Shareholders Laud Sterling Bank 2021 Performance, Approve N0.10 Dividend
Kayode Tokede
The shareholders of Sterling Bank Plc, yesterday commended the management’s 2021 financial year impressive performance on the heels of global and domestic macroeconomy challenges.
The shareholders at the bank’s 60th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos approved the board’s N0.10 kobo for every share of 50 kobo dividend payout for the financial year ended December 31, 2021.
Shareholders in the 2020 financial year had approved N0.05 kobo for every share of 50 kobo dividend payout.
Speaking at the AGM, the chairman of the Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Boniface Okezie expressed satisfaction with the bank’s 2021 performance, stressing that Sterling bank has remained resilient and growing stronger in the last 60 years despite challenges.
He commended Sterling Bank’s 25.4per cent and 27.1 per cent increase in total assets and customers deposit, respectively, that reflected on 20.2 per cent increase in profit and dividend payout to shareholders.
Speaking to shareholders earlier, the chairman of Sterling Bank, Mr. Asue Ighodalo said, “For us and for the nation at large, 2021 was a year of recovery from the adverse economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.”
He added that, “Breakthroughs in the development of vaccines for the virus, along with the campaigns to inoculate the global population gained ground and bolstered consumer and investor confidence globally and locally.
“The pace of economic recovery exceeded expectations despite threats of a third wave and the emergence of variants of the virus. This brought wind to our sails as we navigated the Bank to increase her profitability and growth.”
“During the period, we were consistent with our strategy to drive financial intermediation in high impact sectors that aligned with our HEART strategy. This enabled us to focus and deliver innovative solutions that enabled our customers to thrive in a dynamic environment.
“We are unwavering in our commitment to build a forward-thinking organization focused on delivering the best value to our stakeholders.”
Reflecting on key drivers of the performance, Sterling’s Chief Executive, Abubakar Suleiman, noted that the year’s success was driven by a growth of 28.5 per cent in non-interest-income and a 51.4 per cent increase in transaction volumes processed – significant numbers that illustrate the effectiveness of the Bank’s recent digitization efforts.
Customer deposits grew by 21.7 per cent from the previous year’s numbers, with an improvement in cost-to-income ratios, despite an increase in operating expenses brought about by foreign exchange inflationary pressures.
“We will continue to focus on our HEART strategy, optimize our expenses and lending while strengthening our risk management and recovery practices. These have remarkably improved our exposure with non-performing loans dropping from 1.9 per cent in 2020 to 0.7 per cent in 2021. Put together, these have enabled us increase shareholder funds by 4.2per cent,” Suleiman added.
