Abubakar Suleiman, Sterling Bank’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, has suggested that rich professional bankers may steal.
He made the statement while addressing during the induction ceremony for 485 newly initiated members of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos.
Suleiman, speaking to an audience that included past institution presidents and Lagos Commissioner of Finance Abayomi Oluyomi, underlined the importance of banking as a service-oriented industry.
He was certain that a career in professional banking is not a road to becoming a millionaire, excluding immoral acts.
He said, “If your purpose is wealth, and I will say this with all sense of responsibility, if you find a banker, a professional banker, not an owner, not an owner-manager, not an entrepreneur in banking but a professional and he says he’s wealthy, look at the person and ask how?
“By virtue of being a professional in employee status, that is not the road map to ‘billionaireship’ unless you are a thief and you are not. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be bothered becoming certified, taking your professional career so seriously, if all you are interested in is to make money.
“If you are looking for a purpose, banking will offer you a purpose. And there is a lot that banking can offer you if you are looking for a higher level of service. But if you are looking for wealth and to ride private jets, your ambition has already denied you the ability to be ethical.”
