Nnamdi Okonkwo, the outgoing chief executive officer of Fidelity Bank, has formally introduced Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe as his successor to stockbrokers at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Speaking during the closing gong ceremony that held virtually on Wednesday, Okonkwo said he fulfilled his January 1, 2014, promise to foster a robust engagement with the market, grow the bank and improve on key performance indices.
The MD said the bank was able to carry out two capital raising exercises in 2015 and 2017; realising N30 billion local bond and $400 million Eurobond respectively.
“She is part of the success story and we are convinced that the performance of the bank, under her leadership, will be even better.”
“I am happy to state that we have been able to grow our return on equity (ROE) which averaged at 5 percent in 2013 to 13.3 percent in 2019,” Okonkwo said.
“We are currently in the process of issuing a N74 billion Series 1 bonds under our N100 million bond issuance programme.”
Okonkwo, who will be retiring by end of 2020, said Fidelity Bank has enjoyed a very stable leadership since inception and expressed satisfaction with the crop of leaders he is leaving behind.
“We recently appointed five executive directors from within and Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, the incoming MD/CEO, has been an integral part of management since 2015,” he explained.
“She is part of the success story and we are convinced that the performance of the bank, under her leadership, will be even better.”
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Olumide Bolumole, head listing, NSE and Rasheed Yusuf, the doyen of NSE, commended the bank for its sustained financial performance and successful transition.
“It’s cheering news to us in the stockbroking community and the market that the new MD was appointed from within. Fidelity is a well-known brand with high expectations from us. You have been meeting our expectations, but we want more,” Yusuf said.
“We are eagerly looking forward to when you will become a tier 1 bank. Please be assured that the market will give you all the required support.”
In her remarks, Onyeali-Ikpe assured that Fidelity Bank’s corporate aspirations will remain the same under her leadership.
Onyeali-Ikpe, whose tenure formally begins from January 1, 2021, thanked Okonkwo for laying a solid foundation for her and the new team, to take the Bank to greater heights.