Onyeali-Ikpe: A toast to a consummate banker @ 58

THOMAS  IMONIKHE

 

NOT all financial experts might have agreed that lawyer-turned banker first female Managing Director/CEO of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe was the right choice for the job and one with the requisite skills to make a difference in the highly competitive male-dominated top echelon of Nigeria’s financial sector.

 

Such reservations could be due not only to the current harsh business operating environment in the country but the eagerness of shareholders to have higher returns on their investments which at the time of her appointment wasn’t very attractive.

 

But Onyeali-Ikpe who turns58 July 28 had in less than two years upon assumption of office proved the every pessimist wrong by changing the bank’s growth narrative and consolidated on its areas of strength thereby attracting domestic and international laurels.

 

Described as a virtuous and hardworking woman, she had since January 2021 been leading the management and staff with integrity, discipline, honesty and the fear of God. It is on record that one of her immediate priorities as CEO was to identify the weak links to adopt appropriate cutting edge solutions which perhaps had accounted for the recent favourable verdict by Fitch international credit rating agency which upgraded Fidelity Bank’s issuer default rating from ‘B-’ to ‘B’.

 

According to the global agency, the upgrade was a reward for the Bank’s improving business profile and resilient financial metrics especially under the watch of the incumbent CEO adding that the improved rating reflected the bank’s increased creditworthiness relative to other issuers in Nigeria.

 

“Fidelity’s Long- and Short-Term IDRs are driven by its standalone creditworthiness, as expressed by its Viability Rating (VR) of ‘B’ ’’ the agency noted insisting that the VR reflects “healthy asset quality, good business profile and reasonable capitalisation and liquidity”.

 

An elated Onyeali-Ikpe while reacting to the well deserved recognition stated, that “receiving this upgrade at a time when the global economy is faced with a myriad of challenges, speaks to the strength of our business model, the efficacy of our risk management culture and the commitment of our staff towards creating sustainable value for all stakeholders”.

 

She further assured that the bank would continue to “execute our growth strategy in a prudent manner that allows us to take advantage of emerging opportunities in our various markets”.

 

But her leadership has similarly impacted positively on the lender’s shareholders considering the increase in Profit Before Tax of N38.1billionfor its 2021 financial year from N28.1bnduring the corresponding period in 2020 which translates to an increase in RoAE to 12.5 percent from 10.5 percent and a dividend payout of 35 kobo per share.

 

Analysis of the results further indicates that the bank grew Gross Earnings by 21.6 percent year on year ( YoY) to N250.8bn driven by a combination of 60.3 percent growth in non-interest revenue (NIR) and 15.2 percent rise in interest and similar income.

 

The growth in NIR according to analysts reflected the significant increase in customer transactions that “resulted in 84.9 percent growth in trade income, 48.1 percent in account maintenance charge, and 47.2 percent increase in digital banking income”.

 

Also, contribution of the bank’s digital-led retail strategy to its financial performance was driven by both new initiatives in the bank’s retail business and the enhancement of existing digital banking products which is why about ‘56.0 percent of its customers are enrolled on the mobile/internet banking products and 90.0 percent of total customer-induced transactions done on digital platforms with digital banking business contributing 27.6 percent to net fee income in the period ending December 31, 2021’.

 

Born on July 28, 1964 in Awka, Anambra State,  Nneka also  lived in Owerri, Imo State capital where she attended the Federal Government Girls’ College before proceeding to the University of Nigeria Nsukka for a law degree. Her quest for more knowledge took her to the King’s College London, United Kingdom for a master’s degree in Law.

 

However, her banking career started in 1990 as a legal officer with the defunct African Continental Bank before joining the First African Trust Bank as a treasury officer. She has also worked in Zenith Bank Plc and Standard Chartered Bank before 2011 when she joined Enterprise Bank as an executive director in charge of operations in Lagos and other locations in the South-Western region.

 

Thereafter, the energetic Onyeali-Ikpe in an attempt to make a strong impact in financial services joined the Fidelity Bank as an executive director in January, 2015 where she had distinguished herself as a banker par excellence and made history in December 2020 when the Board of the Bank approved her appointment as the first female managing director and chief executive officer of the lender to succeed the retiring Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo.

 

Onyeali-Ikpe who is happily married, sits atop the full-fledged commercial bank with over 6.5 million customers serviced across its 250 business offices and digital banking channels in the country.

 

To further strengthen its total support for real sector of the nation’s economy Enterprises, SMEs, the bank during the first half of this year disbursed over N100bn loans to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the first half of the year.

 

It is also on record that the lender under Onyeali-Ikpe’s watch has leveraged its lending framework to partner with several Development Finance Institutions (DFI) such as, Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), Bank of Industry (BOI), African Development Bank AfDB) to make low interest prices credits available to SMEs in Nigeria.

 

Little wonder then that her tireless and unblemished stewardship at the bank had brought several laurels including the Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking & Finance Awards and the “Fastest Growing Bank” and “MSME & Entrepreneurship Financing Bank of the Year” at the 2021 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.

 

Consequently the board of the bank is reportedly satisfied with the performance of the Onyeali-Ikpe led management and staff that resulted in double-digit growth in profit and across key balance-sheet lines last year and confident that the team will continue to deliver superior returns to shareholders.

Happy birthday madam.

 

IMONIKHE is general manager publications, Champion Newspapers.

 

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