Fidelity Bank Grows Profits By 30.6% To N25.1BN

Nnamdi Okonkwo, MD Fidelity Bank

·        Proposes Dividend of 11kobo Per Share

Lagos Nigeria, March 29, 2019: Fidelity Bank Plc, in a clear demonstration of its resilience and stability, has announced an impressive financial result for the year-ended December 31, 2018. The performance which capped a remarkable year, showed strong growth in Gross Earnings, Profits and other key financial indicators.

The top Nigerian lender which has become the clear leader among Tier 2 banks, posted a 4.8% growth in Gross Earnings from N180.2BN to N188.9BN whilst Profit Before Tax soared by 30.6% to N25.1BN, when compared with the 19.2BN it recorded in 2017.

Profit After Tax grew by 29% from N17,7BN in 2017 to N22.9BN in 2018, whilst Operating Income rose by 13.9% from N85.9BN to N97.2BN. Customer Deposit, which is a measure of consumer confidence rose by 26.3% from N775.2BN to N979.4BN just as Total Assets grew by 24% from N1.4TRN to N1.7TRN.

In other indices, Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) Ratio dropped to 5.7 percent from 6.4 percent in the 2017FY due to a combination of recoveries, loan write-offs and the absolute growth in the loan book. Other Regulatory Ratios remained above the required thresholds with Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at 16.7 percent and Liquidity Ratio at 39.0 percent.

Buoyed by the strong results, Fidelity Bank is proposing a N3.2BN payout which translated to11 kobo dividend to shareholders.

“We are delighted by our 2018 numbers, which clearly shows a sustained performance trajectory. We are growing our market share with continued traction in our chosen business segments. We recoded double digits growth in interest income on our liquid assets, digital banking, FX and other income lines” said Fidelity Bank CEO, Nnamdi Okonkwo.

As seen in recent years, the bank’s digital retail banking approach has continued to yield positive results. Savings recorded its 5th consecutive year of double digit growth with a 27.7 % increase to peak at N228BN.  “Savings accounts for over 23 % of our Total Deposits, an attestation of our increasing market share in the retail segment”, he stated.

Okonkwo was also very enthused with the progress of its digital banking play stating that over 42% of customers are now enrolled on the bank’s mobile/ internet banking products and more than 81 % of total transactions done on digital platforms, resulting in 25% of fee-based income, coming from digital banking.

About Fidelity Bank Plc

Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged commercial bank operating in Nigeria, with over 4.2 million customers who are serviced across its 240 business offices and various other digital banking channels. The bank has in recent times won accolades as the Best SME Friendly Bank, Best in Mobile Banking and the Most Improved Corporate/Investment Bank among several industry awards and recognitions. The bank was also ranked the 4th Best Bank in the Retail Banking Segment in the 2017 Banking Industry Satisfaction Survey conducted by KPMG.

Focused on select niche corporate banking sectors as well as Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Fidelity Bank is rapidly implementing a digital based retail banking strategy which has resulted in an exponential growth in savings deposits over the last 3 years and a corresponding surge in customer enrollment on the bank’s flagship mobile/internet banking products.

Fidelity Bank’s 9 Months Profits Soar To N20bn, On Course to Deliver its 2018 Financial Targets.

Lagos Nigeria: October 25, 2018: Fidelity Bank Plc has posted an impressive financial performance for the 3rd Quarter of 2018 and is on course to finishing strong in the 2018 financial year. Details of the 9-months results for the period ended September 30, 2018, released yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed a double-digit growth in revenues and profitability.

Gross Earnings grew by 6.9% to N139.0 billion from N130.1 billion reported in the same period in 2017 whilst profit-before-tax soared by 23.6% from N16.2 billion to N20.1 billion.  In other indices, total assets grew by 21.9 % to N1,680.8 billion from N1,379.2 billion in the same period last year. Total deposits; a measure of customer confidence, increased by 27.3 % to close at N986.8 billion from N775.3 billion in 2017

We are delighted with our 9 months financial performance with the continuing execution of our medium-term strategy which has further yielded positive results, leading to impressive growth across key performance indices including profitability, total deposits and balance sheet size etc. said Fidelity Bank CEO, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo.

According to him the bank has continued to grow its market share driven by significant traction in its chosen business segments such as Corporate, Commercial, SME and digitally led Retail Banking. “Gross earnings increased y-o-y by 6.9 % to close at N139.0 billion primarily driven by the growth in earning assets by 19.2 % which led to a 9.1% increase in interest income to N120.4 billion”, he explained.

Over the years, Fidelity Bank has differentiated itself from its peers by continuously introducing customer – focused digital products to grow its market share and mobilize cheaper funds. Attesting to that, its savings deposits increased by 12.9% to N201.7 billion leading to the fifth consecutive year of double-digit savings growth whilst low cost deposits, now account for 73.6 % of total deposits as shown in the results.

