Banking Executive

Dr. Damian
Nzubechukwu Orizu

Deputy General Manager — Fidelity Bank Plc

Divisional Head, Recoveries/Remedial Assets & Operational Risk Management

A seasoned banking professional and dynamic credit risk/remedial assets management expert with over 28 years of varied banking experience. A passionate game changer who has consistently delivered transformative results across Nigeria's leading financial institutions.

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Ph.D

Credit Risk

📊

DGM

Fidelity Bank

Career Journey

Professional Experience

2017 — Present

Fidelity Bank Plc

Deputy General Manager → Asst. General Manager

Divisional Head, Recoveries/Remedial Assets & Operational Risk Management — a role that positioned him as Fidelity Bank's foremost champion and internal authority on operational risk. Architected and institutionalised the Bank's operational risk governance framework, embedding a risk-aware culture across all divisions and significantly strengthening the Bank's resilience against operational losses. Previously served as Regional Bank Head (Onitsha Region), Acting Chief Risk Officer, Head of Project Finance (Corporate Banking), and Divisional Head of Remedial Assets Management.

🎯 NPL ratio: 6.5% → 2.8% 💰 ₦12B recovered (2017) 🏅 Acting CRO 🛡️ Ops Risk Game Changer — Fidelity Bank

2016 — 2017

Heritage Bank Plc

Principal Manager — Head, Special Recovery Task Force

Led the bank-wide EXCO Recovery Task Force and Remedial Asset Management Group. Employed intensive remedial strategies including legal action, debt settlements, receivership, asset swaps, and debt-for-equity swaps.

📉 NPL: 55% → 19% 💰 ₦17.55B recovered (2016)

2012 — 2015

Enterprise Bank Plc

Senior Manager — Regional Head, Apapa Region

Head of Task Force on Recovery of Bad Debts. Regional Head for Apapa and Acting Regional Head for Lagos Central. Managed full-service branches across operations, lending, product sales and customer service.

🏆 Most Customer-Focused Manager

2010 — 2012

Standard Chartered Bank Plc

Branch Manager — Broad Street

Turned around the prestigious Broad Street branch to achieve Green/Green audit ratings — the first branch to achieve this for Nigeria in the group. Recorded PBT exceeding ₦1 billion in a single year.

✅ Green/Green — 3 consecutive audits 💰 PBT > ₦1B

2005 — 2010

Ecobank Plc

Senior Manager — Area Coordinator, Lagos Market Branches

Refocused nine underperforming branches and opened seven new branches. Served on MCC and ALCO committees, earning recognition as Best Overall Performing Branch Manager.

🏗️ 7 new branches opened 🔄 9 branches refocused

1993 — 2004

UBA Plc · Liberty Bank · Afex Bank

Earlier Career — Treasury, Corporate & Commercial Banking

Built foundational expertise across treasury management, financial institutions relationships, corporate and commercial banking, and branch operations at three leading banks.

Core Competencies

Areas of Expertise

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Credit Risk Management

Expert in credit risk identification, assessment, and mitigation. Served as Acting Chief Risk Officer, directly supporting EXCO on strategic account management and the Bank's Criticized Asset Committee.

🛡️

Operational Risk — Game Changer

Fidelity Bank's internal champion and architect of operational risk management. Designed and embedded bank-wide operational risk frameworks, governance structures, and a risk-aware culture that transformed how the institution identifies, measures, and mitigates operational exposures — earning recognition as a true game changer in this domain.

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NPL Recovery & Remediation

Nationally recognized specialist in non-performing loan recovery. Consistently delivered multi-billion naira recoveries and dramatically reduced NPL ratios across multiple institutions.

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Regional Banking Leadership

Proven ability to manage multi-branch regions, turn around underperforming branches, and drive profitability through strategic leadership, team development, and customer-centric operations.

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Loan Restructuring

Master of complex loan workout strategies including restructuring, debt settlements, receivership, asset swaps, and debt-for-equity conversions to maximize bank recoveries.

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Project & Corporate Finance

Headed Project Finance within the Corporate Banking Directorate, specializing in managing watch-listed corporate accounts and preventing loan classification, particularly jumbo facilities.

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Training & Capacity Building

Conducts bank-wide training on delinquent credit analysis and NPL recovery strategies for Regional Heads, Branch Leaders, and Account Officers. Authored multiple industry articles.

Credentials

Education & Professional Memberships

🎓 Education

Ph.D — Credit Risk & Financial Management

London School of Credit Risk & Financial Mgt / International University of Panama — 2018

MBA — International Finance

University of Lagos — 1999

M.Sc — Business Administration (Marketing/Management)

University of Lagos — 1995

B.Sc — Accountancy

University of Lagos — 1991

📜 Professional Memberships

Certified Postgraduate Credit Examiner (CPCE) — UK

Certified Credit & Financial Analysis Professional (CCFAP)

Fellow, Institute of Credit Administration (FICA)

Fellow, Institute of Debt Recovery Practitioners of Nigeria (IDRPN)

Senior Associate, Risk Assets Managers of Nigeria (RIMAN)

Associate, Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB)

Associate, Nigerian Institute of Management (ANIM)

Dr. DamianNzubechukwu Orizu