The Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo, has won the ‘Banker of the Year’ award at the Business Hallmark People of the Year Awards 2020.
The award was conferred on Okonkwo, one of the foremost professional bankers in Africa, and indeed globally based on his innovative banking strategies and achievements, in recognition of his leadership and vision which transformed Fidelity Bank as a leading lender in Nigeria.
The organizers of the awards, Hallmark Newspapers Limited, stated that they were aimed specifically at recognising individuals and corporate organisations that made remarkable impact in supporting the growth of critical institutions that are needed to foster healthy growth of the Nigerian economy.
Under Okonkwo’s leadership, Fidelity Bank grew from being one of the players in the Nigerian banking system to become a leading and one of the fastest-growing banks.
Receiving the award on behalf of his CEO, Fidelity Bank’s Executive Director, Corporate Banking, Obaro Odeghe, described the award as a very clear testament of Okonkwo’s contributions, not just to the bank but the entire banking sector.
He said: “We are not taking this award for granted, it is a very clear testament to our contributions, not just to the bank but the entire banking sector.”
Okonkwo has led Fidelity Bank to consistently record impressive growth figures over the past six years with good returns on investments to shareholders and wealth creation across the broad spectrum of the bank’s operations during the period.
For instance, the bank’s profit before tax (PBT) under Okonkwo grew by 236 per cent from N9.06 billion to N30.4 billion and Return on Equity (RoE) increased from 5.5 per cent to 13. 3 per cent.
Similarly, the lender’s Customer deposit base grew by 68 per cent from N806.3 billion to N1.352.3 billion and a savings deposit growth of 275 per cent from N83.3 billion to N312.1 billion, amongst other impressive performance indices.
In his remarks at the event, the Chairman of the Awards, former Senate President, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, recalled that year 2020 had been challenging for businesses due to COVID-19 pandemic.
He canvassed the need for Nigerian government to adopt a socio-political framework that will promote inclusive growth in the country.