The growth in deposits is further complemented by its digital banking push with has resulted in having over 40% of its customers enrolled on the mobile/internet banking products and recording over 80 % of total transactions on digital platforms.

Despite the high inflationary environment, the Bank’s expenses grew by 6.5% to N50.6 billion due to increased technology investment and higher AMCON Charges. Its cost to income ratio remained relatively stable at 68.4 % compared to 67.5% in the 2017FY. Non-performing Loans (NPLs) Ratio improved to 6.0 % from 6.4 percent in the 2017FY despite a 3.4 % growth in the absolute NPL numbers with the NPL coverage ratio at 109.9 percent. Other regulatory ratios remained above the required thresholds with Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at 17.0 % and Liquidity Ratio at 38.3 %

Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged commercial bank operating in Nigeria with over 4 million customers who are serviced across its 240 business offices and various digital banking channels. The bank is focused on select niche corporate banking sectors as well as Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Fidelity Bank Launches New Savings Campaign, Unveils a Novel Account Opening Initiative.

Lagos, October 2018:  Nigerian lender, Fidelity Bank Plc on Monday unveiled a novel account opening initiative, just as it launched a new savings promotion campaign aimed at rewarding new and existing customers of the bank. The new account opening initiative, the first of its kind in the Nigerian banking industry, enables members of the public to open online savings accounts through a Quick Response (QR) code which can be scanned from any of the promotional materials such as roll up banners, fliers, posters and newspaper adverts.

This is expected to significantly ease the process of enrollment of new accounts and deepen the penetration of the new savings promo tagged; Get Alert in Millions Season 3 explained Executive Director, Shared Services and Products, Fidelity Bank, Mrs. Chijioke Ugochukwu, during the launch ceremony at the bank’s corporate Head Office in Lagos Monday.  “This new savings promo is the 8th in 11 years. As with the previous ones, we are motivated to continue to empower our customers by rewarding them with cash and gift items, whilst at the same time promoting the savings culture, in line with the financial inclusion drive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)” said Mrs. Ugochukwu, who doubles as the Chairperson of the Promo Committee.

Speaking shortly before formally flagging off the promo, Fidelity Bank CEO, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo thanked customers, stating that the bank is motivated to continue to incentivize them for their patronage. He said it was imperative to acknowledge the contributions of customers to the growing fortunes of the bank. “Last week, we joined other institutions across the world to observe the 2018 Customer Service Week and I want to use this opportunity to again thank all our customers. Our impressive half year results attest to your support and with your continued patronage, we are on course to delivering on our financial targets for the year” he said.

As a customer-centric bank, Mr. Okonkwo said Fidelity Bank would continue to leverage technology, in line with its digital retail strategy, to better serve customers, through innovative products, services and solutions. He reeled our some of the products to include the newly upgraded Fidelity Online Banking, *770# Instant Banking and Flashkey. “Our online banking solution enables you to transfer foreign exchange seamlessly just as we are the first bank to introduce a chat banking solution that is known as Flashkey. This solution enables you to effect monetary transfers whilst on any social media platform, without recourse to the online banking platform installed on your mobile device” he stated.

GAIM Season 3, as the new savings promo is called, is expected to run for 9 months till June 2019. The bank, within this period will give out over N120 million in cash and consolation prizes, including weekly airtime rewards.

To participate, Head, Retail Banking, Fidelity Bank, Mr. Richard Madiebo said “customers can open a savings account and grow it to N20, 000 or top up an existing account with N10, 000 or more to qualify for the monthly draws to win N1million or N2 million. To qualify for the star prize of N3m, he explained that customers are expected to grow their account balances by N50, 000 monthly whilst accounts that maintain a minimum of N200,000 qualify for the grand prize of a whooping N10 million. “As a bank with branches across the country, the draws ceremonies will be done to ensure that everybody, irrespective of where their accounts are domiciled, stand equal chances of winning” he explained. There will be a total of six draws to produce 77 cash and 108 consolation prize winners over the duration of the exercise.

The launch ceremony had in attendance the press, regulatory bodies and some winners from previous savings promotion campaigns. Alhaji GaffarAbdullateef; a previous winner thanked Fidelity Bank for the N3m he won in the last promo, saying that it “significantly gave boost to his business”.  Assistant Director, National Lotteries Regulatory Commission, Joy Okuna, praised Fidelity Bank for the transparency displayed in the last promos.  “As regulators, our duty is to ensure that promos are conducted transparently and I must attest to the high degree of transparency that we see with all Fidelity Bank savings campaigns and we expect no less from this” she stated.