Finance
Fidelity Bank assures shareholders it’ll catalyse opportunities to deliver better returns
Fidelity Bank CEO, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, says the bank will catalyse growing opportunities in the Nigerian economy, to deliver good returns to shareholders in 2018.
Speaking at the bank’s 30th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos last week, Okonkwo said the bank would continue to focus on redesigning its systems and processes to enhance service delivery, just as it will deepen cost optimisation initiatives to reduce operating expenses and cost-to-service.
Whilst shedding light on the evolving dynamics in the financial services industry, Okonkwo noted that the bank will continue to increase the adoption and migration of customers to its digital platforms and increase its retail banking market share through the delivery of innovative products and services. “We will enhance our robust electronic banking processes and products thereby deepening our hold on the retail and commercial markets, small and medium scale enterprises and niche corporate clientele” he stated.
Whilst business operations were challenged by limited foreign currency liquidity in the banking industry, low financing opportunities especially in the public sector space and high cost of business operations, Fidelity Bank delivered very strong results in 2017, a performance he attributed to balance sheet optimisation and a focused execution of its medium-term strategies “Clearly, our success in 2017 financial year has set a strong pedestal for sustained growth in revenue. We are optimistic about a favourable operating environment and we look forward to delivering decent set of numbers at the end of 2018 financial year,” Okonkwo said.
Meanwhile enthused shareholders at the AGM who spoke against the backdrop of the banks FY2017, which saw profits rise by nearly 100%, poured encomiums on the Board, Management and staff, acknowledging the tremendous strides it has made in strengthening its corporate governance policies and deepening its retail play with technology.
Dr. Faruk Umar, President of Association for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigerian Shareholders lauded the bank for declaring dividend of N3.1billion which translated to 11 kobo per share. He said this was very delightful coming at a time when a number of other institutions are unable to pay dividends.
On his part, Moses Ogundeji, Member Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, pointed out that shareholders appreciated the efforts of the Board, Management in the transformation that is on-going at the bank and assured of the continued support of the shareholders.
Also speaking to the enthused shareholders, Chairman, Fidelity Bank, Mr. Ernest Ebi, said the bank was strategically poised to successfully navigate the business environment in 2018. Ebi expressed optimism that the expected improvements in the global landscape would trickle down to the domestic economy to consolidate the comforting business climate witnessed towards the end of 2017.
Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged commercial bank operating in Nigeria, with over 3.9 million customers who are serviced across its 240 business offices and various other digital banking channels. The bank has in recent times won accolades as the Best SME Friendly Bank, Best in Mobile Banking and the Most Improved Corporate/Investment Bank among several industry awards and recognition. The bank was also ranked the 4th Best Bank in the Retail Banking Segment in the 2017 Banking Industry Satisfaction Survey conducted by KPMG.
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 an exponential growth in savings deposits over the last three years, with 50 percent customer enrollment on the bank’s flagship mobile/internet banking products.
Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, has announced today that its online merchants in Nigeria can now accept American Express payments.
American Express Card Members – with consumer, business, or corporate cards – will be able to make payments directly to e-commerce businesses using Flutterwave in Nigeria.
This service will also be available to Flutterwave merchants in other countries including Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Uganda in the near future.
This collaboration facilitates online transactions and offers a range of benefits for both merchants and online shoppers:
- Flutterwave merchants can attract business from a new customer base of American Express Card Members in Africa and around the world. This includes consumers with personal cards and spenders with business or corporate products. Terms and conditions apply.
- For shoppers, there is more choice when it comes to being able to select their preferred method of payment when transacting with Flutterwave merchants. This collaboration strengthens the American Express global network and increases the number of locations across Africa that can be used by American Express Card Members to purchase a range of different goods and services.
Speaking on the development, Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, Founder and CEO, Flutterwave, said:“At Flutterwave, we’re always looking for ways to connect the world to Africa through payments. This is one of our initiatives to ensure that more people across the world can pay using Flutterwave in Africa. We understand the value of providing shoppers with payment methods that work for them, as well as helping businesses to expand their customer bases. This collaboration also provides more options of where to shop and what to buy to American Express card holders across the globe. By offering American Express as a method of payment, Flutterwave will make the payment process faster and simpler for American Express card holders, and improve the experience for e-commerce businesses using Flutterwave, helping them to start locally and sell globally.”
On his part, Briana Wilsey, Vice President and General Manager of Global Network Services EMEA at American Express, said: “American Express continues to expand in Africa to enable greater payment choice for businesses and consumers. Through the agreement with Flutterwave, a trusted payment provider, we are giving e-commerce merchants in Nigeria the opportunity to reach American Express Card Members around the world. The collaboration is a win-win because it also increases the number of places where our Card Members can use their Cards in Nigeria.”
