Fidelity Bank Plc has continued to show strength in the Nigerian banking sector, recording gross earnings of N215.5 billion for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2019, an increase of 14 per cent over the previous year.

The bank’s audited result released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that the gross earnings was up, compared with N189 billion achieved in the preceding period of 2018.

Profit before tax rose by 21 per cent to N30.4 billion, compared with N25.1 billion recorded in the previous year.

Similarly, net profits surged by 24 per cent to N24.4 billion, from N22.9 billion in the corresponding period.

Buoyed by the performance, the bank plans to pay a dividend of 20k per share, translating to N5.8 billion compared with the dividend of 11k paid in 2018.

Net Operating Income rose by 15.6 per cent from N97.2 billion to N112.3 billion during the period under review, while total assets grew by 22.9 per cent from N1.72 trillion to N2.11 trillion in the period under review.

Commenting on the results, Fidelity Bank CEO, Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo expressed delight with the performance.

“We are delighted at the results which clearly showed that we sustained our performance trajectory and continued to increase our market share, driven by significant traction in our chosen business segments,” Okonkwo said.

On digital banking, he said the results were enhanced by new initiatives in the retail lending segment and the deepening of the bank’s existing digital products.

“We now have 47.4 per cent of our customers enrolled on the mobile/internet banking products, 82 per cent of total transactions now done on digital platforms and 31.1 per cent of fee-based income now coming from our digital banking business,” he said.

The CEO noted that the efforts aimed at strengthening the bank’s foothold of the retail market were yielding significant results with savings deposits rising by 20.7 per cent to N275.2 billion, making it the sixth consecutive year of double-digit growth.

“Savings deposits now account for about 22.5 per cent of total deposits, an attestation of our increasing market share in the retail segment,” Okonkwo said.

He said that the bank’s Non Performing Loan (NPL) ratio dropped to 3.3 per cent from 5.7 per cent due primarily to the growth in the loan book and a 25.1 per cent decline in absolute NPLs resulting from the loan write-offs of over N12 billion. (NAN)