Shareholders of Fidelity Bank Plc thursday unanimously approved the dividend payout the bank’s management had earlier declared.
The approval was given at the bank’s 29th annual general meeting held in Lagos. Shareholders of Fidelity Bank Plc are to receive a dividend of N3.9 billion for the year ended December 31, 2016. The dividend translates to 14 kobo per 50 kobo share.
Commenting on the bank’s performance, the National Coordinator Emeritus, Independent shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Sunny Nwosu, commended the performance of the bank, just as he projected an improved performance this year.
‘‘We are happy that Fidelity Bank is delivering value to shareholders despite the challenges in the environment. I am sure that with the new chairman, there would continue to be innovation from the bank,” he said.
Reacting to the comments by the shareholders, the Chairman of Fidelity Bank, Mr. Ernest Ebi, pledged that the bank would continue on the path of growth. He also expressed optimism that with positive developments in the economy, the bank would perform better this year. Ebi assured the shareholders that the bank would consolidate on its retail banking business.
“The headwinds are gradually going away and we can see light at the end of the tunnel. With the government now having an Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), I think that is good news for businesses. Consequently, our priority remains to de-risk the business by way of very disciplined risk managemen. Using our technology, we would drive effective service delivery for our customers in 2017,” he added.
Also, the Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, described 2016 as a very tough year.
“We remain solidly aware of the opportunity areas in 2017 and will work to grab the lion share. As we do that, we Wil not relent on the plan to redesign our systems and processes to boost service delivery, intensify strategic efforts to reduce operating expenses and cost-to-serve, as well as improve our retail risk monitoring capacities to ensure both internal and external risks are promptly recognises and swiftly purged,” Okonkwo added.
