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Tag: Fidelity Bank

  • Fidelity Bank seals $255.5m debt buyback today

    Fidelity Bank seals $255.5m debt buyback today

    Fidelity Bank Plc will today pay out about $258.06 million to settle a $255.5 million debt buy back after the commercial bank successfully recalled more than 85 per cent of its outstanding $300 million notes due in May 2018 for early redemption.

    According to a schedule by the bank, it will today pay $1,010 for every $1,000 of the notes in payment for the principal amount and accrued interest.

    Fidelity Bank had on September 28 floated a combined tender offer for early redemption of the $300 million 6.875 per cent Notes due May 9, 2018 and an offering for a new $500 million Eurobond. Application list for the tender offer closed last Wednesday, October 11, 2017.

    According to the bank, a total of $255.5 million was validly tendered during the period and it has picked up all the notes validly tendered.

    Fidelity Bank had simultaneously launched a $500 million senior unsecured medium term debt notes. The bank intends to list the new notes on the Irish Stock Exchange where they are expected to be traded on the regulated market.

    Its Managing Director,  Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo, said the bank would net proceeds from the $500 million Eurobond to finance the tender offer of the $300 million notes while the balance would be used for its general banking purposes.

    He said after settling the tender offer, the bank will pay the remaining net proceeds of the $500 million Eurobond into its foreign currency domiciliary account, which may be retained in foeign currency or converted to naira, depending on the bank’s requirement from time to time.

  • Fidelity Bank’s Get Alert in Millions Savings Promo returns

    Fidelity Bank Plc has re-launched its “Get Alert in Millions Savings Promo” meant to reward its customers and promote financial inclusion.

    The bank unveiled its reloaded version tagged “Get Alert in Millions Savings Promo Reloaded” to boost its commitment to its customers in the face of the present economic realities.

    The promo is expected to end in March 2018 and would reward over 200 winners. The grand prize is N10 million in a pool of N110 million to be won. There will also be consolation prizes.

    The bank’s Managing Director/CEO Nnamdi Okonkwo said the promo, the seventh in the series in the last 10 years, has not only raised the customer base of the lender, but has remained a win-win situation for all lenders in the country adding that more unbanked persons will patronise the banks.

    Represented by the bank’s Executive Director, Shared Services and Products, Chijioke Ugochukwu, the bank CEO said the promo remains the biggest from the lender, insisting that many millionaires will be created.

    “This is the reloaded version, which is to say it is bigger than the first one and it is an opportunity for those who didn’t participate in the previous one to do and also get more customers to embrace the savings culture”, he said.

    He said the bank will always support its customers, adding that the first “Get Alert in Millions Savings Promo” was executed when the economy was on recession, yet the lender gave out over N100 million and other consolation prices to the winners.

    The bank’s Chief Operations Officer, Gbolahan Joshua said though people sometimes wonder if the promo is achieving anything, but they believe in it as various indices reported an upward swing in the finances of the bank.

    He said the bank has been on the path of profitability over the past four years as they are “pleased with the strategy, seeing the results and encouraged to do more as we did promo in recession and also doing another after recession”.

    The Divisional Head, Retail Banking, Richard Madiebo, who doubles as the promo head, said the bank is setting the pace in promos and want all Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to key into the reward scheme.

  • Fidelity Bank marks Export Management Programme anniversary

    Fidelity Bank Plc will be celebrating the first anniversary of its highly regarded Export Management Programme (EMP).

    Launched in 2016, the EMP is a sector focused capacity building programme run by Fidelity Bank in partnership with the Pan-Atlantic University and the Nigerian Export Promotions Council (NEPC), to deliver impactful, world-class export management education to aspiring and existing players in the non-oil export sector of the Nigerian economy.

    The programme which prepares participants for effective play in the international non-oil export markets in particular and the larger export markets in general,  has continued to raise the bar of capacity building in exports in Nigeria.

    Its unique curriculum is structured to take participants through courses bordering strategically on product development for export; developing linkages with customers in importing countries; understanding the various export processes, accompanying documentation and other requirements in Nigeria and key importing countries; export products storage; quality assurance, branding and packaging, sourcing and supply chain management, logistics and shipping, export finance, business ethics, among others.

    Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo, who gave valuable insights into the rationale behind establishing the EMP, stated that the financial institution remains highly committed to aiding the diversification of Nigeria’s monolithic economy particularly through import substitution and export promotion.

