A survey conducted by Political Economist showed that Fidelity Bank Plc is the most admired bank among business owners especially small and medium scale entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

The survey which was conducted in parts of Lagos, Ibadan, Kano, Aba, Onitsha, Port Harcourt, Uyo and Kaduna among traders and business owners returned Fidelity Bank as the friendliest bank among the respondents. The survey was conducted via questionnaire administered strictly among business owners in selected market clusters spread in Nigeria’s busiest cities.

At Tejuosho market, a popular market in Yaba, Lagos, respondents attested to using Fidelity Bank the most for funds transfer to offshore partners in Asia and Europe.

Business owners in Alaba International market also in Lagos described Fidelity Bank as “our bank”, in apparent reference to their affinity with the bank. “Fidelity Bank is our partner, they help us to transact business with our clients in China very easily”, says a shop owner in the market.

At the Kantin Kwari textile market in Kano, the largest of such market in Africa, Fidelity Bank has helped many businesses to grow. “We started with Fidelity in Lagos and we have continued with them since we moved our head office to Kano,” says a respondent.

Fidelity also led the chart in Ariaria market in Aba, Abia State, Onitsha, Port Harcourt, Uyo and Kaduna.

Customer satisfaction, access to funding, fiscal advisory, ease of fund movement (transfer), flexibility of non-cash transactions among others were some of the indicators considered in the survey. The outcome of the survey reflects the status of a bank which has consistently focused on promoting small businesses in addition to its foothold in the big business ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Fidelity Bank recently posted an impressive financial performance for the 3rd Quarter of 2019.  Details of the 9-months results for the period ended September 30, 2019, released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed a strong double-digit growth in revenues, deposits and profitability etc.

Gross Earnings grew by 16.3 percent to ₦161.4 billion from ₦138.7 billion reported in the same period in 2018 whilst profit-before-tax soared by 14.7 percent from ₦20.1 billion to ₦23.0 billion.

In other indices, total assets grew by 14.6 percent to ₦1,970.6 billion from ₦1,719.9 billion in the same period last year. Total deposits; a measure of customer confidence, increased by 14.0 percent to close at ₦1,116.4 billion from ₦979.4 billion in 2018 FY.

“We look forward to sustaining the momentum in Q4 2019 and achieving our set targets for 2019 Financial Year”, said MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo. According to him, Retail Banking continued to deliver impressive results as savings deposits increased by 9.2 percent to N248.9 billion, further adding that the bank is on course to achieving the 6th consecutive year of double-digit savings growth. “Savings deposits now accounts for about 22.3 percent of total deposits, an attestation of our increasing market share in the retail segment”.

The growth in deposits is further complemented by its digital banking push which has resulted in having over 46.4 percent of its customers enrolled on the mobile/internet banking products and recording over 82.0 percent 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.

Non-performing Loans (NPLs) Ratio improved to 4.8 percent from 5.7 percent in the 2018FY while absolute NPL declined by 4.9% in Q3 2019 compared to Q2 2019.All other Regulatory Ratios remained above the required thresholds with Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at 16.4 percent and Liquidity Ratio at 32.6 percent.

Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged commercial bank operating in Nigeria with over 5 million customers who are serviced across its 250 business offices and various digital banking channels. The bank is focused on select niche corporate banking sectors as well as Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and its currently driving its retail banking businesses through its robust digital banking channels.