Fidelity Bank, Ghana’s largest privately-owned indigenous bank, held its Virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Accra, showcasing a year of remarkable recovery and record profits.
Mr James Reynolds Baiden, Board Chairman of Fidelity Bank, addressing the shareholders, highlighted the bank’s resilience in a challenging economic climate.
“Notwithstanding the macro-economic challenges, 2023 was a year of strong performance and significant recovery for Fidelity Bank, evident in our record revenues and profits,” Mr Baiden stated.
He announced a significant turnaround, with operating income rising 40 per cent year-on-year, from GH¢1.43 billion in 2022 to GH¢2.03 billion in 2023.
Profitability also saw a dramatic shift, reversing a recorded loss of GH¢518 million in 2022 to a profit of GH¢1.17 billion in 2023.
Mr Baiden attributed this growth to the bank’s strong performance across all business segments, including Retail Banking, Corporate and Institutional Banking, and Financial and Capital Markets.
The bank’s total assets, he said, grew by 25 per cent to reach GH¢ 17.22 billion at the end of 2023, driven by a 28 per cent increase in customer deposits, which closed the year at GH¢ 12.65 billion.
The incremental funding, he said, enabled the bank to grow its Loans and Advances Portfolio by 17 per cent to GH¢ 3.21 billion, and its investment securities book by 28 per cent to GH¢ 7.70 billion in 2023.
The bank witnessed a notable 119 per cent increase in Shareholder Funds, reaching GH¢ 1.44 billion at the end of the year.
This growth followed a sharp decline to GH¢ 0.66 billion in 2022, attributable to the bank’s provisioning for expected credit losses occasioned by the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).
The strong financial performance of the bank improved its year-end Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), with regulatory reliefs from 16.8% in 2022 to 20.9 per cent in 2023, indicating that the bank remains adequately capitalised.
The bank’s balance sheet performance places it as the 5th largest bank in Ghana by Total Assets.
Mr Baiden emphasised the bank’s focus on innovation, saying, “We continue to invest in technology-driven solutions to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction in this digital era.”
“The bank is also forging partnerships with FinTech (financial technology) firms and sustainable development organisations to align our strategies with emerging growth areas in financial services and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) propositions for greater value creation,” Mr Baiden added.
“Fidelity Bank is committed to empowering local businesses and fostering economic growth. In 2023, we provided over GH¢2 billion in credit to businesses across key sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, services, and commerce,” he said.
The shareholders also passed a resolution to declare a final dividend per share of GH¢ 3.41 for the same period.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE