THE decision of Sterling Bank to restructure its operational lines for efficiency and quality service delivery, especially in electronic banking, during the last fiscal year has started to yield the desired result.

The bank, at the weekend, clinched the prestigious CITI Bank Performance Excellence Award for 2011.

With an outstanding score card of 98 per cent or higher in her operations in Straight-through-processes (STP) and MT 202-based undertakings, a testament to the bank's consistency in delivering accurate input and responses on a timely basis in line with the most stringent global benchmarks.

Sterling Bank beats other financial institutions in the country to bag the award.

The yearly award is presented by CITI, a leading investment bank in the world and a correspondence bank of note for several Nigerian banks, to leading financial institutions worldwide with state-of-the-art international electronic payment services that meet globally acceptable standards in correspondent banking, response quality and time, and processing accuracy.

The bank, in a statement, noted that the award by CITI is a bold indication that it is on the right track in view of sustained efforts by the bank to make banking easier for its customers on all fronts.

According to Moses Akinnawonu, the bank's head of Trade Services, added: 'This achievement is a product of consistently high performance and focus on customer satisfaction.

We will continue to provide value added service in all areas of our operations, just as we see this award as an invitation to achieve more.'

Sterling Bank Plc, originally incorporated in 1960 as Nigeria Acceptances Limited, was licensed as Nigeria's first merchant banks in 1969.