    “We finance a lot of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.

    A number of these MSMEs have strong export potentials.

    It was therefore a natural fit for us to partner with the Lagos Business School (LBS) and the Nigerian Export Promotions Council (NEPC) to make this happen given in particular, recent developments in the global oil markets and the impact they have had on the Nigerian economy” he said.

    In addition, Okonkwo emphasized the need to boost non-oil exports and build sustainable non-oil exports capability which he affirmed is now at the heart of the country’s diversification strategy.  He explained: “Exporting not only improves foreign exchange (FX) earnings, but countries most successful in exports have stronger links to wealth creation, employment generation and sustainable poverty reduction”

  • Winners emerge in Fidelity Bank’s Get Alert in Millions promo

    Fix customers of Fidelity Bank Plc were rewarded with a total cash of N11 million in the eighth monthly draw of the bank’s ‘Get Alert in Millions Promo’ which was designed to reward its loyal customers across the country.

    The promo is also in line with the lender’s commitment to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) financial inclusion policy and determination to take banking to the grassroots.

    During the electronic draw held at the bank’s head office in Lagos, joint account holders—  Onoyima Ejiofor, Okafor Francis and Mbah Innocent — from the bank’s Nnewi branch, won N2 million. Other customers that also won N2 million respectively in a draw that took place in Lagos were Latinwo Idowu Adefowope from Ota branch, Ogun State; Bonori Isa, a student of Afe Babalola University; Kafilat Olayinka Dada, a fashion designer of the bank’s Iyanu Ipaja branch; and Saifullahi Ibrahim of Katsina branch. Similarly, Edward Ezebuaghom Adiele from Rivers State won N1 million.

    Also, 12 consolation prizes of generators and refrigerators were given out. Speaking at the draw ceremony recently, Executive Director, Shared Services and Products, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mrs. Chijioke Ugochukwu, said that the promo had produced a total of 128 winners since its commencement. She revealed that N85 million and several consolation prizes had been given out in the promo.

    Ugochukwu added: “We are still working hard to make sure we make more millionaires. We are very excited and pleased that this is taking place under the watchful eyes of the lottery regulators.”

    She further stated that the bank would continue to introduce customer reward schemes to encourage loyal customers, just as she revealed that the promo has impacted positively on the bank’s savings deposits.

    She urged members of the public yet to open account with the bank to take advantage of the opportunity of the promo.

     

  • Fidelity Bank shareholders get N4.1b dividend

    Fidelity Bank shareholders get N4.1b dividend

    Shareholders of Fidelity Bank Plc have been rewarded with N4.056 billion as dividend on their investment for the financial year ended 31, December, 2016 upon approval at the bank’s 29th annual general meeting held in Lagos.
    The board of the bank proposed a dividend of N4.056 billion for 28.975 billion shares outstanding, representing 14 kobo per ordinary share which was unanimously approved by the shareholders at the meeting.
    The shareholders who embraced e-Dividend payment received direct credit of the dividend to their bank accounts immediately after the annual general meeting.
    At the meeting, the Chairman, Mr Ernest Ebi, attributed financial performance of Fidelity Bank in 2016 to the slowdown in business activities due to lower government revenues, arising from depressed oil prices, lower interest rate regime, rising inflation rate, lower consumer disposable income, tougher operating environment and the impact of the current devaluation on asset quality.
    According to him, the bank reported a 3.5 per cent increase in gross revenue to N152 billion from N147 billion in 2015. ”Despite the drop in profitability, we remain strong boasting of a capital adequacy ratio of 17.2 per cent in 2016 which stood above the regulatory minimum of 15 per cent, which implies that as the business environment opens up in 2017 financial year, Fidelity Bank will have adequate capital to latch on to the opportunities,” Ebi said.
    In his address, Managing Director of the bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo, said the success story of Fidelity Bank Plc was anchored on improved service quality, innovative products and services tailored to meet the varying needs of the bank’s customers.
    “The strides achieved in our innovative pursuits strengthened the income stream of your bank”, he said.
    He said Fidelity Bank continued to improve the earnings capacity of the different segments of its business as gross earnings increased by 3.5 per cent, net interest income increased by 1.6 per cent and fee-based income increased by 9.6 per cent while expense growth at 4.7 per cent was significantly below the average inflation rate of 15.7 per cent in 2016.
    The retail and electronic banking strategy of Fidelity Bank continued to deliver impressive results as savings deposit grew by 30.1 per cent to N155 billion while instant banking and online banking products grew by over 200 per cent leading to a 41.3 per cent growth in e-banking revenue.
    Okonkwo, however, attributed the growth in e-banking revenue to the upgrade of the bank core banking system which provided a superior architecture that enhanced operational efficiency and depend electronic banking capabilities.
    The shareholders of the bank commended the board on the performance during the year 2016 and them to improve on it.