Flutterwave and American Express share similar visions; to enable businesses across the world to expand their operations in Africa and other emerging markets through a platform that enables local and cross-border transactions via one Application Programming Interface (API).
Flutterwave has processed over 630M transactions in excess of USD $31B, serves global and African customers like Uber, Air Peace, Bamboo, PiggyVest, and across various industries. On the other hand, American Express is a globally integrated payments company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success.
…Posts N3.3trn Net Profit, Declares N2.1trn Dividend
…Targets 2mbpd Crude Oil Production by December 2024
The NNPC Limited has released its 2023 Audited Financial Statement (AFS), declaring a net profit of N3.297 trillion at the close of the financial year which ended in December 2023, an increase of over N700billion (28%) when compared to the 2022 profit of N2.548trillion.
In a world press conference held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Monday, the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, Mr. Umar Ajiya said the release of the AFS is a testament to the Company’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
“Our fiscal performance reflects both strategic foresight and operational resilience. Despite inherent challenges of our operational and economic environment, we have improved the productivity and the financial performance of this great company,” Ajiya stated.
Ajiya added that posting such impressive returns demonstrates NNPC Ltd’s commitment to sustaining profitability and supporting the attainment of national energy security as stipulated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, and by extension, as expected by the Company’s shareholders.
Explaining that the NNPC Ltd will announce Initial Public offer (IPO) once the shareholders and Board make a decision, Ajiya also debunked claims on subsidy payment, saying the Company was only taking care of the shortfall on PMS importation between it and the Federation.
Speaking earlier at the press conference, the Chairman of the NNPC Ltd Board, Chief Pius Akinyelure said that the excellent performance came as the fruit of the PIA 2021, the commitment of the Board, Management and staff of the company.
Akinyelure added that the shareholders of the company have since approved a final dividend of N2.1trn in line with PIA 2021 provisions.
In her remarks at the briefing, the Executive Vice President, Upstream, Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan said with improvements witnessed as a result of the renewed vigour in the war against crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism, NNPC Ltd is targeting 2million barrels per day crude oil production by the the end of the year.
On the current fuel queues in parts of Lagos and the FCT, the Executive Vice President, Downstream, Mr. Dapo Segun appealed for understanding from Nigerians, saying that the the Company is working with relevant stakeholders to address the distribution, evacuation and logistics challenges.
It would be recalled that in 2021, NNPC declared profit in its operations for the first time. From a loss position of N803 billion in 2018, it reduced the loss further down to N1.7 billion in 2019.
However, in 2020, it posted its ‘first ever’ profit of N287 billion, then in 2021, it recorded a N674.1 billion profit and in 2022, the profit grew to N2.548, an unprecedented achievement in its financial performance. The N3.297 trillion profit declared for 2023 is the highest since the Company’s inception, 46 years ago.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to start charging 0.5% cybersecurity levy on some transactions done by their customers.
The apex bank gave the directive in a circular dated May 6, 2024 and sent to all commercial, merchant, non-interest and payment service banks as well as mobile money operators and payment service providers.
“Following the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) (amendment) Act 2024 and pursuant to the provision of Section 44 (2) (a) of the Act, ‘a levy of 0.5% (0.005) equivalent to a half percent of all electronic transactions value by the business specified in the Second Schedule of the Act’, is to be remitted to the National Cybersecurity Fund (NCF), which shall be administered by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA),” the circular partly read.
The apex bank said that the implementation of the levy would start two weeks from the date of the circular.
“The levy shall be applied at the point of electronic transfer origination, then deducted and remitted by the financial institution. The deducted amount shall be reflected in the customer’s account with the narration, ‘Cybersecurity Levy’. Deductions shall commence within two weeks from the date of this circular for all financial institutions and the monthly remittance of the levies collected in bulk to the NCF account domiciled at the CBN by the fifth business day of every subsequent month,” the circular said
The apex bank added that this new levy will not be applied on transactions such as loan disbursements and repayments, salary payments, intra-account transfers within the same bank or between different banks for the same customer, intra-bank transfers between customers of the same bank.
Also exempted from the levy were inter-branch transfers within a bank, cheque clearing and settlements, Letters of Credits, Banks’ recapitalisation-related funding only bulk funds movement from collection accounts, savings and deposits including transactions involving long-term investments, among others.
This current implementation however is not sitting well with some netizens as they reacted to the new development.
Here were some of their reactions from X.
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