Shareholders have expressed readiness to massively support and mobilise for the ongoing recapitalisation of Fidelity Bank Plc.
Shareholders said the bank has shown strong resilience over the years and demonstrated its investors’ friendliness with significant dividends and capital gains.
Shareholders, under the auspices of Nigeria’s leading shareholders’ associations, said they would buy into any share offering by Fidelity Bank as the bank holds an exciting future for above-average returns.
The sundry shareholders’ endorsements underlined market pundits’ expectations that Fidelity Bank would easily raise additional funds and retain its status as one of Nigeria’s leading commercial banks with international authorisation.
National coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Moses Igbrude, said Fidelity Bank has shown that shareholders can trust it for sustainable growth and returns.
“Fidelity Bank is a promising bank that is growing organically, it is servicing its niche and share of the market. My appeal to the board is to continue to imbibe good corporate governance in order to sustain this growth,” Igbrude said.
President, Association for the Advancement of Rights of Nigerian Shareholders (AARNS), Dr. Faruk Umar said the performance of Fidelity Bank over the years has been very encouraging.
According to him, the bank has a very good corporate governance structure that reassures investors of the safety of their investments. He pointed out that the successful acquisition of Union Bank UK was a testimony to the financial strength of the bank.
National coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Boniface Okezie said Fidelity Bank has delivered good returns in terms of good dividends to shareholders.
The interim report and account of the bank for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 showed that the bank started the current business year on stronger footing with three-digit growths across key performance indicators.
The three-month report, released at the NGX, showed that gross earnings increased by 89.9 per cent to N192.1 billion in the first quarter 2024. The bank’s top-line performance continued to be driven by broad-based growths across income lines with interest income rising by 90.7 per cent and non-interest income growing by 84 per cent in the first quarter 2024.
Profit before tax doubled by 120 per cent to N39.5 billion in first quarter 2024 as against N17.9 billion in first quarter 2023.
The bank’s performance was driven by expanding market share with total deposits rising by 17 per cent within the three months to N4.7 trillion, compared with N4 trillion recorded at the end of 2023.
The bank also increased its support for national economic growth with net loans and advances rising by 21 per cent from N3.1 trillion at the end of 2023 to N3.7 trillion by March 2024.
