Fidelity Bank announces N6.6bn profits in Q1

Fidelity Bank has released its unaudited financial results for the period ended March 31, 2020.

According to the bank, gross Earnings for the first quarter of the year, grew by 5.7 percent to N51.2 billion from N48.4 billion in the previous year, whilst Profit before Tax (PBT) stood at N6.6 billion representing a marginal drop from N6.7billion recorded in the first quarter of 2019. Shareholders’ Funds the other hand grew by 3.6 percent from N234billion in 2019 to N242billion in the first quarter of 2020.

Meanwhile, the bank has reassured that it will continue to take measures that will ensure the safety of customers, staff and other stakeholders during this period.

Speaking recently at the 32nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, Chairman, Board of Directors, Mr. Ernest Ebi said the bank “remains committed to building a sustainable business, even in the midst of the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Mr. Ebi, who was a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), revealed that the Board, in line with its oversight responsibilities, has been meeting virtually, to strategise on new opportunity areas to cushion the impact of the pandemic and to sustain the growth trajectory of the bank in recent years.

Also speaking, the President of the Nigerian Shareholders’ Solidarity Association, Chief Timothy Adesiyan, commended the improvement particularly in interest income, non-performing loans (NPLs), liquidity ratio, and profit after tax and gross earnings. While lauding the bank for its digitalisation programme, he expressed optimism that the bank would be positioned to take advantage of new and emergent opportunities based on its comprehensive upgrade of its technology architecture.