Tag: Wema Bank

Wema Bank plc has announced 72 per cent growth in  Profit After Tax (PAT) of N2.64 billion for the third quarter ended September 2018. The 2017 third quarter Profit Before Tax (PBT) stood at N1.53billion.

The lender also achieved growth of 70 per cent in Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N3.07 billion year-on-year within the period, compared to N1.80 billion in 2017 third quarter.

In a statement, the bank said customer deposit grew by 42 per cent on the back of improved customer patronage. The bank’s gross earnings grew by 7.96 per cent from N45.38 billion in third quarter of 2017 to  N48.99 billion same period of this year. The performance was supported by increased contribution from non-interest income, which rose by 24.85 per cent from N8.09 billion in third quarter of 2017 to N10.10 billion same period of this year. Net loans increased by 13.44 per cent  from N215.8billion to N244.8billion.

Deposit volume increased by 42.36 per cent to N362.3 billion, driven by the continued brand acceptance and customer acquisition initiatives involving branch network expansion and service improvements across our digital platforms (ALAT, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data -USSD *945).

The bank also recorded significant growth in Agency Banking partnerships, with the number of agents increasing by 27 per cent to 1076 agents as at third quarter of this year across all the 36 states of Nigeria.

Providing further insights into the performance of the bank during the period, Wema Bank Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Ademola Adebise, said “the bank’s focus remains on the Retail market segment driven by its success in digital on-boarding”. He also noted that the bank has set out to double all indices by leveraging digital innovation while it looks to further deepen its partnerships in the com-mercial end of the market with new “partnerships that are key to the success of our franchise”. “And we have created structures that will help deepen our market share,” Adebise added.

As part of its efforts to position itself for continued growth, the bank opened its Series II Bond Issuance Programme of N20 billion on September 28, 2018.  The Bond issuance, which is a seven-year bond (callable after five years) 2018 to 2025, was a huge success.

In building a robust retail bank, Wema Bank has expanded its footprint over the past few years, increasing its presence in the North and Eastern regions of the country and aggressively growing its agent banking business to reach the financially excluded and branch-starved communities. The bank recently opened new branches in Sangotedo, Lagos; Jebba in Kwara; Aba in Abia and Ilupeju in Lagos State.

The bank hopes to continue to build on the success recorded in the last few months and close the financial year with improved year-on-year growth.

Wema Bank Plc has launched a comprehensive Hospital Management Solution System. The solution was designed to enhance day-to-day operations of hospitals in Nigeria by digitizing core administrative processes and patient data management in medical centres.

The Hospital Management Solution System  is a one stop-shop single technology platform that enables patients make payment (cash or card) at various cash points. It improves the daily operations of hospitals and medical centres by providing a simple, transparent, accountable and integrated solution for better returns for the hospitals and a seamless experience for the patient.

It has the capacity to generate reports such as; accounting, revenue collections/volume, transactions, intelligence report, inventory management reports etc.

Most hospital operations generate substantial amount of cash at any given time during operating hours but solution ensures a reduction or complete elimination of revenue losses due to pilferage, unaccountability and lack of adequate reporting.

The solution runs via Point of Sale (PoS) terminals and will capture patient details, with the intent of providing proper monitoring, accountability and reconciliation of data. The Pos terminal is integrated at the backend to interact with the hospital ICT system.

It also helps in effective management of patient history database. The customer’s Management module allows patient data to be captured and retrieved whenever the need arises. Using a customized card, patients data, customer’s transaction history, details and information are well archived for future references and encrypted via our unique Quick Response (QR) code system.

Ademola Adebise, the Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, noted that the Bank’s bid to become the most innovative bank in Nigeria drives it to deliver cutting-edge solutions that saves time and money and offers superior value to all stakeholders. “Our aim is to bring banking directly to our clients thus offering a holistic and integrated approach to financial services needs and other valuable convenience. The Hospital Management Solution System is a state of the art and affordable retail business solution that meets the limitations and challenges surrounding the hospital on turnover related business.”

Wema Bank plans to issue N20 billion of debt in August to boost its capital adequacy, its acting chief executive said yesterday.

“We need to enhance our funding. The bank is in the process of raising Tier II and the offer will be opened in August,” Ademola Adebise told an analysts’ call.

The debt raise is the second tranche of a 50 billion naira bond program. The bank said it has appointed parties for the offer and aims to boost its capital ratio to 15 percent before year-end.

Wema Bank Plc has released its financial results for the half-year ended June 30, 2018 with Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N1.83 billion.

The figure represents  27.44 per cent rise from N1.43 billion earned in the first half of 2017.

The lender also reported a 5.12 per cent growth in gross earnings, driven by 0.12 per cent and 30.45 per cent growth in interest and non-interest income.

The bank was also awarded the Best Digital Bank in Africa at the 2018 Asian Banker Awards and secured $15 million and N7.3 billion lines of credit from African Development Bank and Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN).

Wema Bank’s Acting Managing Director/CEO, Ademola Adebise said the performance was largely in line with expectations.

Deposit grew by 39 per cent to N354.88 billion on the back of continued acceptance of the Wema brand and the sustained success of ALAT – its flagship Digital Bank.  “Our gross earnings increased by 5.12 per cent from N30.37 billion first half of 2017 to N31.93 billion first half of 2018, while Profit before tax closed 27.44 per cent higher at N1.83 billion”.

