Fidelity Bank Plc at the weekend clinched the award for Commercial Bank of the Year award, while its outgoing CEO, Nnamdi Okonkwo and Dr Godwin Ehigiamusoe, Founder/CEO of LAPO Group, jointly won CEO of the Decade award at the 2020 edition of BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards held in Lagos.
The bank won the award in recognition of its support for economic activities in the real sectors of the economy, particularly for its consistency in enhancing the development and competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Receiving the award on behalf of the bank , its Executive Director, Corporate Bank, Mr. Obaro Odeghe, dedicated it to the bank’s teeming customers, whom, he said, are central to the bank’s overall strategic intent. Also, its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer,, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, was honoured as the banking sector CEO of the Decade for “transforming Fidelity Bank into one of the fastest growing and most trusted financial services brands in Nigeria”.
The organisers specifically noted some of his key achievements to include the rebranding project which drove an increased youth appeal; revamping of the bank’s performance management culture to instil a culture of performance; technology refresh and digital transformation in furtherance of the digital retail strategy he implemented.
Leveraging on the realigned and repositioned operating structures, re-energised workforce and a more appealing brand, the bank recorded a consistent growth in financial performance under his leadership. Specifically, pre-tax profit grew by 236 per cent from N9billion to N30.4bn in 2019; RoE rose from 5.5 per cent to 13.3 per cent; Customer Deposits grew by 68 per cent from N806.3bn to N1,352.3billion and Savings Deposit rose by Deposit rose by 275 per cent from N83.3bn to N312.1bn
Ehigiamusoe, the LAPO founder, won the ‘CEO of the Decade award , Microfinance Banks Category,
The award was in recognition of his strategic positioning of LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited as the largest microfinance bank and most socially impactful microfinance bank in Nigeria.
Receiving the award, Ehigiamusoe said: “Micro-lending has been my life; and I cherish my decision to get involved very early.
This evening, at the Nigeria’s Banks and Other Financial Awards (BAFI Awards) ceremony, my contributions to the microfinance sector were acknowledged with the “CEO of the Decade (2010-2020) Microfinance Bank Category “award. The award is dedicated to all stakeholders in the sector-regulators, operators and funders – past and present.”
