oper- were beneficiaries of this infrastructural ations, Retail Operations, Internal Audit upgrade and employees committed a total Groups, and the Company Secretariat of 816 hours to this project. of the Bank adopted Ipakodo Grammar School, Ikorodu; Community Senior High The Corporate Communications Group School, Surulere; Ogudu Nursery and Pri- employed a two-pronged approach to its mary School, Ogudu; and Community High project in 2019. It focused on renovat- School, Akodo, Ibeju Lekki. ing and revamping infrastructure within Community Senior High School, Surulere The Commercial Banking Group focused on and preventing sexual abuse amongst making their adopted school more condu- students. The students were taught ways cive for learning. For this reason, they pro- to avoid, report and address sexual abuse;  101  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

This project, so far, has benefitted 240 Lunch Out Campaign students, and employees of the group The Human Resource Group partnered have put in 1,231 hours. with the Bethesda Child Support to provide free education for students The Internal Audit Group also partnered in poor communities in primary and with Mushin To The World (MTTW) in secondary schools across Ikota, Matogun 2019 to renovate a block of classrooms and Ijaiye in Lagos. The project was aimed and restrooms each in two government at reducing the number of out-of-school primary schools in Mushin. 1,009 pupils children across the state. The group of Akodu Primary School and Mainland committed 17,480 hours to this project Model Primary School were beneficiaries and over 100 children benefitted from of this project and the group committed scholarships that were handed out by 2,364 hours to the project. the group, including the best graduating The Company Secretariat also committed student who got a 5-year scholarship in 50 hours to provide skills training to the secondary school. Special Centre for Boys, Oregun, a correc- The group also created awareness tional centre. The training was on photog- and raised funds for the Lunch Out raphy and video making Campaign during its celebration of the and editing. World Food Day and International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 16th and 17th, 2019 respectively. The funds were committed to sponsoring the children in the above-mentioned communities.

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Access FINEBS Initiative The Access FINEBS Initiative is an initiative by the Financial Control and Enterprise Business Support Group of the Bank. In 2019, the group employed a two-pronged approach to its employee volunteering project. The Group part- nered with the Human Development Initiative of the Lagos State Ministry of Education and WAPIC Insurance to establish a scholarship fund for students in secondary schools.

The group also conducted an energy au- dit of the Down Syndrome Foundation’s facility in Fagba, Lagos, after which it fit- ted the facility with solar panels and bat- teries. The project removed the need for a diesel generator at the facility, thereby eliminating about 620 tonnes of carbon emissions. It will also eliminate the cost of 11,608 litres of diesel purchased every year. Employees committed 221 hours to this project, which has a positive impact on the 66 inhabitants of the facility.

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z The Channels Group committed 270 of the Afoja Special Education Founda- hours to a mentor-mentee programme tion school building project, which will initiated at the Down Syndrome Foun- benefit over 40 physically challenged dation. The group also beautified the students. Foundation’s environment.

z The Conduct and Compliance Group worked with the Lagos State Ministry of Education, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory to renovate St. Peter’s Nursery and Prima- ry School and equip it with teaching aids.

z The Business Banking Group commit- ted over 3,451 hours to the completion Project L.E.A.D. students in 2019 as the Retail Banking Group Project L.E.A.D. (Leadership. Enterprise. members committed over 18,505 hours of Academic Development) is an initiative of the their time to the project in the reporting year. Retail Banking Group of the Bank. The project is focused on upgrading facilities schools and Science Set Initiative teaching skills to children to enable them to The Information Technology Group of the achieve academic excellence. It’s being carried bank dedicated 449 hours to provide Science out in partnership with Project REVAMP Africa. Sets to 7 selected government secondary schools across Lagos State. This project Under the Project L.E.A.D., the group has ad- has helped to improve access to quality opted public secondary schools across 5 of education for students in public schools by Nigeria’s 6 geo-political zones (South-West, exposing them to science practicals. South-East, South-South, North-East, and North-Central). The students are taught skills Other notable projects carried out by the such as time management, goal setting, and Bank’s employees in the education sector financial literacy. The project impacted 9,450 are listed below  104  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Health Cerebral Palsy Awareness The Global Market Group, in partnership with the Cerebral Palsy Centre, a non-profit organization established in 2010, created awareness on cerebral palsy through a pro- gramme, tagged ‘Hope for Cerebral Palsy’. Educational materials conveying information on the causes, signs and treatment of the disorder, were distributed during the walk.

The group also donated towards equipping the centre’s new facility and hiring caregiv- ers. Employees committed over 200 hours to the project, which directly impacted 35 children.

Facility Upgrade The Service and Innovation Group up- graded Alli Dawodu Primary Health Care Centre. The project aims to improve health care delivery in Alli Dawodu Com- munity, Yaba, Lagos and its environs. The group devoted 3,920 hours to increase the number of clean water access points, provide medical equipment for eye care and general health services, and provide refrigerators and curtains for the health care centre.

