By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Fidelity Bank has about six million customers served in 250 branches across the country and sets a high bar for its leadership to help it consolidate, expand, and do well in a competitive terrain and further burnish its profile.
It has had only four Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in its 33 years of existence.
After a meritorious service spanning six years, former CEO Nnamdi Okonkwo, passed the baton to Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe on January 1 in what is perhaps the smoothest transitioning in corporate Nigeria.
This is gleaned from a document released by the Fidelity Bank, published by Nairametrics.
She was part of Okonkwo’s team having worked with him as Executive Director for Lagos and South West as part of his transformational team.
Since assuming office as the first female Fidelity Bank CEO, her leadership has amplified the bank’s pay off: “We keep our word”.
With more than 30 years of banking experience, Onyeali-Ikpe has kept her word. Her time in half year ended June 30, 2021 (H1 2021) has set the bank on a path of continuous growth and improvement.
Proshare reports that Fidelity Bank’s unaudited Profit Before Tax (PBT) in the first quarter of 2021 (Q1 2021) “beat our forecasts soundly.”
· PBT grew 54 per cent to N10.1 billion from N6.6 billion
· Gross earnings grew 7.7 per cent to N55 billion from N51 billion
· Profit After Tax (PAT) grew 64 per cent to N9.6 billion from N5.9 billion.
Onyeali-Ikpe has introduced subtle but innovative strategies while working to elevate Fidelity Bank to the top tier of financial institutions.
Seven pillars of operation
She has outlined seven key pillars on which the leadership would rest – all of them geared towards positioning Fidelity Bank as industry leader.
The pillars are Brand Refresh, Workforce Transformation, Accelerated Growth, Digital Transformation, Service Excellence, Performance Discipline, and Innovation.
The medium-term focus include but not limited to:
· Repositioning Fidelity Bank to be the leading Business Transformation and Innovations/Solutions Provider for sustainable business acceleration.
· Dominate mind and market share and deepen market share positioning to customers and consumers.
· Strengthen market and consumer knowledge among the workforce through training and empowerment so they can be best among peers.
· Build and drive digital capabilities and optimise critical business processes by developing data and business intelligence systems.
Onyeali-Ikpe has participated in several initiatives at Fidelity Bank, including issuance of a $400 million euro bond, and more recently, issuance of a 10-year N41.2 billion local corporate bond – the largest ever by a Nigerian bank.
These bonds are listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, allowing bond investors to trade on the securities.
Further restructuring
Fidelity Bank also plans to
· Further restructure to focus on Solutioning, Scope of value generation, speed/efficiency and return on investment.
· Train staff to be game-changers, idea merchants, multi-skilled innovators, and smart thinkers. This has begun with the introduction of Alpha One and One Culture Projects – both geared at empowering staff to be highly motivated.
· Re-purpose on social relationship management and build ground influence mapping and activation into the local and global space to benefit the financial community and society at large.
Onyeali-Ikpe has proven to be an astute leader in the few months she has been in the saddle as evidenced by her strategic plans and agenda.
Her experience spans Treasury Management, Legal Services, Corporate, Investment, Retail and Commercial Banking at financial institutions, including former Citizens Bank, Zenith Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and Enterprise Bank.
She has participated in structuring complex transactions in different economic sectors, including oil & gas, aviation, real estate and exports.
Prior to joining Fidelity Bank, she was an Executive Director at Enterprise Bank.
The future of Fidelity Bank is bright as validated by the Q1 2021 results, and is expected to remain a key player in the banking sector under her leadership.