Adebise said the lender  continues to execute its five-year retail strategy with a clear mandate to improve performance by leveraging innovation. “The emphasis for us is not just to digitize our product offerings to customers but also to build a technology driven back-end infrastructure to further improve on turnaround time and efficiency,” he said.

The bank also continues to improve its customer acquisition through the launch of ALAT and the impressive performance of its USSD platform (*945#). The bank recorded significant growth in Agency Banking partnerships, with the number of agents increasing by 25 per cent to 845 agents as at first half across all the 36 states of Nigeria. The bank will further leverage on its platforms and in-built capabilities in lowering cost to serve and growing market share.

During the period, the bank secured credit lines of $15 million and N7.3 billion from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) respectively. This is further in-line with the Bank’s intent of obtaining long term funding to drive its SME business.

The Bank is also expected to open the second tranche of its Debt issuance program in a few weeks. With these half-year results, we believe we are on track to deliver on our commitments to shareholders at the beginning of the year.

Wema Bank Plc yesterday released its financial results for the half-year ended June 30, 2018 with Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N1.83 billion.

The figure represents  27.44 per cent rise from N1.43 billion earned in the first half of 2017.

The lender also reported a 5.12 per cent growth in gross earnings, driven by 0.12 per cent and 30.45 per cent growth in interest and non-interest income.

The bank was also awarded the Best Digital Bank in Africa at the 2018 Asian Banker Awards and secured $15 million and N7.3 billion lines of credit from African Development Bank and Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN).

Wema Bank’s Acting Managing Director/CEO, Ademola Adebise said the performance was largely in line with expectations.

Deposit grew by 39 per cent to N354.88 billion on the back of continued acceptance of the Wema brand and the sustained success of ALAT – its flagship Digital Bank.  “Our gross earnings increased by 5.12 per cent from N30.37 billion first half of 2017 to N31.93 billion first half of 2018, while Profit before tax closed 27.44 per cent higher at N1.83 billion”.

Adebise said the lender  continues to execute its five-year retail strategy with a clear mandate to improve performance by leveraging innovation. “The emphasis for us is not just to digitize our product offerings to customers but also to build a technology driven back-end infrastructure to further improve on turnaround time and efficiency,” he said.

The bank also continues to improve its customer acquisition through the launch of ALAT and the impressive performance of its USSD platform (*945#). The bank recorded significant growth in Agency Banking partnerships, with the number of agents increasing by 25 per cent to 845 agents as at first half across all the 36 states of Nigeria. The bank will further leverage on its platforms and in-built capabilities in lowering cost to serve and growing market share.

During the period, the bank secured credit lines of $15 million and N7.3 billion from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) respectively. This is further in-line with the Bank’s intent of obtaining long term funding to drive its SME business.

The Bank is also expected to open the second tranche of its Debt issuance program in a few weeks. With these half-year results, we believe we are on track to deliver on our commitments to shareholders at the beginning of the year.

Wema Bank Plc  has launched a new blog called Enovate, offering stories about innovation, with staff and customers as main contributors.

The aim of the blog, the lender said in a statement,  is to encourage discussions on innovation and the use of technology to make the lives of the bank’s customers better and improve the society.

“We are branding Wema Bank as an integral part of the lives of our customers and stakeholders,” Abiodun Aderibigbe, Head of the Editorial Team at the Bank’s Brand and Marketing Communications department said.

“There are local innovations that are constantly solving local problems and making lives better. We want to be sure that our customers are aware of such. We also want to encourage discussions about innovation, beyond just tech-led innovation.

“There is a misconception that if it is not tech-led, it is not innovation. True innovation is about doing something new, improving existing processes, products and services. Innovation can be a new technology, but it can also be just a new idea,” Aderibigbe added.

The success of Wema’s digital bank ALAT has positioned the financial institution as one of the most innovative in the country. Using local talents, the Bank built an award-winning digital bank, which continues to be an example of what is possible when innovation is allowed to thrive. The Bank expressed hope that new blog will achieve its aim and contribute to a better society where people are using innovation to solve everyday problems.

Wema Bank Plc has taken agent banking to Kano state.

The banking plan is expected the help the lender deepen its retail footprint across informal economic sectors of the North-Western states.

The plan is also meant to drive financial inclusion within the entire northern region of the country.

Agent Bank is a cost-effective medium employed by banks to provide financial access to unbanked, under-banked, and branch-starved communities.

It is the provision of basic financial services such as account opening, cash deposit, cash withdrawal, fund transfer, bills payment, airtime recharge among others, through third parties (Agents).

Kano state is a huge state with 44 LGAs and arguably the biggest market in Northern Nigeria. Wema Bank is keen to rapidly expand its presence across the state and capture the larger market by employing Agent Banking to recruit at least 1 Agent in each LGA.

Already, 13 Fixed Agents have been engaged and trained. These agents will support the Bank’s aggressive push to capture the retail market by banking small and micro businesses as well as informal workers and rural dwellers.

According to Head of Retail Banking at Wema Bank, Dotun Ifebogun, Kano offers the bank a strategic inroad into an attractive economic region in the North West. Leveraging Agent banking helps the Bank to meet two strategic objectives; support the Central Bank’s financial inclusion drive while using a cost-effective medium to rapidly expand the Bank’s presence and capture a largely untapped market of those operating in informal business sectors across the country.