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Empowerment mitted over 825 hours to clean up Kadara The Digitalized & Centralized Opera- Community. The group also hosted sex tions Group of the Bank committed over education sessions for about 200 young 20,120 hours to a partnership with Web girls in the community. of Hearts Foundation (WHF) to reach The Corporate and Investment Banking out to vulnerable youths and migrants, Group adopted the GoGreen Project, including victims of insurgency and which was aimed at adopting and planting human trafficking. The project covered trees and greening 5 streets in Victoria skill acquisition sessions focusing on Island, Lekki and Ikeja, creating awareness fashion designing, catering and hair-styl- and providing cleaning outfits for the offi- ing workshops, as well as financial cers of the Lagos State Parks and Garden literacy and customer service training Agency (LASPARK). Employees commit- workshops. The project also provided ted 1087 hours to the project, which not psycho-social support sessions for only beautified the environment but also traumatized victims. Women, youth reduced carbon emissions and improved and children were beneficiaries of this the working conditions of 200 field and project, including 150 displaced persons park workers of LASPARK. at the WHF home and 100 members of the Bogije community. 27 graduates of Social Welfare the WHF shelter received tools such as The Global Transaction Banking Group sewing machines, hair-styling kits, gas committed 1,280 hours to renovate the cookers, cylinders and make-up kits. Bales of Mercy Orphanage in Gbagada and created a playground for the chil- Environment dren. The project was aimed at providing Two of the Bank’s groups embarked on an environment that fosters learning, environment-focused volunteer projects growth, and development of its 13 ben- in some communities in Lagos State. eficiaries. The project successfully im- 35 employees of the Information and proved the living condition and ambience Cybersecurity Group of the Bank com- of the orphanage.

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Gender

At Access Bank, we have created a Women in the workplace that fosters gender diversity Workplace and inclusion at every level of the Bank. We don’t only make gender diversity a Access Women Network (AWN) policy in our recruitment process just To improve gender diversity in the Group, to achieve women representation. We the Access Women Network (AWN) was also ensure our workplace is gender-in- formed to support, develop, promote clusive. We gladly support the growth and retain female employees in the Bank. and empowerment of women, as they Since the signing of the Female Network are an integral part of the growth and Charter in 2010, we have seen a positive success of our business. We have a trend in female representation in the three-pronged approach to our women Bank, especially in our senior leadership empowerment activities: roles, increasing to 34% in 2019. This is a clear indication of Access Bank perform- z Women in the Workplace ing above industry average. The Nigerian z Women in the Marketplace Sustainable Banking Principles stipulates 30% minimum women representation in z Women in the Community senior roles.

AWN supports gender diversity/inclusion in the Bank. AWN provides a support network to all female employees, cham- pioning a gender-inclusive culture that prohibits harassment, supports paternity leave, promotes 6 months maternity leave as well as mentoring and leadership

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staff. The aim of the mentorship programme, World Breastfeeding Week which held on December 11, 2019, was to The aim was to celebrate nursing mothers bridge the knowledge and networking gap in the Bank and to highlight Access Bank as between management staff and top man- an employer of choice. About 30 nursing agement staff. The programme also focused mothers participated in the series of events, on empowering the female Managers and which took place between August 1-7. Free Senior Managers to cascade their learning to parking spaces were reserved for them and their female subordinates. The groups were tips were sent out by the W community on to meet physically every quarter. breastfeeding. 25% discount was offered to all female staff at the Baby Bliss stores AWN Women Talk - Ghana nationwide. FHI 360 also nominated the Bank A talk was organized for the AWN Ghana as “World Breastfeeding Hero in the Private Chapter focused on knowledge exchange. It Sector”. Photo sessions were taken of nurs- was also an opportunity for the female staff ing mothers as well as AWN members who programmes for female employees. Some less formal activities were also or- to share personal and career journeys to were beneficiaries of the crèche facility. ganized such as the Hear Wordplay held In 2019, Access Women Network in- inspire, empower and encourage all female in March (for which about 350 tickets creased its efforts to ensure that women staff in Ghana (321 of them) to attain greater Global Gender Summit were allotted to active AWN members), across the Group were more positively heights in their personal and corporate lives. The summit was hosted by the African De- the celebration of Fathers’ Day in June impacted. These efforts included a Top velopment Bank (AfDB) in Kigali, Rwanda, on (for over 3,000 male employees), Love a Abuja Fun Walk Management Leadership Programme November 25-27. IFC partnered with AfDB Child Initiative in February (donations in This was a health awareness walk for em- held in May, a Networking Masterclass to organize a childcare session aimed at cash and kind were made to 30 orphan- ployees in Abuja sponsored by AWN. The in June (about 50 female employees at- shedding a spotlight on the need to address ages across the country), and a movie event took place in River Garden, Abuja, on tended), Mentorship-Sales Workshops in childcare barriers as a way to enable wom- night in December. September 14th. The event aimed to ensure 2 cities between July-August (for about en’s participation in economic development. adequate team bonding in Abuja, place AWN 500 female employees), the AFF STEM A few of the major initiatives of AWN in Access Bank, through the Access Women as a socially-responsible network and provide summer school in August (for about 60 2019 included: Network, was invited as a panellist to show- networking opportunity between employ- wards of AWN Members), WIMBIZ An- case best practices in employer-supported ees and the Bank’s existing and potential nual Conference in November (for about AWN mentorship Scheme childcare, demonstrating the business case customers. 20 active members), amongst other All female management employees were for companies to invest in childcare for fe- activities. grouped into three teams under the men- male employees. torship of female executive management  108  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Access Women Network also supported the following external activities:

W Health Awareness Month To promote health and wellness, the AWN supported the W Initiative to orga- nize the ‘W Health Month’ in October to raise awareness on health issues that gravely affect Nigerian women. The programme of activities focused on five areas of concern, namely infertility, endometriosis, Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF), cancer, maternal and neonatal mortality. The W Health Month round- ed off with an event, tagged “Walk for Women’s Health,” which held on Octo- ber 26th, 2019, where Nigerians came out, en masse, to walk in support of the advocacy for ending these health issues faced by women.

