Customer deposits, digital banking raise Fidelity Bank’s earnings

The management of Fidelity Bank says an increased customer deposit and use of its digital platform helped raise its earnings for the year ended December 31, 2018.

The bank said it recorded a 4.8% growth in gross earnings from N180.2 billion to N188.9 billion and a profit after tax of N22.9 billion from the N17.7 billion reported in 2017.

“Customer deposit, which is a measure of consumer confidence rose by 26.3% from N775.2 billion to N979.4 billion just as total assets grew by 24% from N1.4 trillion to N1.7 trillion,” the tier 2 bank said.

“In other indices, non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio dropped to 5.7% from 6.4% in the 2017FY due to a combination of recoveries, loan write-offs and the absolute growth in the loan book.

Commenting on the results, Nnamdi Okonkwo, chief executive officer of the bank, said: “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 recorded double digits growth in interest income on our liquid assets, digital banking, FX and other income lines.

“Savings accounts for over 23 % of our total deposits, an attestation of our increasing market share in the retail segment.”

According to Okonkwo, 42% of the bank’s customers now use its mobile/internet banking platforms and the bank has been able to realise 25% of its fee-based income from digital banking.

Based on the result, the bank is proposing a N3.2 billion payout at 11 kobo dividend to shareholders.