  • Fidelity Bank Managed SMEs Forum praised

    Fidelity Bank Managed SMEs Forum praised

    Entrepreneurs have applauded the ongoing ‘Fidelity Managed SMEs’ Forum being championed by Fidelity Bank Plc.

    Speaking on the Fidelity SME Forum Series on entertainment aired on the Inspiration FM, on Tuesday, veteran actor and film producer, Kunle Afolayan, said the programme is helping to educate more Nigerians on the gains of entrepreneurship.

    “For me, it is really nice, because a lot of people listen to radio in the morning. Also, a lot of people sit down and criticize films, but the platform gives them the opportunity to understand what goes in and out of film business. The programme is not only informative, but is also empowering people,” he said. Afolayan said it is costly to produce films in Nigeria, and in most cases involves borrowing from the banks. “For me, I wanted to do something different. Film producers should focus on content and sustainability of the business. I measure the success of my films in two ways- either it is profitable or it gives me mileage,” he said.

    He said film producers have to set up business structure that sustains itself adding that it is always good to balance creativity with commerce. “An average artist is a dreamer. You have to dream consistently,” he said.

    He said the only solution to ongoing piracy in the industry is government policy. He said film producers have to take protective and preventive measures to guide against piracy adding that despite all the odds, the film industry continues to grow.

    Managing Director of the bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo, has continuously expressed the lender’s commitment to helping Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

    Okonkwo, who regularly features on the Fidelity Managed SMEs programme expressed delight at the level of support and patronage by customers, said the bank also needed to reciprocate by supporting them with finance to grow their businesses.

    He promised to hold a more detailed educative session with businesses and entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses as a way of diversifying and solving the foreign exchange challenges.

  • Fidelity Bank records N40.8b Q1 gross earnings

    Fidelity Bank records N40.8b Q1 gross earnings

    Fidelity Bank Plc recorded a solid financial performance in the first quarter of 2017, posting appreciable growth in profits and gross earnings for the period ended March 31, 2017. This is despite the challenging and fiercely competitive business environment.
    Details of the unaudited results, released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) show that gross earnings rose by 18.8 per cent from N34.4 billion in 2016 to N40.8billion for the corresponding period at March 31, 2017. Similarly the bank’s profits in the period, surged by 20.5 per cent from N4 billion in 2016 to N4.8 billion in 2017, just as it recorded growth in net interest income, deposits, loans and other performance indices.
    Speaking on the results, the Fidelity Bank Chief Executive Officer, Nnamdi Okonkwo, said the double digits growth in earnings and profits underscored the disciplined execution of its medium-term strategy and a business model that enables the bank to continue to deliver improved performance in line with its 2017 financial year targets.
    “Gross earnings growth was driven by a combination of increased yields on earning assets and an absolute growth in the volume of earning assets which led to a 24.1 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in interest income,” he said.
    The Fidelity Bank helmsman also spoke about the impact of the bank’s efforts at reducing operating cost. “Our cost optimisation initiatives continued to deliver cost savings as total operating expenses declined y-o-y by 10.4 per cent to N14.4 billion this was driven by a decline in over 60 per cent of our operating expense lines in first quarter.
    “We will continue to optimise our cost profile without impacting service delivery through the disciplined execution of the initiatives from our recently-completed business optimisation project,” he explained.

  • Fidelity Bank grosses N152b, proposes 14k dividend

    Fidelity Bank Plc grossed N152 billion in earning for the financial year ended December 31, 2016 and is proposing to pay a dividend of 14 kobo per share to shareholders. The full year audited results for the top Nigerian lender, released over the weekend at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) show a 3.5 per cent growth in gross earning, compared with N146 billion achieved in the corresponding period in 2015.

    In other performance indices, net interest income grew by 1.7 per cent from N60.9 billion to N61.9 billion, whilst total deposits, a measure of customer confidence, grew by three per cent, rising from N769.6 billion in 2015 to N793 billion. Similarly total assets increased by 5.4 per cent to N1,298.1 billion from N1,231.7 billion in the corresponding year.

