Banking Briefs
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FIDELITY Bank Plc has announced a profit before tax, PBT, of N4.7 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, representing an increase by 5.6 percent, compared with the N4.4 billion it realised in the comparable period of 2014. Similarly, its profit after tax climbed by 5.6 percent to N4 billion, from N3.8 billion in the first quarter of 2014. The bank’s gross earnings according to the results, also increased by 12.5 percent to N34.8 billion, from the N30.9 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2014.
Fidelity Bank’s fee income increased by 54 percent to N9.2 billion, from N6 billion realised in the first three months of 2014, just as its operating income increased by 14.4 percent to N21.6 billion, from N18.9 billion in first quarter of 2014. Nnamdi Okonkwo, managing director, Fidelity Bank, said in the period under review, the bank built on the successes of the last financial year as it remained committed to delivering sustainable earnings and improved asset quality.
“Our retail banking strategy continued to deliver impressive results as core retail liabilities increased by 7.7 per cent in Q1 2015, while E-banking income from increased cross-selling of products to the expanding retail customer base We continued with our balance sheet optimisation which saw average yields on earning assets improve by 100 basis points and net interest margin inched up to 6.2 per cent during the quarter. We remain focused on the execution of our medium term strategic objectives in the retail/SME/E-Banking and niche corporate banking segment and look forward to deliver another positive set of results in the second quarter,” he added.
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Union Bank Records N4.9 Billion Profit
UNION Bank of Nigeria Plc has recorded a profit before tax of N4.9 billion for first quarter ended March 31, 2015. This profit showed an increase of 11 percent compared with N4.45 billion in the corresponding period of 2014. Customers deposits grew from N527 billion to N545 billion, while net loans and advances went up to N367 billion, up from N312.8 billion.
Total assets stood at N1.02 trillion, compared to N1.0 trillion in 2014. Commenting on the results, Emeka Emuwa, managing director, Union Bank Plc, said during the first quarter of 2015, Union Bank was focused on delivering critical operational and technology initiatives. “We have completed migration to Oracle Flexcube UBS 12.0, the latest version of the Flexcube banking platform, which will eliminate previous system redundancies and enable faster customer service and turnaround times in our branches once full integration has been achieved by mid-year.
“In addition, we continued to focus on growing our corporate and commercial businesses and enhancing our retail product offering. According to him, maintaining the momentum from 2014, gross earnings increased by 13 per cent in the Q1of 2015 compared to Q1 2014, and despite pervasive headwinds in the macro-economic environment, and the bank delivered PBT of N4.9 billion during the quarter. Going into the rest of the year, as our new platform enhances efficiencies, the bank will focus on growing the retail business with a revamped product portfolio, enhanced marketing communication and an evolving branch network,” he said.
Speaking in the vein, Oyinkan Adewale, chief financial officer of the bank, said the bank has been able to translate its operational efficiency and improvements into strong financial results once again. “The focus for 2015 will be to sustain the positive trend in our cost to income ratio, while utilising the balance sheet more efficiently to take advantage of opportunities in defined segments of the economy where we expect to see increased activity this year.”
— May 11, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT
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Tags: balance sheet e-banking Emeka Emuwa Fidelity Bank Plc Flexcube banking platform macro-economic Nnamdi Okonkwo Oracle Flexcube UBS 12.0 Oyinkan Adewale PBT profit before tax retail banking Union Bank of Nigeria Plc
