Jaiz Bank has announced the appointment of Omolara Muinat Ismail as Executive Director, effective February 28, 2026.
Prior to her appointment, she was General Manager, Business Development, and Head of the Lagos and South Directorate of the Bank, where she oversaw regional expansion, product innovation and digital banking initiatives.
Senior banking career spanning more than two decades
Ismail brings over 25 years of banking experience, spanning retail, commercial and corporate banking as well as business development and credit governance.
Before joining the board, she served as General Manager, Business Development and Head of the Lagos and South Directorate at Jaiz Bank, where she supervised regional expansion initiatives, product innovation and digital banking programmes.
Omolara Ismail brings more than twenty-five (25) years of experience across retail, commercial and corporate banking. Her professional career spans senior management and board-level roles at Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, including service as a Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Board Credit Committee of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc’s subsidiary in The Gambia.
Her professional career also includes a long tenure at Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), where she held several senior leadership roles. These included positions as Divisional Head of Retail Banking for the Lagos Island division and Group Head within the Commercial Banking Group, managing key client portfolios and regional business development initiatives.
During her GTBank career, she also served in board-level governance roles, including as Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the Board Credit Committee of Guaranty Trust Bank’s subsidiary in The Gambia, where she contributed to credit policy oversight and strategic governance.
Her experience across retail banking, commercial banking and business development has given her exposure to the full spectrum of banking operations, including credit structuring, relationship management, and strategic expansion of banking networks.
Professional credentials and academic background
Ismail is a Chartered Banker and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) as well as the National Institute of Credit Administration.
She holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Ilorin and Bangor University in the United Kingdom, and has participated in executive programmes at international institutions focused on leadership, banking strategy and financial management.
Her professional interests, reflected in her LinkedIn profile, span business development, financial advisory, banking leadership and strategic growth in financial services.
A transition from conventional banking to ethical finance
Ismail’s move to Jaiz Bank reflects a broader shift among Nigerian banking professionals toward ethical and non-interest financial services.
In a recent reflection on her professional journey, she described spending two decades at GTBank, where she developed her career under several senior banking leaders and built expertise in disciplined banking processes and institutional governance.
She said her transition to Jaiz Bank represents a new phase focused on ethical banking and financial inclusion, noting that non-interest banking prioritises social impact, responsible investment and sustainable value creation.
Strategic timing for Jaiz Bank
Ismail’s appointment comes at a time when Jaiz Bank is expanding its presence in Nigeria’s Islamic finance sector, which has grown steadily over the past decade.
Jaiz Bank, headquartered in Abuja, is Nigeria’s first non-interest bank, operating under Islamic banking principles and offering asset-backed financing and ethical financial products.
The sector has gained increasing traction as regulators and investors show greater interest in:
- non-interest financial products
- Sukuk bonds issued by the Nigerian government
- financial inclusion initiatives targeting underserved populations.
Analysts say leadership appointments with deep banking experience will be critical as non-interest banks compete for market share in retail banking, SME financing and infrastructure funding.
With her background in business development, retail banking and credit governance, Ismail’s appointment is expected to support Jaiz Bank’s efforts to deepen its reach in Nigeria’s evolving financial services market.
