NDIC shines, wins excellence award

Temitope Omoniyi

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has been conferred with the Special Recognition and Commendation Award for Excellence in Banking (Public Service) at the Business Day Banking Awards 2017 which was held on October 14, 2017.

In a letter of commendation to the corporation, the awards committee anchored by Business Day Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU) stated that the NDIC was adjudged as “an outstanding public service provider” with sterling performance which stood high above its peers in effective leadership and accomplishments.

According to the organisers, the award committee, which was made up of eminent Nigerians, reviewed the pragmatic and tangible transformations which the corporation brought into management and execution of its core mandate including mitigation of corruption, insider abuse as well as containing non-performing loans in the nation’s financial system.

The committee stated that the NDIC “ has also pursued the observance of corporate governance principles in the Nigeria’s financial system,” with declaration that this contribution and other milestone achievements earned the Corporation the public recognition.

While commending the corporation on the feat, the organisers stated that the NDIC had implemented good institutional transformation policies, which had resulted in friendly business environment, expansion of opportunities and a huge contribution towards economic development.

Receiving the award on behalf of the Corporation, NDIC Managing Director & Chief Executive, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim said the corporation welcomed the award as a challenge to further raise the bar of excellent performance on the discharge of its mandate.

He recalled the rebranding of the corporation in 2013, which gave rise to the overhaul of the its processes, procedures, systems and methods of operation in line with global best practices in deposit insurance. He expressed delight that Management’s initiatives were paying off with recognitions coming from home and abroad.

It would be recalled that the NDIC, in 2014, won the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI) award, as the Best Deposit Insurance Organisation of the Year under Category 2 of the IADI Core Principles on Compliance and International Collaboration.

In 2016, the MD/CE was also re-elected unopposed into the Executive Committee of the IADI for a term of three years in view of his outstanding performance in his first term between 2013 and 2016.

. As Fidelity soars at 2017 BusinessDay awards

Fidelity Bank Plc has clinched two awards at the recently concluded 2017 BusinessDay Banking Awards.
The bank emerged winner in two categories, beating other nominees and carting away the prize for the ‘Most Improved in Corporate/Investment Banking’ and ‘Best Bank in Mobile Money Services.’

The awards, which was conferred on the bank during an elaborate ceremony in Lagos last weekend, is in utmost recognition of the Bank’s enduring commitment to building a vibrant and sustainable economy through the delivery of innovative financial services to its teeming customers.

In this year’s edition, the award committee, which was made up of eminent industry analysts, and BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU), meticulously examined the audited annual reports and investors’ presentations of Banks to come up with the nominees and winners.

Receiving the award on behalf of the Bank, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, pointed out that the awards were a lucid indication that the initiatives being implemented by the lender particularly as it relates to enhancing service delivery are yielding the desired result.

Okonkwo, who was represented by the bank’s Executive Director, Lagos & South-West, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, promised that the lender would not relent in its efforts to promote the financial inclusion mandate of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“As a bank, our mission is to make financial services easy and accessible to our customers. Digital technologies for us hold an enormous opportunity for greater financial inclusion. We are proud of this award and recognition of effort, and this will only give us the drive as a bank to continue providing the best-in-class services”, she concluded.

Speaking in the same vein, Divisional Head, Energy Group, Abolore Solebo said the awards underscore the Bank’s commitment to the provision of top-rate services.

“As a bank, we recognise that the industry has evolved in recent times. To remain relevant in a highly dynamic industry, we need to be conversant with latest industry trends and developments to enable us develop services that are tailored to the customers unique needs and lifestyle”, Solebo added.

Fidelity is a full-fledged commercial bank operating in Nigeria with over 3.8 million customers who are serviced across its 240 offices and various digital banking channels. The Bank is focused on select niche corporate banking sectors, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and is rapidly implementing a digital based retail banking strategy, which has resulted in the following over the last three and half years; a 93 per cent growth in savings deposits, 50 percent customer enrollment on debit cards and 30 per cent of its customers now using its flagship mobile/internet banking products.

Fidelity Bank recently released its Audited H1 2017 results, which showed a remarkable improvement on all indices with Gross Earnings increasing by 22 per cent to N86 billion, Expenses were declining by 2 per cent to N31bn and Profit Before Tax (PBT) were increasing by 67 percent to N10bn. All these are the result of disciplined execution of the bank’s mid-term strategy.