Fidelity Bank asset base hits N1.6trn as bad loans decline

Fidelity Bank Plc has seen a surge in its asset base as non-performing loans declined for the third quarter of 2018.

According to its nine-month results for the period ended September 30, 2018, released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the bank gross earnings grew by 6.9% to N139.0 billion from N130.1 billion reported in the same period in 2017.

The bank’s profit-before-tax soared by 23.6% from N16.2 billion to N20.1 billion, while total assets grew by 21.9% to N1.680 trillion from N1.379 trillion in the same period in 2017.

Total deposits, which the bank says is “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 nine 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,” Nnamdi Okonkwo, Fidelity Bank CEO, said.

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 added.

In the period under review, 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 bank said “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 said its expenses grew by 6.5% to N50.6 billion due to increased technology investment and higher AMCON charges.

Non-performing Loans (NPLs) ratio improved to 6.0% from 6.4% in the 2017 fiscal year.

Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged commercial bank operating in Nigeria with over four million customers who are serviced across its 240 business offices and various digital banking channels.