Additionally, free health screenings were organised for the Bank’s employees and customers every Tuesday in October at World Sight Day The two-day exercise, which held on individuals with eye defects and 100 different locations in Lagos, Abuja and In commemoration of the World October 24th-25th, 2019, was open to new glasses were recommended and Port Harcourt. Over 1,000 people were Sight Day, Access Women Network, both customers and employees as part given to those with primary refractive tested and given free vaccination during in partnership with ACT Foundation, of the Bank’s efforts to address existing errors such as near-sightedness, far- this campaign. Other activities during organised free eye screening tests and gaps in eye health as well as improve the sightedness, and astigmatism, amongst the month included Zumba classes, recommended corrective lenses (free quality of life of participants. Over 500 other defects. seminars, quizzes, and giveaways. eyeglasses) at two of its locations. employees were screened to identify

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Orange Lecture Women in the As part of the Bank’s efforts to address human rights violation and gen- Marketplace der-based violence, Access Women Women Banking Network and Genesis House organized We prioritized the business case for wom- the 2019 edition of Orange Lecture. en banking 13 years ago with the Gender This was part of our participation in the Empowerment Marketing (GEM) pro- United Nations UNiTE to End Violence gramme, which later evolved into the ‘W against Women campaign, which ran Initiative’ in 2014. Following the merger, from November 25th to December 10th. the fusion of ‘Diamond Woman’ and the The campaign aimed at galvanizing pub- ‘W Initiative’ birthed the largest women lic awareness and increasing political will market programme in Nigeria under the and resources for preventing and ending ‘W Initiative’. In 2019, 12 million female all forms of violence against women and customers had access to the offerings girls in all parts of the world. of the W Initiative with four of every five newly acquired clients adopting our The lecture, which was in its fifth year in debit cards. We also stimulated economic 2019, held on December 4, 2019, at the expansion by providing N12 billion ($33 Bank’s head office. It convened various million) in debt financing and investing in stakeholders who contributed to the 1,800+ women-owned enterprises; we ongoing discourse on gender-based recorded N14.8 billion ($41 million) growth violence, while also discussing solutions in lending to 350,000 female individuals. for rehabilitation and support services for post-ordeal recovery. The keynote W Academy programmes address was given by Harriet Thomp- Female clients benefited from the W son, British Deputy High Commissioner Academy programmes. The following to Nigeria. She emphasized the role of programmes were organised, delivering women in all aspects of the society, par- positive impacts: ticularly the attainment of the Sustain- able Development Goals by 2030. z 103 women-focused programmes were

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organised, reaching 128,793 women. z The Academy hosted 71 capacity build- ing and networking sessions for 3,597 women and. z Three access-to-market programmes were hosted to positively impact 450 female entrepreneurs.

Three flagship programmes were also hosted in the year.

International Women’s Day z We hosted the largest gathering of women in commemoration of the 2019 International Women’s Day celebration on March 8; z There were 6,700 registrations and 2,500 participants; z 15 local and international speakers were featured.

Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton 2019 The programme evolved from the previ- $14,000; and Women’s Health Month z 2,000+ women benefitted from free ous Womenpreneur Business workshops. z We dedicated the month of October to health screenings; 700 women partic- z Access to market for women entrepre- The campaign was designed to provide the creating awareness around 5 maternal ipated in health talks by experts across neurs. following: health challenges, namely infertility, the country; z Access to capacity building through a There were 36,000 applicants with access to endometriosis, cancer, vesico vaginal z 2,500+ women participated in the Walk Mini MBA offered by the IFC; the Womenpreneur Community, 50 Mini MBA fistula (VVF), and maternal and neonatal for Women’s Health, led by the Group graduates and 3 grant beneficiaries. mortality. z Access to financial grants of up to CEO, Herbert Wigwe, and Federal Minis-

