Business
FirstBank Promotes e-Learning, Introduces Special Waivers to Cushion Lockdown Effects
Nigeria’s leading financial inclusion services provider, FirstBank, has unveiled enhanced palliative measures to help its customers and Nigerians through these times of the extended COVID-19 lockdown in some states.
Amongst these measures are; the introduction of special waivers on repayment fees on the Bank’s credit cards as well as up to 90-days moratorium on SME loans. The aim of these is to cushion the impact of the toll on employment and livelihoods.
It was announced in the course of the week that the Lagos State Government & Roducate e-learning initiative – sponsored by FirstBank – had kicked off. The initiative includes the government accredited curriculum for primary, secondary and tertiary schools designed to ensure children are adequately guided and engaged through their learning experience.
Upon the lockdown in March, the Bank had announced to move One Million children to e-learning which is implemented with a number of renowned organisations that have come on board from within and outside the continent. These partners include IBM, which is providing opportunities for the acquisition of digital skills including Coding, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science & Analytics which would promote opportunities to learn skills of the future. These measures are taken in identifying with the roles of children at securing the future of any country.
Reflecting on the words by Benjamin Franklin, thus ‘an investment in knowledge pays the best interest’ Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, FirstBank said “in keeping with who we are at FirstBank, our commitment to self-development and continuous improvement is never far from our thinking. As such we are encouraging all to consider and register for any of the excellent programmes being offered free by Ivy League schools and have curated a list of them covering topics such as management, personal development, and entrepreneurship which can be found on our website.
In addition, Dr. Adeduntan stated that “with these measures, we are delighted to support our customers because you all have empowered us to do so by choosing to Bank with us. This is indeed a time to double down efforts and explore opportunities to ease the impact of the extension on you.
Once again, we appreciate our customers for the giant strides achieved on our alternative channels, as we assure you of our commitment to continue to work tirelessly to provide essential banking services across these channels. The transaction volumes is a positive testimony to the resilience of our staff and your Bank to keep things going as COVID 19 will neither defeat nor slow us down. We remain fully persuaded that together we will overcome this too.”
“Our experience over 126 years tells us the solutions lie within us, more than ever as we uphold our promise to you to be here for you and put You First always,” he concluded.
Business
UBA Expands Operations to Saudi Arabia, France, to Focus on Digital Transformation, Others in 2025
Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has outlined its roadmap for the 2025 financial year, with a strong focus on innovation, digital transformation, physical and financial strength as well as its global reach.
On the back of its full-year financial performance for the year 2024, which was released to stakeholders on Tuesday, the bank disclosed plans to accelerate growth through strategic investments in technology, enhanced risk management frameworks, and capital efficiency.
UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, who was speaking to its global investors during the Full year 2024 Investors Conference Call, which held at the UBA Head Office on Thursday, explained that the performance reflected broad-based growth across its core businesses, surpassing previous records and reinforcing its status as a leading global financial institution.
At the end of the 2024 full-year, the bank delivered an exceptional financial performance as the results showed an impressive rise in the bank’s profit after tax which went up by 26.14 percent to close the year at N766.6 billion up from N607.7 billion recorded at the end of the 2023 fiscal year.
Its Gross earnings also grew significantly from N2.07tn recorded at the end of the 2023 financial year to N3.187tn in the period under consideration, representing a 53 percent growth.
Despite the highly challenging global economic and business environment, UBA recorded a profit before tax of N803.72 billion representing a 6 percent increase from N757.68 billion recorded at the end of the 2023 financial year.
Consequently, UBA Group Shareholders’ Funds rose from N2.030 trillion as at December 2023 to close the 2024 financial year at N3.419 trillion, achieving an impressive growth of 68.39 percent.
As a result of the impressive performance the bank proposed a final dividend of N3.00 kobo for every ordinary share of 50 kobo, for the financial year ended December 31, 2024.
Alawuba told the investors at the meeting that the bank is set to further surpass its growth projection through strategic investments in technology, enhanced risk management frameworks, and disciplined capital efficiency.
“We will continue to push the frontiers of innovation and technology adoption to build sustainable value for shareholders by making strategic investments in technology. Our team of committed and motivated workforce will continue to work assiduously to sustain our performance and propel the bank in delivering high-impact, customer-centric product offerings,” Alawuba stated.
He disclosed that the bank is on course to sustain the momentum that it has achieved in the past years, adding that “We shall remain focused on best-in-class risk management strategies in navigating emerging market uncertainties while ensuring financial strength, full regulatory compliance, and long-term sustainability.”
This performance underscores UBA’s ability to generate sustainable revenue growth through core operations, including increased loan book growth, deposit mobilization, and transaction banking.
While disclosing the Bank’s finalisation of its planned expansions to France and Saudi Arabia, he said that the Bank’s ex-Nigeria (Rest of Africa & International) operations have expanded significantly over the past five years, now contributing 51.7% of Group revenue, up from 31% in 2019, “delivering diversification benefits and further boosting long-term shareholder value. This will continue to grow, as we further explore strategic markets that align with our overall vision.”
