Fidelity Bank, CEO Win Big at BAFI Awards

Fidelity Bank, CEO Win Big at BAFI Awards

Fidelity Bank was the cynosure of all eyes at the weekend, when it won multiple awards at the just concluded 2020 edition of BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards held in Lagos.

While Fidelity Bank was awarded the Commercial Bank of the Year, in recognition of its support for economic activities in the real sectors of the Nigerian economy, particularly for its consistency in enhancing the development and competitiveness of Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), the CEO, Nnamdi Okonkwo was also honoured as the banking sector CEO of the Decade for “transforming Fidelity Bank into one of the fastest growing and most trusted financial services brands in Nigeria”.

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Receiving the awards at the presentation ceremony which took place at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, Fidelity Bank’s Executive Director, Corporate Bank, Mr. Obaro Odeghe and Executive Director, Operations and Technology, Mr. Gbolahan Joshua dedicated the awards to the bank’s teeming customers and all stakeholders.

The organizers specifically noted some of the key considerations included the rebranding project which drove an increased youth appeal; revamping of the bank’s performance management culture to instill a culture of performance; technology refresh and digital transformation in furtherance of the digital retail strategy he implemented.

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Leveraging on the realigned and repositioned operating structures, re-energized workforce and a more appealing brand, the bank recorded a consistent growth in financial performance under his leadership. Specifically, PBT growth of 236% from N9.0bn to N30.4bn in 2019; RoE rose from 5.5% to 13.3%; Customer Deposits grew by 68% from N806.3bn to N1,352.3bn and Savings Deposit rose by 275% from N83.3bn to N312.1bn.

Other notable achievements of the Fidelity CEO include Net Loans and Advances growth of 174% from N426.1bn to N1,165.8bn; Customer Base increase by 121% from 2.4 million to 5.3 million and Digital Banking penetration improvement from 1.0% to 50.1%, accounting for 28.4% of total fee income.

Fidelity Bank posts N20.41 billion profit in nine months

BAFI Awards, organized by BusinessDay Newspapers, seeks to identify and celebrate organizations, teams and individuals that have achieved excellence in the delivery of financial services across the entire client and customer spectrum. Established 7 years ago, BAFI cuts across banking, insurance, fintech, capital markets, markets infrastructure and technology, investment management, pension fund, trustees, registrars, stockbroking, private equity and digital currencies.

An Awards Review Committee made up of eminent analysts and members of the BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU), evaluates and selects winners using parameters such as Profitability, Net Interest Margins (NIM), Loan to Asset Ratios, Cost to Income Ratios, Non- Performing Loans (NPL), Net Asset Value (NAV), Share Price Performance, Return on Average Asset, Deposits and Loan Growth as well as Return on Average Equity(ROAE) amongst other financial and non-financial indices.