    Profits however were moderated in the period under review by the one-off staff cost incurred during the year. Consequently PBT stood at N11.1 billion down from N14 billion in 2015.

    “Our financial performance in 2016 reflects the sound fundamentals of our evolving business model as we continued with the disciplined execution of our medium-term strategy which positions the business for improved and sustainable profitability” the Fidelity Bank CEO,  Nnamdi Okonkwo said.

  • Fidelity Bank, others promote non-oil export initiatives

    Fidelity Bank Plc has in collaboration with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Ghana based West African Trade and Investment (WATI) HUB held an African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) workshop for leather and garment cluster businesses in the southeastern part of the country.

    The two-day event with the theme: Taking the Advantage of Export Opportunities to the United States under AGOA,which held in Aba, Abia State last week, featured mini-exhibition by the manufacturers of the leather and garment goods.

    General Manager, Managed SMEs Division, Fidelity Bank, Mr. Ken Opar, who represented the Fidelity Bank CEO, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, told participants at the workshop that it was the desire of the bank to give entrepreneurs the needed exposure to the local and international market.

    “It’s important to key into the incentive scheme of AGOA – an incentive scheme that the American government put in place to support export of African products into American market. AGOA guarantees duty-free exports, but our people are not fully aware of the compliance levels needed for them to take advantage these incentives” he stated.

    He also explained that Fidelity Bank wants manufacturers in the Aba cluster to generate the needed foreign exchange of their own. He maintained that Aba, being one of the commercial nerve centres in the country, is pivotal to the diversification of the Nigerian economy to non-oil sectors.

    “We are using this platform to provide them all that they need to know to secure loans to be able to drive businesses in order to participate in the AGOA scheme. As a bank, we are with them all the way from capacity building to access to funding, including equipment finance where necessary” he stated.

    Also speaking at the two-day event which recorded an unprecedented turn-out of participants, the WATI  HUB representative, Mr. Emmanuel Udonko, said that his organisation provides technical assistant, capacity building and marketing linkage to West African sub-region business concerns. According to the apparel specialist, his mission to Aba was to sensitise them on their readiness to export their products to America through AGOA platform and to enable them access the US market, leveraging the workshop as a good platform to start from.

    For Mr. Mohammed Abdulyana, a Senior AGOA Specialist of USAID/WATI based in Ghana, the advantages and benefits of AGOA for Nigerian manufacturers are enormous and it is important to educate them on how to be part of the scheme. He said the duty-free American market is an opportunity for Aba manufacturers to key in.

  • Fidelity Bank affirms commitment to SMEs

    Fidelity Bank Plc has re-emphasised its commitment to the development of small businesses in the country, as it rededicates its Managed Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) Unit to all entrepreneurs.

    The bank also said it will continue to build sustainable business relationship with SME operators and increase its funding for agriculture and medical segments of the economy.

    The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Nnamdi Okonkwo, who made the disclosures at the bank’s regular programme on Inspiration FM, tagged: “SME Forum,” pointed out that the move was strategic in the bank’s plan to raise a number of entrepreneurs.

    “When we started this SME Forum, the whole idea was to bring entrepreneurs who have succeeded to share their experience and help others make their business better. “We have partnered with Lagos Business School and Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC)to give people knowledge about how to export. Now, we are speaking with players in the entertainment industry and I am sure that we would soon build another sub-segment that would lead to a different game altogether,” he said.

    He said the bank’s approach is not all about “ready-made” companies, but helping to grow start-ups and building relationships, not about how much one has, but about track record of business dealings and propositions, even if the person does not at present bank with Fidelity.

    “That is why we have the Managed SME Unit in the bank. A businessman who has his idea, done his proposal, his cash flows and bought some equipment, but just need a little support to start it off will get it from us. In fact, we would handhold you and give you all the support we have,” he added.

    Okonkwo urged entrepreneurs on the need to keep proper accounting records to make it easier for them to access loans from financial institutions.

    He said the bank also supports faith-based organisations and that the lender supports good business ideas which can come from any sector of the economy.

    He said the bank is also heavily supportive of the agriculture sector, adding that it is working closely with Ebonyi, Kebbi and Anambra state governments to promote rice farming and other agriculture value-chain that would boost the non-oil segments of the economy.