UBA’s Executive Director, Finance & Risk Management, Ugo Nwaghodoh, said the bank recorded triple digit growth in net interest income, resulting in remarkable improvement in net interest margin from 6.83 percent in 2023 to 9.14 percent, while also recording strong double-digit growth in fee and commission income lines of 91.66 percent.
He explained that as the bank navigates evolving risks, its management remains focused on responsible growth, delivering customer-focused value propositions, whilst ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements in all jurisdictions.
United Bank for Africa is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, with 25,000 employees group wide and serving over 45 million customers globally. Operating in twenty African countries and the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France and the United Arab Emirates, UBA provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services, leading financial inclusion and implementing cutting edge technology.
In line with its upward growth trajectory, leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has posted an impressive 120.1% growth in Profit Before Tax from N17.9bn at the end of Q1 2023 to N39.5bn for Q1 2024. This was made known in the Bank’s unaudited financial statements released on the issuer portal of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Tuesday, 30 April 2024.
According to the statement, Gross Earnings increased by 89.9% yoy to N192.1bn from N101.1bn in Q1 2023. The increase was led by a combination of interest income (90.7% yoy) and non-interest income (84.0% yoy).
Growth in interest income was primarily spurred by a higher yield environment and strong earning assets base, while the increase in non-interest income was led by double-digit growth in account maintenance charges, FX-related income, trade, banking services, and remittances, supported by increased customer transactions.
Commenting on the results, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc stated, “We are pleased to report another quarter of strong financial performance driven by our strategic focus on customer-centricity, digital innovation and operational excellence. Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, we remained resilient and agile, delivering double-digit growth on key income lines while advancing our business sustainability agenda.”
In the period under review, the bank grew Net interest income grew by 89.5% yoy to N99.6bn from N52.6bn in Q1 2023, driven by interest and similar income as the yield on financial instruments improved to 14.7% from 10.1% in Q1 2023 (2023FY: 11.6%). In line with the steady rise in interest rates through the year, average funding cost increased by 80bps ytd to 5.2%. However, NIM came in at 8.8%
compared to 8.1% in 2023FY, as increased yield on earning assets surpassed funding cost to 15.1% from 13.3% in Q1 2023 (2023FY: 13.5%).
Similarly, Total Deposits increased by 17.2% ytd to N4.7tn from N4.0tn in 2023FY, driven by double-digit growth across all deposit types (demand, savings and term). Net Loans and Advances increased by 21.2% to N3.7tn from N3.1tn in 2023FY.
“Beginning the year on this inspiring note reaffirms our strategy of helping individuals to grow, inspiring businesses to thrive and empowering economies to prosper. We are committed to our guidance as we build a more resilient business franchise with a well-diversified earnings base in 2024,” explained Onyeali-Ikpe.
Ranked as one of the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged customer commercial bank with over 8.5 million customers serviced across its 251 business offices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom as well as on digital banking channels.
The bank has won multiple local and international awards including the Export Finance Bank of the Year at the 2023 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, the Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023 and Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking and Finance Awards; Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2023; and Best Domestic Private Bank in Nigeria by the Euromoney Global Private Banking Awards 2023.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) has announced its audited financial results for the year ending December 31, 2024, with a remarkable surge in profit before tax (PBT). The results, submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), reveal a PBT of ₦1.266 trillion—marking a 107.8% increase from the ₦609.3 billion recorded in 2023.
The financial statement highlights GTCO’s strong earnings momentum, supported by a well-balanced revenue mix, solid risk management frameworks, and disciplined capital allocation. The company saw broad-based growth across key financial indicators, maintaining a strong and diversified balance sheet.
Key performance metrics show a 12.3% rise in the Group’s net loan book, from ₦2.48 trillion in December 2023 to ₦2.79 trillion in December 2024. Deposit liabilities also climbed by 37.8%, reaching ₦10.40 trillion from ₦7.55 trillion in the previous year. Additionally, total assets and shareholders’ funds closed at ₦14.8 trillion and ₦2.7 trillion, respectively. The Group sustained robust capital adequacy, closing the year at 39.3%, while asset quality remained stable, with IFRS 9 Stage 3 Loans at 3.5% at the Bank level and 5.2% for the Group, compared to 2.5% and 4.2%, respectively, in 2023.
GTCO’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Segun Agbaje, attributed the outstanding performance to a well-diversified earnings base spanning both banking and non-banking subsidiaries. He emphasized the Group’s ability to generate sustainable, high-quality earnings while maintaining asset quality and operational efficiency.
“Our 2024 results reflect the strength and adaptability of our business model. We have successfully provided for all forbearance loans ahead of the June 2025 deadline and fully accounted for the windfall tax, reinforcing our balance sheet and financial stability,” Agbaje stated.
GTCO continues to position itself for long-term growth, leveraging strategic investments and sound financial management to drive value creation for stakeholders.
