Kayode Tokede
Fidelity Bank Plc shareholders have unanimously approved the payment of a cash dividend of 35 kobo per share to all shareholders.
Shareholders who hailed the bank’s excellent performance at the bank’s 34th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos also authorized the Board of Directors, among others, “to undertake as it sees fit and in accordance applicable laws, any actions, business combinations or transactions, including, but not limited to, investment, acquisition, restructuring, capital raising, expansion or arrangement necessary to ensure a competitive advantage for the Company.”
Shareholders who spoke at the meeting including Sir Sunny Nwosu, Mr. Nonah Awoh, Ms. Bisi Bakare, Chief Timothy Adesiyan and Mr. Gbenga Idowu were unanimous in congratulating the Board and Management of Fidelity Bank, for the impressive financial performance which translated into higher dividends for them (shareholders).
Fidelity Bank Chairman Mustafa Chike-Obi reassured shareholders at the AGM that the bank’s board and management would uphold the high standard of corporate governance synonymous with Fidelity Bank. and would also ensure that the bank continues its growth trajectory in the years to come.
“We will continue to build our enterprise risk management capabilities to future-proof our business, while modeling our governance practices to align with international best practices,” Chike-Obi said.
Chike-Obi noted that the past financial year has been a time of consolidation and growth for our Bank.
“Despite the challenges of the operating environment, we were resolute in executing our strategy. We paid particular attention to optimizing our balance sheet and strengthening our risk management structures. We aggressively pursued an automation framework to increase the digital footprint and migrate more customers to electronic platforms.
“In the future, our business will be driven by technology and innovation. We will optimize current processes through digitization and automation to enable better quality of service. We will deploy predictive tools to improve the customer experience. In recent times, there has been a significant increase in the migration of skilled labor from Nigeria to more developed economies. Therefore, we will institutionalize remote work protocols to allow us to attract and retain top talent,” he added.
Fidelity Bank Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, noted that digital banking products gained momentum during the year thanks to new initiatives in the retail lending segment and increased cross-selling our digital banking products.
“Today, Fidelity Bank is one of the best run commercial banks in the country and currently ranks 6th among banks in the Nigerian banking sector with a market share of over 5% on major indices. Our aspiration is to increase your bank’s market share to at least 7.5% on key indices as it evolves into a global financial services brand by driving expansion into new business segments within and beyond the shores of Nigeria,” she said.
