Fidelity Bank Plc yesterday reported a growth of 20 per cent in profit after tax (PAT) to N21.5 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, up from the N17.9 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2018.
According to the unaudited results, Fidelity Bank Plc recorded gross earnings of N161 billion in 2019, showing an increase of 15 per cent. Net interest income stood at N58.2 billion, compared with N58.1 billion in 2018. Fees and commission income rose from N15.1 billion to N19.2 billion. The bank ended the period with profit before tax (PBT) of N23 billion, showing an increase of 15 per cent, while PAT grew faster by 20 per cent to N21.5 billion, from N17.9 billion.
A further analysis of the figures showed that total assets grew by 14.6 per cent to N1.971 trillion, from N1.719 trillion in the same period last year. Total deposits, a measure of customer confidence, increased by 14.0 per cent to close at N1.116 trillion from N979.4 billion in 2018 full year(FY).
Commenting, Managing Director/CEO of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okoonkwo said: “We look forward to sustaining the momentum in fourth quarter (Q4) 2019 and achieving our set targets for 2019 financial year.” According to him, retail banking continued to deliver impressive results as savings deposits increased by 9.2 per cent to N248.9 billion, noting that the bank was on course to achieving the sixth consecutive year of double-digit savings growth.
“Savings deposits now accounts for about 22.3 per cent of total deposits, an attestation of our increasing market share in the retail segment,” he said
The MD explained that the growth in deposits was further complemented by the bank’s digital banking push which has resulted in having over 46.4 per cent of its customers enrolled on the mobile/internet banking products and recording over 82.0 per cent of total transactions on digital platforms.
“Digital banking continued to gain traction driven by the bank’s new initiatives in the retail lending and increased cross-selling of our digital banking products,” he added.
The banks’ non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio improved to 4.8 per cent from 5.7 percent in the 2018FY while absolute NPL declined by 4.9 per cent in the third quarter (Q3) 2019, compared to second (Q2) 2019.
He said all other regulatory ratios remained above the required thresholds with Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at 16.4 per cent and Liquidity Ratio at 32.6 per cent.
Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged commercial bank operating in Nigeria with over five million customers who are serviced across its 250 business offices and various digital banking channels.
According to the bank, it is focused on select niche corporate banking sectors as well as Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and it is currently driving its retail banking businesses through its robust digital banking channels.
