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Fidelity Bank shareholders to get higher dividend

By on March 4, 2014

The newly appointed Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, has told the bank’s shareholders to expect higher dividend from their investment.

Nnamdi said this at the valedictory dinner organised by the bank in honour of the immediate past CEO, Mr. Reginald Ihejiahi, in Lagos.

Okonkwo,  in an interview with journalists, said, “I will have to consolidate on the achievements of my immediate CEO. I will build on that and take the bank to a level that when he looks back five years from now, he will realise that he did not labour in vain.

“The shareholders should expect that we will maintain a culture of steady payment of dividend. In the last eight years, Fidelity bank has paid dividend without fail. We do not intend to discontinue that culture rather they will get higher dividend.”

The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Christopher Eze, is also of the opinion that the bank is lucky to have Nnamdi as the new boss.

He said, “We are happy and have been very lucky. God has blessed our effort as we have a good objective to which everybody is aspiring and contributing. We have had good luck that the first and second managing directors were committed to the bank. We believe the new one will also follow the tradition.”

Ihejiahi, the bank’s immediate CEO, was appointed to take charge of the bank’s affairs in December 2003. Under his leadership, the bank was said to have recorded success in many areas.

Noted among these were: growth of shareholders’ funds from N2bn in 2003 to N167bn in 2013; expansion of branches network from about 22 branches to 213 branches; increase in customer base from 150,000 to about 2.5 million; rise in total assets from about N20bn to over N1tn.

The bank also made two land mark transactions under Ihejiahi’s leadership: $250m Global Depository Receipts in 2007 and $300m in Eurobond in 2013.

Under him, the bank earned a BBB+ Rating by standards & Poor’s Fitch Rating and Augusto & Co.

 

 

[Punch]