Mr. Onyeagwu is a graduate of Accounting from Auchi Polytechnic, Nigeria. He had his Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) in Accounting from Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo state (Bendel state) in 1984 and 1987 respectively. While serving out the compulsory National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), he became a chartered accountant in 1989.
He qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ACA) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in 1989 and became a Fellow (FCA) of ICAN in 2003. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Credit Administration (ICA) in Nigeria. Mr. Onyeagwu is an alumnus of the University of Oxford, England, where he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Financial Strategy, and a certificate in Macroeconomics.
He is an alumnus of Lagos Business School where he had a Senior Management Programme. He also undertook extensive executive-level education in Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School of Columbia University, and the Harvard Business School of Harvard University, in the United States.
Ebenezer started his banking career in 1991 when he joined the now defunct Financial Merchant Bank, he later moved to Citizen International Bank. He joined Zenith Bank as a senior manager in 2002 and was made managing director and ceo in 2019.
He is the Chairman of Zenith Pensions Custodian Limited and Zenith Nominees Limited. He is also on the Board of Zenith Bank (UK) Limited, FMDQ Holdings Plc, Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF) Limited and Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF). He also served on the board of Zenith Bank Ghana Limited, Zenith General Insurance, Zenith Securities Limited, Zenith Assets Management Company, Zenith Madicare Limited and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).
In 2016, Onyeagwu increased his Zenith Bank shares to 5.5 million units from 3.1 million units. This move made him the third on the list of directors with the most shares in the bank.
Awards and Recognition.
Mr. Onyeagwu was named Bank CEO of the Year 2019 by Champion Newspapers and Bank CEO of the Year 2020 by BusinessDay Newspapers. Under his stewardship, the Bank has won a number of awards including: Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria 2020 (The Banker), Biggest Bank in Nigeria by tier-1 capital 2020 (The Banker), Best Bank in Nigeria 2020 (Global Finance Magazine), Best Corporate Governance ‘Financial Services’ Africa 2020 (Ethical Boardroom), Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) – ThisDay Awards 2020, Bank of the Year 2020 (Independent Newspapers), and Retail Bank of the Year 2020 (BusinessDay Newspapers).
Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu's net worth has been estimated to be over $5 million. He is married with children.
Ebenezer Onyeagwu is on the list of highest-earning Nigerian CEOs. As the managing director of Zenith Bank, one of Nigeria’s tier-one banks, he got approximately a total annual package of N285 million in 2022, compared to N246 million in 2021.
