Polaris Bank has achieved significant milestones since its inception in September 21, 2018 when it started its voyage in the financial world. It has since grown to earn the confidence of the banking public, and has offered excellent banking services with the aid of technology.
According to some financial analysts, Polaris Bank’s remarkable achievements in the year 2021 are a testament of her consolidation of its 2020 performance, relevance of the Bank, its management depth and indisputable corporate governance.Despite the challenges facing the industry, owing to the negative impact of COVID-19 on businesses and the economy, the bank’s current result demonstrates the importance of the deployment of appropriate strategies. This has effectively validated Polaris Bank’s recent investment in technology solutions and digitization of its products and services.
Undoubtedly, Polaris Bank has maintained its rising profile, as a top lender in the Nigerian Financial institute. This is not unexpected as the financial institute keeps providing outstanding Online, Personal Banking, SME Banking, Corporate, Investment, Agric and Private Banking Services to its teeming customers.The Bank’s Digital transformation remains one of the potent strategies that has strengthened its balance sheet, controlled costs, and improved processes while providing clients with wider self-service offerings.Few hours ago, the Bank collaborated with Eventful Limited, reinforcing its support for Nigeria’s Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector with three firms empowered at the just-concluded 5th Lagos Fashion Souk to further grow their businesses. The Bank is a member of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), which seeks to engage the private sector and the global financial sector to help create a financial sector that serves people and the planet while delivering positive impact.This is so, because Polaris Bank’s Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Innocent C. Ike, is unarguably one of the most respected and admired banking chiefs in the industry. He has proven himself to be a trailblazer and one of the few visionaries in the banking industry. He has encouraged disclosed entrepreneurs in the country.He has proven that he is not a JJC in the administration of the modern banking industry in Nigeria and, by extension Africa. He knows the banking business like the back of his hand.Besides, the Board and Management of Polaris Bank have demonstrated strong commitment towards professionalism and business ethics by upholding sound risk management practices that has kept it on the path of value creation and sustainability. Aside from the business pitch winners, special prizes were also given to the Most Original Store and Best Decorated Store at the Fashion Souk. The winners were given equipment grants by Polaris Bank to further expand their businesses.The overall winner of the pitch, Mrs. Oluwatosin Ogunbanjo, who runs a leather bag and shoe company, Avenue 7, got N750,000 and first runner-up, Victoria Udoh, a painting on Fabric Company, Vudoh was given N500,000 while the second runner-up, Tunde Issa, a Tailor and Founder of the male clothing line company, RoyalKlassicKoutoure, went home with N250,000.In the industry, Polaris Bank is also one of the few institutions that has a great assemblage of such a strong team of Professionals. This may be due to the bank’s reputation for world-class corporate governance and risk management.
The bank, today, boasts of highly experienced and top-quality management and one of the strongest Board of Directors in the banking industry.Its Managing Director/CEO of the bank, Innocent Ike has decades of experience, having previously worked at various other top financial institutions. He is fully armed with a wide range of experience as the executive director (Technology & Services) of the defunct SkyeBank Plc from July 2016 to the creation of Polaris Bank. In April 2021, Polaris Bank Limited released its full-year audited financial results for the year ended December 2020 posting a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N28.9 billion. The results, which show the Bank’s second year performance scorecard after two years of operation, have further consolidated the Bank’s position as focused on the path of profitability, growth, and value creation.According to reports, details of the results show that its year 2020 performance reflects a 4 per cent Year on Year (YoY) increase in Profit before Tax (PBT). The performance according to the financial statements is driven by the combination of the significant reduction in interest expense due to the Bank’s pursuit of low interest-bearing deposits as well as lowering impairment charges on loans and other financial assets. The Bank recorded Return on Asset (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) of 2.4 per cent and 29.4 per cent respectively which favorably placed the Bank as a key player in the industry.
The Bank’s Total Assets stood at N1.18trillion, a 3 per cent growth on the previous year while Shareholders Funds grew by 14 Billion (17 per cent), largely attributable to internally generated profits. The Bank increased its Customer Deposits by N56 billion, predominantly low-cost deposits in spite of difficult economic and industry conditions, and increased its gross loan book by N38 billion reflecting the Bank’s modest and prudent risk strategy to grow its Portfolio of Quality loans for optimal interest income generation.The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of Polaris Bank Limited, Mr Innocent Ike, who took over in the course of the year from Mr (now Senator) Tokunbo Abiru has been involved in developing and executing major corporate transformation and turnaround projects in the nation’s financial services industry, leveraging on a combination of in-depth industry knowledge and the application of relevant technologies and innovationPolaris Bank’s performance largely reflects commendable improvements in key performance indicators. No doubt, Polaris Bank has redefined the meaning of banking, showing its commitment to delivering industry-defining products, services, and digital platforms across all the sectors of the Nigerian economy.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper