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ter for Women Affairs & Social Develop- Women in the programme for their businesses, and the ment, Dame Pauline Tallen. products made during the training were Community packaged and shared to the participants Women’s Health and Wellbeing Back on Track Programme and other community members. Hundreds of families benefited from the Ma- The Back on Track Programme is aimed ternal Health Service Support (MHSS), which The programme was also held in Ebo- at empowering disadvantaged young provides financing for medical and fertility nyi State, one of the least economically girls and women by providing them with treatments for women. We also fostered developed states in the South East of vocational and business skills to enable partnerships with the healthcare sector Nigeria. 200 women were taught how them set up their own businesses. The nationwide and provided capacity building to to produce soaps and disinfectants, as programme also provides them with more than 300 medical doctors and fertility well as provided business management information on sexual and reproductive practitioners. training and mentoring. The programme health and rights. enabled 1,000 family members to have Partnerships and Alliances Access Bank in partnership with HACEY access to quality food, health and edu- In addition to our existing portfolio of local cation. and international partners, we forged new alli- z Nigeria Finance Innovation – Best Bank Health Initiative empowered 100 women ances with Women’s World Banking to better in Women Empowerment Award (2019) in Magada Onimale Community in Ibafo, Ogun State, through business training, International Day of the Girl Child serve underbanked and unbanked women. z Women in Marketing and Communica- financial management skills training, and The United Nations designated the 11th We also partnered with World Bank on the tions – Female Friendly Bank of the Year of October as the annual celebration We-Fi project and the Lagos State Employ- Award (2019) information on sexual reproductive ment Trust Fund (LSETF) to facilitate lending health and rights. of the International Day of the Girl to female entrepreneurs. z National Council for Women Society Child. It is a day set aside to pro- Sessions were held on puberty, Nigeria – Dedication to Women Entre- mote the rights of women and The W Initiative earned several local and menstrual health and hygiene, preneurship Award (2019) girls, as well as advocate for international awards, including the following: hormonal imbalance, health- z Central Bank of Nigeria – Excellence gender equality. care seeking behaviour and z Africa CEO Forum – Gender Leader in Women’s Economic Empowerment To further Award (2019) (2019) sexually transmitted infections (STIs), reiterate our z Financial Alliance Women – Women Mar- The W Initiative is committed to providing and HIV/AIDS. commitment ket Champion Award (2019) solutions that will enhance the lives of wom- 10 women were to gender equality z Women’s Choice Africa – Bank of the en across all life stages and increase their given seed fund- and women em- Year Award (2019) participation in the global economy. ing at the end of the powerment, Access  112  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Bank partnered with HACEY Health provided with digital skills training, STEM Department of Archives, Federal Capital Female Genital Mutilation Programme Initiative for a conference, themed Girls career mentoring and digital marketing Territory Administration (FCTA); Mrs. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is still in Force: Unscripted and Unstoppable, held skills training. 40% of the beneficia- Rashida Apakhade, Deputy Director, Head practice in Nigeria with Osun State having at the Access Bank head office, in Lagos. ries have secured jobs or are pursuing Gender, Education Secretariat, FCTA; the highest prevalence of circumcised careers in STEM-related fields and Engr. Stella Uzochukwu Denis, Entrepre- women in the country (77%) followed by 294 female secondary school students their families have reported increased neur/Engineer/Robotics Specialist; and Ebonyi and Ekiti states (74% and 72%, from 42 schools across Lagos, as well as respectively). household income as a result of a family Hajia Abdulhameed, Auditor General, FCT 12 media representatives, NGOs, corpo- Area Councils. FGM is the ritual cutting or removal of some rate partners and government agencies member participating in the programme. or all of the external female genital. The were present at the conference, which The programme also aimed at creating an International Women’s Day practice of sewing the genital area after birthed the Girl Table Talk online TV action plan towards reducing the gender Gender bias in Nigeria is not only sti- cutting is most prevalent in Nasarawa, Ka- show. It is a platform for teenage girls to gap in Nigeria by 2030. The programme duna and Bayelsa states. Nigeria accounts fling the growth of women, but it’s also discuss topical issues that affect them. featured a workshop and an interactive for 10% of the global FMG practice. FGM constraining the country’s ability to reach panel session, which was held in Abuja poses a danger to the health and lives of In addition, the “For Me, With Me” initia- its potential. It has been shown that the with female professionals and key stake- women and girls. It is a violation of their tive was also launched at the conference. country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) holders from all walks of life. There was human right. The initiative is focused on increasing the could grow by 23% or $229 billion by also an essay competition for female sec- participation of girls in decision-making 2025, if women are given the opportunity To support the eradication of this harm- ondary school students with the theme, ful practice, Access Bank partnered with about issues concerning them. to participate to the same extent as men. ‘An Equal World: Fostering Economic HACEY Health Initiative to commemorate In a bid to accelerate the participation Growth Through Equitable Participation’, the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Code4Impact of women and girls in economic devel- in which 3 schools came out tops and Female Genital Mutilation. The programme The Code4Impact (C4i) Programme is a opment, Access Bank partnered with were rewarded with cash prizes. was held across Osun, Oyo and Ekiti states learning programme, which was devel- Xploit Consult, an organization that is on February 6th, 2020. Dialogue sessions oped to equip young women with digital A mentor-mentee platform was also focused on the furtherance of the SDGs, were held with traditional, government and skills to enable them to pursue success- created to match young girls with appro- to commemorate the 2020 International community leaders to advocate for the ful careers in Science, Technology, Engi- priate female mentors who will provide abandonment of FGM practice in their local Women’s Day, themed “Each for Equal”. neering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. guidance along different career paths. communities. The programme was themed ‘Women Over 83 participants benefitted from the Access Bank, in partnership with HAC- and Girls in Nigeria: Increasing Participa- Over 2,000 young girls, CBOs, traditional programme, which also provided infor- EY Health Initiative and Tech4Dev -- an tion in Mainstream Development.’ The rulers and policymakers participated in mation on gender equality and women’s NGO focused on ICT -- implemented programme attracted key stakeholders in the programmes across the three states. rights. the programme in Ebonyi State. Over the gender and education spaces, includ- About 500,000 Nigerians were reached with online information and communica- 600 female students and women were ing; Mrs. Jokotola Akoni, Deputy Director, tion materials.  113  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Environmental Stewardship

Environmental sustainability is a key facet of Access Bank’s holistic sustainability strategy. The Bank’s environmental management strategy, approved by the Board, is integrated into our financing decisions. We are committed to working in partnership with stakeholders to collectively tackle issues that concern our shared environment. Our strong advocacy for environmental conservation is a demonstration of our commitment to protecting the environment and reversing the damage already done. In 2019, the Bank complied with environmental protection laws and standards. As one of Africa’s foremost banks in sustainability, Access Bank was the regional lead in drafting a new set of principles in collaboration with the United Nations Environmental Program Finance Initiative, known as the Global Principles for Responsible Banking. The principles are a global framework for financial institutions to demonstrate their compliance with and support for the SDGs and the Paris Climate Agreement.  114  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

