Fidelity Bank Plc may soon be classified as a tier 1 Nigerian bank, as management of the bank is working earnestly towards this goal.
Disclosing this on Thursday, MD of the bank, Nnamdi Okonkwo, also noted that the bank has just finished putting together its ‘four-year strategic growth plan’, a move he said would ultimately help with the actualisation of its quest for tier 1 status.
He also hinted that the bank’s growth plan may entail the acquisition of other entities, especially if such an opportunity presents itself.
Fidelity Bank’s quest to become a tier 1 bank, National Daily gathered will enable the bank to better position itself as far as profitability is concerned.
However, the bank may have to ready itself for the challenges that come with being a tier 1 bank, particularly the need for adequate capitalisation.
This is important, seeing as the bank would be competing with the likes of Zenith Bank, First Bank, etc.
Meanwhile, it appears the bank’s CEO already has a solution for this. He had noted while speaking to journalists yesterday that even though the bank currently boasts of adequate capitalisation at 16% ratio, it would not hesitate to go to the capital market for capital raise if need be.
Okonkwo also stated that the bank is now mostly ditigised, as nearly 79% of all transactions are done electronically. As a result, cash holding declined by as much as 30% over the last fifteen months, he said.
Fidelity Bank Plc is currently the leading tier 2 Nigerian bank, thanks to impressive performances in its 2017 full year financial report, as well as the first quarter of 2018.
Its quest to become a tier 1 bank is in complete defiance of the adverse macroeconomic conditions which is currently affecting some other banks.
The company had achieved some 18% revenue increase in its 2017 full year financial report, having recorded N180 billion as against N152 billion year on year. In the same vein, its profit after tax grew by as much as 94%, having stood at N18.86 billion compared to N9.73 billion reported in 2016.