By Fola James
The managing director/ chief executive officer of Fidelity Bank Plc Nnamdi Okonkwo has disclosed that the unwavering support from customers helped in no small way to survive the impacts of the corona virus, so much so that the bank has now posted N161.1 billion gross earnings in the third quarter of 2020.
“Our nine months results reflect our resilient business model, particularly in a very challenging operating environment” of the global pandemic, Okonkwo said while commenting on the results which indicate that the deposit money bank, DMB recorded improvement in key performing indices such as the profit before tax, PBT of N21.3 billion, while profits after tax, PAT stood at N20.4 billion within the same period.
The COVID 19 headwinds bled the nation’s financial sector but the Okonkwo-led bank has not only survived, it remained strong in all fundamentals according to the report presented to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE.
Also customer deposits, Net Loans and Total Assets grew in double digits. Total Assets grew by 21 per cent from N2.1 trillion in 2019 to N2.5 trillion; Customer Deposits rose by 22.3 per cent from N1.23 trillion to N1.5 trillion whilst Net Loans rose by 12 per cent from N1.12 trillion to N1.27 trillion to cap the good outing by the top lender.
The magic performances would be impossible except that “We worked closely with our customers to gradually recover from the economic impact of the pandemic and the attendant effect of the lockdown” the bank’s CEO said.
He however noted that ”Net fee income declined by N1.3 billion largely due to a reduction in FX related income on account of the revaluation gains recorded in first half of 2020, due to decline in income generating fees.
In spite of this, he said, the growth in Savings Deposits accounted for 40.2 per cent of total growth in in Customer Deposits and Savings Deposits now represent 25.7 per cent of total deposits, up from 22.3 per cent in 2019.”
Fidelity Bank is among the top retail digital banking providers in the country, delivering seamless services to its teeming customers.
