Nneka Onyeali Ikpe’s impactful one year in Fidelity Bank

COMFORT EKELEME, Business Editor

 

Over a year ago, precisely January 1, 2021, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali Ikpe assumed duty as the first female Chief Executive Officer/ Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc.  Her assumption of office followed the exit of the former Managing Director, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo after completing his tenure in the bank, in line with regulatory requirements.

 

Upon assumption, expectations became high, based on the belief that women are good at managing not only the homes but brands, hence the need to assess the achievements and growth of the bank in the last one.

 

And from all indications managing the affairs of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mrs. Onyeali Ikpe no doubt has succeeded in taking the bank to a higher level.

 

She assumed office as the first female Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc on the 1st of January 2021 and ever since then, the bank has recorded significant growth.

 

Upon resumption, Onyeali-Ikpe immediately set her sight in  positioning the bank as one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions, leveraging automation and robotics to replace manual and repetitive processes, a development the bank is gradually achieving.

 

Therefore, Fidelity Bank has in the last year witnessed significant growth. Committed to raising the bar of the bank, Mrs. Onyeali Ikpe in July 2021, unveiled growth strategies geared towards improving the operational efficiency of the bank.

 

The seven-point agenda which was aimed at improving operational efficiency and expanding the lender’s footprints is among the reasons the bank recorded impressive results at the 9-months period ended September 30, 2021.

 

According to her, the agenda is focused on brand architecture, brand building and refresh, talent development and transformation, product and service delivery, agility and performance discipline, digital transformation, and regulatory compliance.

 

Also, in May last year, the management had announced plans to make Fidelity Bank one of the tier-1 banks by 2025 and achieve a 7.5 per cent total market share of deposits in the same year.

 

In attaining the set objectives, the CEO said the bank would embark on an innovation drive to increase profitability and competitiveness, raise awareness of its brand, create a high-performing and empowered workforce.

 

She added that Fidelity Bank would also build brand loyalty through personalised and seamless customer experience delivery, develop end-to-end digitisation, boost performance discipline, and drive aggressive market penetration and business diversification.

 

“Other initiatives geared towards deepening growth include; accelerated play in the SME segment, renewal of institutional banking, and drive for transaction-based propositions in corporate banking.

 

“With this seven-pronged agenda, Fidelity Bank is well on its way to leading the sector while revolutionising Nigeria’s financial landscape,” she said.

 

It is worth noting that Mrs. Onyeali Ikpe has been an integral part of the transformation team at Fidelity Bank in the last seven years. She was formerly Executive Director, Lagos, and Southwest, overseeing the bank’s business in the six states that make up the South West region of the bank.

 

She also led the transformation of the Directorate to profitability and sustained its impressive year-on-year growth, across key performance metrics, including contributing over 28per cent of the Bank’s Profit Before Tax (PBT), deposits, and loans.

 

 

She is a consummate professional with over 30 years of experience across various banks including Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, and Citizens International Bank Limited, where she held several sensitive management positions in Legal, Treasury, Investment Banking, Retail/Commercial Banking, Corporate Banking.

 

The CEO has been involved in the structuring of transactions in various sectors including oil & gas, manufacturing, aviation, real estate, and exports.

 

For instance as an Executive Director at Enterprise Bank Plc, she received a formal commendation from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) as a member of the management team that successfully turned around Enterprise Bank Plc.

 

Mrs. Onyeali Ikpe holds Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and Master of Laws (LLM) degrees from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Kings College, London, respectively. She has attended executive training programs at Harvard Business School, The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania, INSEAD School of Business, Chicago Booth School of Business, London Business School, and IMD amongst others. She is also an Honorary Senior Member (HCIB) of The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

 

Meanwhile, details of the 9-month results for the period ended September 30, 2021, showed double-digit growth in revenues, deposits, and profitability.

 

The bank’s gross earnings grew by 12.5 per cent to N174.4 billion from N155.0 bn in the same period in 2020 while Profit Before Tax (PBT) soared by 31.4 per cent to N28.1 bn from N21.3 bn in 9 months 2020.

 

In other indices, total assets grew by 15.4 per cent to N3, 182.7 bn from N2, 758.1bn in the same period last year. Total deposits, a measure of customer confidence increased by 16.1 percent YTD to N1, 973.0 bn from N1, 699.0bn in 2020 Full Year, driven by increased deposit mobilization across all deposits types.

 

These figures, according to industry watchers are very commendable adding that it was made possible by the commitment and hard work of the present management of the bank.

 

However, commenting on the impressive performance, Mrs. Onyeali Ikpe said, “We were able to sustain our performance trend since the start of 2021 with impressive double-digit growth in profit-driven by 69.9 per cent increase in net fee income which compensated for the decline in net interest income as the average yield on liquid assets remain low”.

 

She noted that digital banking has continued to gain traction as the bank now has 56.1 per cent of its customers enrolled on digital banking platforms from 52.8 per cent in the 2020 Full Year.

 

While stating that the bank had recorded a 125 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) increase in total NIP transaction and 24.9 per cent, she stated that 24.9 per cent of fee-based income currently comes from digital banking.

 

“Other regulatory ratios remain well above the minimum requirement: Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at 18.8 per cent from 18.2 per cent in 2020 Full Year while liquidity ratio came in at 34.5 per cent, well above the regulatory threshold of 30.0 per cent”, she noted.

 

Besides, Fidelity Bank recently completed a highly successful Eurobond offering, raising US $400 million from the international capital markets through a five-year tenor Eurobond. The offering achieved a 7.625 per cent coupon p.a. and recorded a 1.8 over-subscribed order book which peaked at over $700 million.

 

“The pricing of the Senior Unsecured Notes, underscores the formidable confidence of a diversified range of global and local investors in Fidelity Bank’s growth aspirations and the well-experienced management team”, she explained.

 

Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged commercial bank with over 6 million customers who are serviced across its 250 business offices and various digital banking channels.

 

The Bank is focused on select niche corporate banking sectors, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and has rapidly implemented a digital-led retail banking strategy.

 

Fidelity began operations in 1988, as a merchant bank. In 1999, it converted to commercial banking and then became a universal bank in February 2001. Fidelity Bank is today ranked the 6th largest Nigerian Bank, with a presence in every commercial hub and key business centre in Nigeria. The bank has its operations and business focus well diversified in key sectors of the economy.

 

A stable, experienced, and highly regarded management team leads the Bank. The management team has built the bank on sound corporate governance with robust enterprise-risk management at the core of the Bank’s operations. The Bank has also voluntarily subjected itself to the NGX Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS).