It can rightly be said that Fidelity Bank Plc set target for 2019 Financial year is right on course, especially after the release of an impressive financial performance for the third quarter of 2019 by the Nigeria stock exchange.
Details of the nine-month results for the period ended September 30, 2019, released on Tuesday, at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed strong double-digit growth in revenues, deposits, profitability, etc.
Gross Earnings grew by 16.3 per cent to N161.4 billion from N138.7 billion reported in the same period in 2018 whilst profit-before-tax soared by 14.7 per cent from N20.1 billion to N23.0 billion.
In other indices, total assets grew by 14.6 per cent to N1,970.6 billion from N1,719.9 billion in the same period last year. Total deposits; a measure of customer confidence, increased by 14.0 per cent to close at N1,116.4 billion from N979.4 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 per cent 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 account for about 22.3 per cent of total deposits, an attestation of our increasing market share in the retail segment,” he stated.
The growth in deposits is further complemented by its digital banking push which has resulted in having over 46.4 per cent of its customers enrolled on the mobile/internet banking products and recording over 82.0 per cent 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 per cent from 5.7 per cent 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 per cent and Liquidity Ratio at 32.6 per cent.
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