The bank boss won the award at the 2020 edition of BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards held in Lagos at the weekend.
Also, Fidelity Bank Plc won the Commercial Bank of the Year at the same BAFI Awards. The Bank won the award in recognition of its support for economic activities in the real sectors of the Nigerian economy, particularly for its consistency in enhancing the development and competitiveness of Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
For those who don’t know, Nnamdi Okonkwo got the award for his efforts in transforming Fidelity Bank into one of the fastest growing and most trusted financial services brands in Nigeria.
The award was received on his behalf by the bank’s Executive Director, Operations and Technology, Mr. Gbolahan Joshua who dedicated it to all stakeholders including, customers, shareholders, Board of Directors, Executive Management and staff.
Joshua said; “This comes as a crowning glory to the contributions of Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo to Fidelity Bank, the banking industry and the entire Nigerian economy. As you may be aware, he is retiring as our CEO, after the completion of contract tenure, by December 31, 2020. He has asked me to dedicate this to all the stakeholders of the bank, including his family and mentors. According to him his modest achievements and contributions would not have been possible without their unalloyed support and help.”
According to the organizers of the award; “Some of the key achievements of Nnamdi Okonkwo include the rebranding project which drove an increased youth appeal; revamping of the bank’s performance management culture to instill 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-energized workforce and a more appealing brand, the bank recorded a consistent growth in financial performance under his leadership. Specifically, PBT growth of 236% from N9.0 billion to N30.4 billion in 2019; RoE rose from 5.5% to 13.3%; Customer Deposits grew by 68% from N806.3 billion to N1,352.3 billion and Savings Deposit rose by 275% from N83.3 billion to N312.1 billion.
“His other notable achievements include Net Loans and Advances growth of 174% from N426.1 billion to N1,165.8 billion; Customer Base increase by 121% from 2.4 million to 5.3 million and Digital Banking penetration improvement from 1.0% to 50.1%, accounting for 28.4% of total fee income.”