The Bank maintained its early-shutdown staff and other stakeholders were trained to policy at our head offices and branches. This have a shared responsibility and ownership of entailed our staff members at the head office the initiative. We also upgraded the recycling and branches shutting down their systems at trucks of our recycling partners to maximize 7pm and 6pm, respectively. As a result of the their capacities to become more effective in policy, fuel consumption at the head office carrying out their functions. decreased by 23.5% in 2019. With the successes recorded in the previous Our commitment to clean energy and years, we were encouraged to expand our reduction of carbon emissions was further recycling operations further. In August 2018, strengthened in 2019 with the addition of we placed recycling bins in an additional 321 solar-powered ATMs, bringing the total 45 recycling locations, and our collabora- number of ATMs powered by clean energy tions with local partners enabled us to build to 605. To ensure that all staff are informed scalable end-to-end structures to improve about our “reduce, reuse, recycle” ethos, our recycling efforts. In 2019, we further con- guidelines were provided to influence their solidated our efforts from previous years to procedures, including printing and meetings. improve the efficiency of waste management and our efforts yielded a 5.5% increase in the The following initiatives helped us to achieve amount of waste recycled in more locations. greater levels of effectiveness in our We also encouraged our stakeholders to environmental management performance. take up recycling at the 2019 edition of the Sustainable Waste Access Bank Lagos City Marathon. We held Management meetings and training for our Sustainability Champions, cleaners, vendors and other Access Bank has been championing sustain- stakeholders that are pivotal to the success able waste management in our key locations, of our recycling initiative. The work done starting with the Danmole Street head office behind the scenes enabled more effective and its annexe since 2016. An integral com- waste management for all and positioned the ponent of our sustainable waste manage- Bank to further shrink the size of the waste it ment includes the recycling of paper, plastic, sends to the landfill. glass and aluminium cans. The recycling initiative grew to include 37 more locations with high volume of customers in 2017. Our  115  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

Alternative Energy our impact on the environment. Our ‘No Paper Alternative sources of energy have long been Initiative’ helps in reducing our paper consump- deemed a necessity for those who seek to tion. Activities under the initiative include: power the future. Access Bank has continued to z Paper Saving Tips invest in alternative energy sources. The Bank currently has; z Automated Memo Approval System on ProcessMaker z 58 branches powered by alternative energy (hybrid) z Automated Payment System on Dynamic 365 z 605 solar-powered ATMs nationwide z Use of Diligent BoardBook – an automated and secured system that has helped to z LED lights in all the Bank’s facilities in significantly reduce the number of docu- Nigeria ments printed for Board meetings. z Motion-sensitive lights and water-efficient taps at its head office Water Efficiency As an advocate of water conservation, the Bank z Regular reporting, monitoring, and evalu- installed water-efficient flush systems and ation of electricity consumption across its taps. We also conduct innovative campaigns branches. and communications using These efforts have contributed to reducing videos and factsheets to keep our carbon emissions as we recorded a 33.6% staff members in constant decrease in our electricity consumption at our awareness of the need for head office and a 31% decrease bank-wide. water management. These pre-emptive interventions Resource ensured that despite Efficiency doubling in size as To further demonstrate an organization, our commitment to en- our water usage vironmental protection, only increased Access Bank has implement- by 15.39% in ed several processes that 2019. improve efficiency and limit

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Supply Chain All our vendors are assessed based on Access Bank’s suppliers are recognized as the following criteria: important stakeholders as they supply the i. Quality of goods/services goods, services and materials that we require ii. Geographical coverage to function seamlessly and effectively in iii. Track record our operations and also meet the needs iv. Price competitiveness of our other stakeholders. Our suppliers v. Problem resolution are required to employ the best practices, vi. Referrals from other institutions contribute positively to the environment and vii. Timeliness of service delivery society at large and deliver products and ser- viii. Risk assessment vices with quality that is second to none. This ix. Business sustainability requirement is underpinned in the United Nations Global Compact Principles, which are Local Sourcing focused on the protection of human rights, We encourage our suppliers to source good labour relations, environmental protec- goods from reliable sources that are tion and anti-corruption. closest to the Bank because we are aware that sourcing for raw materials Vendor Selection Process can be a complex operation with various Our procurement policy is hinged on factors at play such as carbon emissions, upholding the values that are material use of water resources , human rights to our stakeholders and it requires our issues and potential biodiversity loss. suppliers to be responsible corporate This approach not only promotes lower citizens who observe high ethical stan- carbon emissions through the reduction dards. To ensure that we uphold the high of supply miles, it also boosts the local expectations of our stakeholders, we economy. Such patronage provides the have structured our procurement frame- enabling environment for local business- work to enable us carry out due diligence es to thrive. on prospective vendors. Our vendors are categorised based on the nature of their In 2019 we spent about N134 billion business, risk, volume of business as well engaging over 350 suppliers across all as their ability to deliver. geopolitical zones in Nigeria.

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Awards and Recognitions

Over the years, Access Bank has stood out amongst our peers given the recognitions we have received and strategic collaborations we have forged due to our efforts in promoting sustainable development in Africa and globally. As a result, we have received numerous awards from prestigious awarding bodies, both locally and internationally. In 2019, The bank was declared the overall best company in Corporate Social Responsi- bility (CSR) and Sustainability in Nigeria by TruCSR, an organisation that is promoting CSR and sustainability in Africa. The ranking was published in Forbes Africa. The Bank was also declared as the Most Sustainable Bank in Nigeria by World Finance. These and the following are some notable awards and recognitions received during 2019:

Award Organisation Description Best CSR Bank Global Brands In recognition of the Bank’s unwavering com- Awards mitment in embedding sustainability into its core business strategy and DNA.

Special Recogni- Ethical Board In recognition of Access Bank’s successful tion Award in Sus- integration of economic, social and envi- tainability Banking ronmental considerations into its corporate in Africa strategy and business processes, and for the Bank’s impactful sustainability initiatives. Most Sustainable World Finance In recognition of Access Bank’s successful Bank, Nigeria integration of economic, social and envi- ronmental consideration into its corporate strategy and business processes, and for the Bank’s impactful sustainability initiatives. Best Brand in Sus- Awesome Com- In recognition of the Bank’s unwavering com- tainability munications mitment in embedding sustainability into its core business strategy and DNA.

