Amid a harsh operating environment, Access Bank Plc has announced gross earnings of ₦764.7 billion in its 2020 operations, against N666.75 billion recorded in the corresponding period in 2019.
The bank’s audited result for 2020 showed gross earnings of N764.7 billion, representing 15 per cent increase when compared to N666.75 billion achieved in the corresponding period in 2019.
Profit Before Tax (PBT) stood at ₦125.9 billion while non-interest income also rose by 112 percent to ₦275.5 billion within the same period.
Group Managing Director of the bank, Herbert Wigwe said the institution’s resilience is testament to the effectiveness of its strategy and capacity to generate sustainable revenue.
“The strategic actions that the bank has taken over the past 12 months with strong focus on retail banking, financial inclusion, African expansion strategy and a drive for scale for sustainable value creation have reflected on the performance.
“In 2020, Access Bank proudly opened its doors for business in Kenya and Mozambique, further increasing our footprints across the African Continent. Access Bank Zambia also concluded the acquisition of Cavmont Bank Limited in January 2021.
“The Group recently announced the approval by relevant regulatory authorities for the acquisition of Grobank Limited, creating an inroad into the South African market in realisation of the Group’s strategic ambitions.”
To leverage opportunities that exist in the market, Wigwe said the bank has received Approval-In-Principle from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to transform its operations to a Holding Company (HoldCo) structure.
According to him, the HoldCo arrangement will consist of four subsidiaries to enable the bank to tap into opportunities that exist in the consumer lending market, electronic payments industry and retail insurance market.x
“Going into the fourth year of our five-year cyclical strategy, our focus remains on consolidating our retail momentum and expanding our African footprint in a sustainable manner,” Wigwe said.
The bank recorded consistent growth in retail banking business, reporting 5.8 million growth in customer sign-on during the year through its financial inclusion efforts increasing retail revenue to ₦177.2 billion, 64.4 per cent increase when compared to ₦107.8 billion recorded in 2019.
The bank’s customer deposits also grew by 31 per cent to ₦5.59 trillion with savings account deposits increasing to ₦1.31trillion. Similarly, net loans and advances grew by 18 per cent to ₦3.61 trillion up from ₦3.06 trillion.
Its asset quality stood at 4.3 per cent compared to 5.8 per cent in 2019 as the bank intensified recovery efforts, undertook significant write off and leveraged its robust risk management practices,
The bank also expressed optimism that the trend would continue as it strives to surpass the standard it had built in the industry prior to the merger with Diamond Bank.
