On Friday, July 20, 2018, Sterling Bank took the first shot in what is now known as the #BankWars. The bank tweeted an ad copy that dissed fellow rivals Union Bank, First Bank, Access Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank. In the ad, Sterling depicts taking a customer to the moon, while the customers of the mentioned banks are stuck on the ground level.The first shot”Shoot for the moon, become a star – it’s the least you deserve. Welcome to #SterlingBank” tweeted the bank with a cheeky emoji. The tweet would go viral the next day with Nigerians commenting about the straight diss from Sterling Bank to other banks. Union Bank repliesThe banks in the ad soon started to retaliate. Union Bank which has been in existence since 1917 went the ‘sho mo age mi’ route with a tweet that said: “When the elders speak… #SimplerSmarterSAFERBank.” Access Bank goes below the beltAt 3:38 pm, Access Bank replied with an absolute burn, “We will travel on an imaginary rocket too, if we were a one-customer Microfinance Bank; but with ten million customers and counting, we rather bring the galaxy to you! #YouAreWorthIt #TakeTomorrow #KnowYourElders.” Ouch! First Bank shows them who their grandfather isThen at 4:48 pm, the grandfather of Nigerian banks, First Bank replied with this ” And straight into the trash can. #RespectYourElders #MoveOver #NextPlease #YouFirst” and followed it up with this “What an elder sees while sitting, a child cannot see even if he travels to the moon. #RespectYourElders #YouFirst.” Where is GTB?Surprisingly, the trendy GTB has yet to make a reply. There are whispers that the bank is taking its time in launching a scathing diss. Well, with the World Cup gone and the football season still a few weeks again, one would have thought this would have been a dry weekend. Nigerian banks were surprisingly the entertainment online.