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Award Organisation Description SME Friendly Brand Awesome Com- In recognition of the Bank’s support for the of Nigeria munications growth of SMEs in Nigeria.

Outstanding Busi- Karlsruhe Sus- In recognition of Access Bank’s success- ness Sustainability tainable Finance ful integration of economic, social and envi- Awards​ ronmental considerations into its corporate strategy and business processes, and for the Bank’s impactful sustainability initiatives. ​ Outstanding Brand Awesome Com- In recognition of the Bank’s unwavering com- Supporting Sus- munications mitment in embedding sustainability into its tainability (WIMCA core business strategy and DNA. Awards) Outstanding Awesome Com- This was presented to the Bank for driving the Female Friendly munications economic empowerment of women through Bank of The Year its products, services, policies and practices. (WIMCA Awards) Corporate Social AS+A Communi- In recognition of Access Bank’s outstanding Responsibility cations contribution to society. Award of Excel- lence

Sustainable Bank Central Bank of This award was presented in recognition of of the Year Nigeria the Bank’s achievement in the advancement of sustainability in the Nigerian financial sector.

Excellence in Central Bank of This was presented to the Bank in recognition Women Economic Nigeria of its commitment to driving the economic Empowerment empowerment of women through its prod- ucts, services, policies and practices.

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Award Organisation Description Most Sustainable Central Bank of This was presented to the Bank for ade- Transaction of Nigeria quately evaluating the environmental and so- the Year (Power cial risk issues in lending to the power sector. Sector) This was a pioneering category.

Most Sustainable Central Bank of This was presented to the Bank for ade- Transaction of the Nigeria quately evaluating the environmental and Year (Oil and Gas social risk issues in lending to the oil & gas Sector) sector.

Most Sustainable Central Bank of This was presented to the Bank for ade- Transaction of the Nigeria quately evaluating the environmental and Year (Agriculture) social risk issues in lending to the agriculture sector.

Best Company The Sustainability This was a testament to the Bank’s efforts in in Sustainability Enterprise and Re- communicating its sustainability strides to all Reporting sponsibility Awards its stakeholders.

Best Corporate The Sustainability This was an award for the Bank’s exceptional Communications Enterprise and Re- efforts in communicating its products and Team sponsibility Awards services to all its stakeholders.

Best Company in The Sustainability This award was in recognition of the Bank’s Climate Action Enterprise and Re- outstanding success in incorporating envi- sponsibility Awards ronmental sustainability into its corporate strategy. Best Company in The Sustainability This award was presented to Access Bank for Partnership for Enterprise and Re- being successful in driving sustainable devel- Development sponsibility Awards opment across the West Africa region.

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Award Organisation Description Most Socially Re- The Sustainability This was given in recognition of the Bank’s sponsible Com- Enterprise and Re- overall commitment to sustainability and its pany of the Year sponsibility Awards sustainability performance locally and inter- (Overall Winner) nationally. Strong Support National Agency This award was in recognition of Access Towards the Na- for the Control of Bank’s leadership in adopting innovative prac- tional Response in AIDS (NACA) tices in the development of the health sector. Nigeria Best Bank, Nigeria EMEA Finance This award was in recognition of the Bank’s outstanding success in incorporating eco- nomic, social and environmental aspects into its corporate strategy and business process- es. Best Product EMEA Finance This award recognised the Bank’s outstand- Launch (Pan Africa) ing success in sustainability, digital banking and electronic platforms for financial inclu- sion. Best Bank of the The Banker This award was in recognition of the Bank’s Year, Nigeria outstanding success in incorporating eco- nomic, social and environmental aspects into its corporate strategy and business process- es. Best CSR Banking Global Brands This award showed how the Bank has applied Brand in Nigeria Magazine innovative approaches in embedding sus- 2019 tainability in lending and/or deposit products and other financial services that advance the transition to low carbon and sustainable economy.

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Award Organisation Description Disability Friendly DIAL Awards In recognition of the Bank’s support towards Institution of the people living with disabilities (PLWDs) Year (Financial Category) Disability Friendly DIAL Awards In recognition of the Bank’s support towards Institution of the people living with disabilities (PLWDs) Year (Financial Category)

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Supplementary Information

GRI Index No. GRI Content GRI Identity Page 1 Organizational Profile Name of the Organization GRI 102-1 Activities, Brands, Products, and services of Access Bank Plc. GRI 102-2 Location of headquarters GRI 102-3 Location of Operations & Market served GRI 102-4 & 102-6 Ownership and legal form GRI 102-5 Scale of the Organization GRI 102-7

Information on employees and other workers GRI 102-8 Supply Chain GRI 102-9 Significant changes to the organization and its supply chain GRI 102-10 Precautionary Principles or Approach GRI 102-11 External initiatives GRI 102-12 Membership of Associations GRI 102-13 2 Strategy Statement from the senior decision maker GRI 102-14 Key impacts, risks, and opportunities GRI 102-15 3 Ethics & integrity Values, principles, standards & norms of behaviour GRI 102-16 Mechanisms for advice and concerns about ethics GRI 102-17

