Established in 1988, The 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 other digital banking channels.
According to the bank, it is focused on select niche corporate banking sectors as well as Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Fidelity Bank is rapidly implementing a digital based retail banking strategy which has resulted in exponential growth in savings deposits over the last Six (6) years, with over 40 percent customer enrollment on the Bank’s flagship mobile/internet banking products.
Quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Fidelity Bank Plc began operations in 1988 as a Merchant Bank.
In 1999, it converted to Commercial Banking and then became a Universal Bank in February 2001. The current enlarged Fidelity Bank is a result of the merger with the former FSB International Bank Plc and Manny Bank Plc in 2005.
The Fidelity Bank, whose headquarters is on Fidelity Place, 2 Kofo Abayomi St, Victoria Island 100271, Lagos, has maintained premium access to customer service, with live chat or all-day service options available. It has gone beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar bank with access to service representatives at a physical location, in addition to its online and mobile apps.
Experts have rated the bank 3.7 out of 5 stars, which means The Fidelity Bank is an acceptable bank choice that will definitely not leave you wanting more.
The Fidelity Bank offers the full slate of product offerings, which include savings accounts, checking accounts, money market accounts, mortgage products and credit cards and many more.
Experts also say, the Financial institution receives an outstanding consumer satisfaction score due to relatively few complaints reported to the Consumer Protection Commission, a government agency that protects consumers in the financial sector.
Recently, Fidelity Bank Plc recorded 35.7 percent growth in Profit Before Tax, PBT, in its 2021 financial year to close the year at N38.1billion.
Analysis of the results indicates that the bank’s gross earnings rose by 21.6 percent to N250.8billion driven by a combination of 60.3 percent growth in non-interest revenue (NIR) and 15.2 percent increase in interest and similar income.
The growth in NIR reflects the significant increase in customer transactions resulting in 84.9 percent growth in trade income, 48.1 percent in account maintenance charge, and 47.2 percent increase in digital banking income. Commenting on the performance, the Managing Director, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, stated: “We closed the financial year with strong double-digit growth in profit and across key balance-sheet lines, which reflects the disciplined execution of our strategy and capacity to deliver superior returns to shareholders.
“Other areas of the financial result recorded significant increases in the period under review with total interest and similar income increasing by N26.8bn.”
As regards the Central Bank of Nigeria’s efforts towards actualising $200 billion in Foreign Exchange (FX) repatriation from non-oil exports over the next five years, Fidelity Bank is one of the few institutions that has keyed in. The bank gave a major boost with a recently held workshop for exporters and investors in Akure, Ondo State.
This initiative was launched on February 10, 2022 by the apex bank as part of measures to reduce the increasing demand for foreign currency by importers, the RT200 FX Programme has been designed to reduce the excessive pressure on the exchange rate.
The workshop tagged, Harnessing Export Business Opportunities, CBN RT200 FX Policy: Policy Sensitisation, Emerging Sector Issues & Implications to Business, had in attendance representatives from key stakeholders in the Nigerian financial services and export industries.
Also in attendance were representatives from the Nigerian Export and Import Bank (NEXIM), the Cocoa Exporters Association of Nigeria, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) amongst others.
No doubt, the bank is well positioned to advance the CBN policy thrust to reduce the country’s dependence on oil revenue. Fidelity, in collaboration with other relevant agencies, has been committed to growing the export business across key sectors of the economy by providing support to exporters.
With new policies that will help guide this new phase, there will apparently be a lingering reshape in exporters’ mindsets, that will also infuse value addition on their commodities, allowing them to earn more forex.
Fidelity Bank Plc has expressed commitment to supporting the Central Bank of Nigeria’s efforts to achieve $200bn in foreign exchange repatriation from non-oil exports over the next five years.
If other financial institutions could tap into Fidelity’s resilience, not relent in its efforts to bridge the knowledge gap in the non-oil sector space by facilitating the necessary processes and documentation for the new policy, with the goal of increasing FX repatriation through exportation.
As though this is not enough, the bank has once harped on the need for strategic planning in the non-oil sector, the Head of Export and Agric Businesses.
Any how, the bank is one of the few that is advocating for a de-tour from the overdue reliance on the oil-sector; the bank being one of the pioneer stakeholders in this new drive is well-positioned to advance the CBN policy thrust to reduce our over-dependence on oil revenue in the country.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper
