In yet another demonstration of the bank’s rising profile, top Nigerian lender, Fidelity Bank Plc clinched two awards at the 2021 BusinessDay Banks & Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards. The bank emerged winner for the “Fastest Growing Bank Award” and “MSME & Entrepreneurship Financing Bank of the Year” awards.
Held at the Lagos Continental Hotel on Saturday, 13 November 2021, the awards featured a host of notable names in the nation’s financial services sector including President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Bayo Olugbemi; Former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Tunde Lemo; and Chairman, JK Randle Financial Services, JK Randle.
Receiving the award of the Fastest Growing Bank on behalf of the bank, Managing Director, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe who was represented at the event by the bank’s Divisional Head, Energy & Power, Mr. Abolore Solebo said, “We are delighted to be honoured with this award. Since Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe resumed as MD of the Bank on 1 January 2021, we announced seven key imperatives that will guide our strategy to be a tier one Bank by 2025 and we are well on track to achieving that. Last month, we concluded a highly successful Eurobond offering, raising US $400 Million from the international capital markets. We have continued to record quarter-on-quarter growth in key financial reporting metrics”.
The BAFI Awards is supported by the BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU) and nominations for the award are the culmination of a rigorous review process.
BRIU and an independent panel of judges evaluate more than 250 institutions and benchmark them against their global peers using several indices in a thorough evaluation process and nominees are assessed for their vision, execution, and market leading propositions. They considered factors like corporate values, integrity, workplace culture, gender balance and other human issues.
Receiving the award of the MSME & Entrepreneurship Financing Bank of the Year, Onyeali-Ikpe said, “Ten years ago we created the Small businesses department in the bank to provide dedicated service to this critical segment of the market through financial and non-financial initiatives. This led us to hosting regular Export Management trainings in partnership with LBS and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC). We are pleased that this is yielding fruits both for our customers and the bank. You will recall that we were also awarded the 2020 Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) service award for the highest disbursement to DBN-focused locations recently.”
The BAFI award categories cut across banking, insurance, capital markets, investment, pension funds, trustees, registrars, stockbroking and private equity.
Established in 1988, Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged commercial bank with over 6 million customers who are serviced across its 250 business offices and various digital banking channels. The Bank is focused on select niche corporate banking sectors, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and has rapidly implemented a digital-led retail banking strategy.