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No. GRI Content GRI Identity Page 4 Governance Governance Structure GRI 102-18 Delegating Authority GRI 102-19 Executive-level responsibility for economic, environmental, & social topics GRI 102-20 Consulting stakeholders on Economic, Environmental & social topics GRI 102-21 Composition of the highest governance body and its committees GRI 102-22 Chair of the highest governance body GRI 102-23 Nominating & selecting the highest governance body GRI 102-24 Identifying and managing Economic, Environmental & Social impacts GRI 102-29 Effectiveness of risk management processes GRI 102-30 Communicating Critical Concerns GRI 102-33 Nature & total number of critical concerns GRI 102-34 Remuneration Policies GRI 102-35 5 Stakeholders Engagement List of Stakeholders group GR1 102-40 Collective bargaining agreements GR1 102-41 Identifying and selecting stakeholders GRI 102-42 Approach to stakeholder’s engagement GRI 102-43 Key topics and concerns raised GRI 102-44 Defining report content and topic boundaries GRI 102-46

List of material topics GRI 102-47

Reporting period GRI 102-50 Reporting cycle GRI 102-52 Contact point for questions regarding this report GRI 102-53 Claims of reporting according to the GRI standards GRI 102-54 GRI Content index GRI 102-55 External Assurance GRI 102-56

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No. GRI Content GRI Identity Page 6 Management Approach Explanation of material topics and their boundaries GRI 103-1 Management Approach and its components GRI 103-2 Evaluation of Management Approach GRI 103-3 7 Economic Performance Indicators a Economic Performance Direct Economic Value Generated and distributed GRI 201-1 Financial implications and other risks and opportunities due to climate change GRI 201-2 Defined benefit plan obligations and other retirement plans GRI 201-3 b Market Presence Ratios of standard entry level wage compared to local minimum wage GRI 202-1 c Indirect Economic Impacts Infrastructure Investments and Service Supported GRI 203-1 Significant indirect economic impacts GRI 203-2 d Procurement Practices GRI 204-1 e Anti-Corruption Operations assessed for risks related to corruption GRI 205-1 Communication and Training about anti-corruption policies and procedures GRI 205-2 8 Environmental Performance Indicators a Energy Energy consumption within the organization GRI 302-1 Reduction of energy consumption GR1 302-4 b Water Interactions with water as a shared resource GRI 303-1 Water consumption GRI 303-5 c Emissions Direct GHG emissions GR1 305-1 Reduction of GHG emissions GR1 305-5

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No. GRI Content GRI Identity Page d Suppliers Environmental Assessment GRI 308-1 9 Social Performance Indicators a Employment New employee hires and employee turnover GRI 401-1 Benefit provided to full-time employee that are not provided to temporary or part-time employees GRI 401-2 Parental leave GRI 401-3 b Occupational Health and Safety Occupational Health and safety management system GRI 403-1 Hazard identification, risk assessment and incident investigation GRI 403-2 Occupational health services GRI 403-3 Worker participation, consultation, and communication on occupational health and safety GRI 403-4 Worker training on occupational health and safety GRI 403-5 Promotion of worker health GRI 403-6 c Training and Education Average hours of training per year per employee GRI 404-1 Programs for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programs GRI 404-2 Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews. GRI 404-3 d Diversity and Equal Opportunity Ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men GRI 405-2 e Human rights Assessment Employee training on human rights policies and procedures GRI 412-2 f Local Communities GRI 409-1 Operation with local community engagement, impact assessments, and development programs GRI 413-1 g Customer Health and Safety Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories GR1 416-1 h Customer Privacy Management approach disclosure GRI 418

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Independent Limited Assurance Statement to the Board and Management of Access Bank Plc

CSR-in-Action Consulting (‘’CSR-in-Ac- time frame: 1 January to 31 December, C. Nigerian Sustainable Banking ance evidence for its conclusion. Subject tion, we, our,’’) was engaged by Access 2019. The basis for this assurance en- Principles (NSBP) to the limitations and exclusions of this Bank Plc (‘’Access Bank’’) to conduct a gagement, as agreed with Access Bank report, our review included: This is implemented by Access Bank limited assurance over its 2019 Sus- Plc (‘Access Bank’ or ‘the Bank’), was in compliance with the Central Bank z statements, information and perfor- tainability Report, for the year ended delimited to the following: of Nigeria’s regulatory requirement. mance data contained within Access 31 December, 2019 in accordance with A. AA1000 AccountAbility Principles Bank’s 2019 Sustainability Report; AA1000AS AccountAbility Principles D. Organisational Content The process used in arriving at this z Access Bank’s management ap- (2008). Review of the content of the Report assurance statement is based on proach to material issues; and in relation to Access Bank’s organi- AA1000 AccountAbility’s Principles Scope of work sational targets and ambitions and z alignment of the reported data and of Inclusivity, Materiality, and Re- We have provided independent limited systems of quality control, including information to the requirement of sponsiveness. assurance, in accordance with a type documented policy and procedures the GRI Standards. 1, moderate level assurance of the B. Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) relating to compliance with ethical AA1000 AccountAbility Standards. The Standards Application requirements, professional stan- Our work scope of the assurance is strictly limited dards and applicable legal and regu- For the independent assurance, the This is based on Access Bank’s as- to the contents of the 2019 Report. latory requirements. scope of our work necessitated the en- sertion that the Report is scripted in During our engagement, we assessed gagement of our multi-disciplinary team accordance with the GRI Standards CSR-in-Action planned and conducted relevant data and activities, as well as as- of sustainability and assurance consul- Sustainability Reporting framework. the assurance engagement in a partic- sertions made in the report in relation to tants. We concentrated our verification ipatory manner in order to allow for re- actual performance within the reporting efforts on the issues of high material rel- ceipt of sufficient and appropriate assur-  127  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

evance to the Bank and its stakeholders. Audit, Customer Experience, Cor- data; and, Our assessment is restricted to reviewing Furthermore, to arrive at our conclusions, porate Communications, Human only the plausibility of internal records, as z conducted an independent assess- we investigated the systems, structures Resources, Marketing Commu- well as interviews with management staff ment of Access Bank’s reporting and processes through information con- nications, and General Resource responsible for the provision of material against the GRI Standards. tained in the Report, interviews and a re- Management and Procurement; data, such that the risk of our conclusion view of supporting documents. We: During the assurance process, we did not being in error is reduced, but not zero. z examined the following supporting come across limitations to the scope of z examined relevant activities un- documents: Impact assessment the agreed assurance engagement. No Respective responsibilities dertaken at Access Bank over the reports from community initiatives, external stakeholders were interviewed The preparation and presentation of the reporting period 1 January to 31 sustainability strategy, employee as part of this assurance engagement. selected information in the Sustainabili- December, 2019; volunteering scheme, stakeholder Our work was planned to obtain all the ty Report is the sole responsibility of the surveys, health and safety training z examined Access Bank’s stated ap- information and explanations that were management of Access Bank. registers, quarterly report to man- proach to stakeholder engagement, needed to provide a basis for our assur- agement, monitoring portal, HSSE Our responsibility is to conduct an audit although we had no direct engage- ance conclusions. policy, customer safety plan, gover- of the Report and independently express ment with stakeholders; nance framework, whistle blowing Inherent limitations conclusions on the subject matter as de- z examined information provided to fined within the scope of work above and policy, environmental and social risk Inherent limitations exist in all assurance us by Access Bank on its reporting in accordance with our letter of engage- management policy, employee sat- engagements due to the selective enqui- and management processes relat- ment. isfaction survey, analytics of digital ry of the information being examined. We ing to the Principles; media engagement, procurement conducted our work to express a limited z interviewed key managerial staff, in- policy, HR policy, stakeholder publi- assurance opinion and conclusion. Our as- CRS-in-Action’s cluding the Heads and/or represen- cations, and minutes of stakeholder surance relies on the premise that the data Independence and tatives of the Heads of Sustainability, meetings; and information provided to us by Access Competence Health Safety Security and Environ- z examined the processes for gather- Bank have been provided in good faith and CSR-in-Action Consulting is a foremost ment, Environmental and Social Risk ing and consolidating the specified dependent on the accuracy of data collec- sustainability consultancy in West Afri- Management, Compliance, Internal performance data and consolidated tion and monitoring arrangements. ca, with the authority to assure sustain-  128  EXECUTIVE THE ACCESS BUSINESS MODEL SUSTAINABILITY PARTNERSHIPS & RECOGNITION & SUMMARY BRAND STATEMENT MEMBERSHIPS AWARDS

ability processes using AccountAbility’s Principles are that: port may, however, address impacts on Principles of Inclusivity, Materiality and AA1000AS certification. For the fifth year, material topics that may not be positive. Responsiveness set out in the AA1000 we have provided assurance services to Inclusivity Accountability Principles Standard (APS) Access Bank, and have assured reports Access Bank’s business operations and Responsiveness (2008). for other leading organisations. processes demonstrate active engage- Access Bank has included appropriate ment with a wide range of stakeholders. explanations on how it has sufficiently CSR-in-Action is certified by the Glob- October 2020 Evidence from our engagement with responded to its stakeholder needs and al Reporting Initiative as a training part- Access Bank reveals that the Bank has concerns. Available evidence shows that Bekeme Masade-Olowola ner and is a Gold Community. Our Chief identified and responded to significant the issues raised during stakeholder en- Chief Executive Executive sits on the Board of the GRI. sustainability concerns of its employees, gagements have been addressed by the CSR-in-Action Consulting The CSR-in-Action Group is widely rec- shareholders and investors, customers different functions assigned to manage ognised as having high levels of profi- and host communities, regulatory bod- the different stakeholder groups. ciency in sustainability consulting – envi- ies, media, and suppliers; and has afford- ronment, social and economic – impact ed the Bank valuable insight into the de- assessment, reporting and stakeholder Our velopment of its strategy. engagement; skills resident within the Recommendation We recommend that Access Bank pres- members of the assurance team. Materiality ents dual and dynamic material informa- Access Bank has continued to update its tion in a balanced manner. Our Observations materiality process to reflect changes on Our observations and recommenda- topics that are relevant to the Bank and tions are provided in a separate report its stakeholders. Topics like economic Our Conclusion Based on our procedures, the work we to Access Bank’s management team. presence, anti-corruption, and human have undertaken, and the evidence ob- Only selected observations are provided rights ranked highest on its materiality tained, we have reasonably come to below. These observations do not affect matrix and the Report provides sufficient the conclusion that the Report is in ad- our conclusions. Our key observations information on how these topics have herence with AA1000 AccountAbility based on the AA1000 AccountAbility been prioritised and addressed. The Re-

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Contact Us

As a way of adding value to our Sustainability Report and the reporting process, while disclosing and being accountable to our internal and external stakeholders on an on-going basis, Access Bank Plc welcomes feedback from all our stakeholders in respect of the content of this report and additional information of interest to the stakeholders assumed to be material. The information received would be functional in mapping out other areas for disclosure hence providing a balanced and reasonable representation of the sustainability performance of Access Bank Plc.

We are interested in hearing what our stakeholders think about our sustainability performance and reporting efforts – and how we can improve both. Please email your thoughts and suggestions to:

Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan Head, Sustainability

Access Bank Plc 14/15, Prince Alaba Abiodun, Oniru Road, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.

E: [email protected] E: [email protected] W: www.accessbankplc.com

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