Fidelity Bank Stock record Over 20% Growth Following Combined Offer

Growing investor confidence and strong market participation have continue to boost optimism about Fidelity Bank’s stock as the bank experienced a remarkable 20% surge on the Nigerian stock market, with its share price surpassing the N13 mark by the third week of September. This upward trend follows the bank’s combined offer, which included a Public Offer and Rights Issue launched on June 20, 2024.

The combined offer consisted of 10 billion ordinary shares priced at N9.75 for the public and 3.2 billion shares at N9.25 for existing shareholders, collectively raising N127.1 billion. After a consolidation period from June to August, coinciding with the close of the combined offer, Fidelity Bank’s shares have gained over 20% month-to-date (MtD) in September.

Fidelity Bank has maintained a robust bullish trajectory since August 2018, when its stock dipped below N2. Since then, it has surged by more than 680%. The bank started trading in 2024 at N10.85, with 900 million shares exchanged. However, uncertainties related to recapitalization efforts among major Nigerian banks led to a temporary decline to N9 per share in April. Despite this setback, the stock regained its upward momentum after touching a low of N9.00.

Following the completion of the combined offer in August, Fidelity Bank’s share price climbed once again, gaining over 20% by mid-September. A key factor contributing to this latest surge is the successful combined offer, which paves the way for an upcoming private placement.

The Fidelity Bank combined offer, which was the first in the current recapitalization phase in the banking industry, saw significant demand, prompting an extension that added 8.2 billion shares. Of these, 5 billion were sold through the Public Offer and 3.2 billion via the Rights Issue. This high demand resulted in increased market activity, with over 2 billion shares traded in June and 3 billion in July.

As the combined offer concluded on August 12, the stock entered a consolidation phase, but trading activity picked up notably by mid-September. Weekly trading volumes reached 27 million shares, pushing the stock past the N13.00 threshold, sustaining its upward trend.

In a recent note to investors, the bank’s Managing Director, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe,OON expressed gratitude for the strong response to the capital raise, stating that, “With the conclusion of the Combined Offer, I am delighted to announce that we have met and surpassed our capital-raise target for the first phase of this exercise.”

“My profound gratitude goes to our customers, new investors and existing shareholders for supporting us in this journey.  We will forever be grateful for the support we received during this capital-raise exercise.

“Our deepest thanks go to our regulators namely the CBN, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX): the CBN for its vision of recapitalizing Nigerian banks to ensure banks have sufficient capital to sustain a $1tn economy in the near future and improve the overall confidence in the banking industry; SEC and the NGX for the role they played in ensuring the seamless execution of this first phase of our recapitalization plans.”

*WEMA BANK SET TO LAUNCH SEASON 4 OF ITS 5 FOR 5 PROMO REWARD INITIATIVE From October 1st, 2024

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s foremost innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, is set to launch the 4th season of its transformative reward initiative, the Wema Bank 5 for 5 Promo. The highly anticipated Season is scheduled to kick off on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.

Introduced in 2021 the Wema Bank 5 for 5 Promo is a reward initiative pioneered by the Bank with the goal of rewarding its diverse range of customers for active loyalty to the brand, its products, and offerings. The Promo is executed seasonally via thoroughly regulated live draws where winners are selected from the Bank’s pool of active and transacting customers, based on the stipulated minimum requirements and modalities of the season. With benchmarks for qualification set as low as N5,000 in monthly transactions, the Wema Bank 5 for 5 Promo has evolved through each season, solidifying its repute as a source of hope, financial support, business growth and goal acceleration for thousands of Nigerians nationwide.
Over the course of 3 seasons, the 5 for 5 Promo has disbursed over N150,000,000 to 2,378 Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, with 639 customers winning N31,500,000 in season 1, 539 winning N31,850,000 in season 2 and 1,200 winning N90,000,000 in the 3rd season of the 5 for 5 Promo which spanned August 2023 to July 2024. As a new season of the Wema Bank 5 for 5 Promo approaches, tensions are heightening as Nigerians await a new season of financial rewards and pleasant surprises from Wema Bank. Customers of the Bank are encouraged to request a debit card or get onboarded on the ALAT app and *945# and start transacting via any of these channels in anticipation of the season’s kick-off. Other Nigerians interested in participating are encouraged to open Wema Bank/ALAT account(s) to get started.

Reiterating the Bank’s commitment to providing a rewarding banking experience for its customers, Moruf Oseni, MD/CEO of Wema Bank, elaborated on the significance of the Wema Bank 5 for 5 Promo for its customers. “At Wema Bank, we have made it a duty and core value to provide optimum returns for our customers, and this commitment is evident in all that we do as a Bank. ‘Optimum returns’ for Wema Bank is limitless which is why we continue to raise the bar and set new standards, innovating new and improved ways to provide a highly rewarding banking experience for our customers. It is this sense of duty to our customers that inspired the launch of the Wema Bank 5 for 5 Promo”.

“The past seasons of the Wema Bank 5 for 5 Promo have been highly successful, but I can assure you that the coming season will be the biggest in 5 for 5 Promo history to date. We are, yet again, raising the bar, and with more to win this season, every Wema Bank customer is in for a treat. It’s beyond the rewards customers are getting. With the 5 for 5 Promo, we are telling customers that we’re grateful, showing them that we care, and empowering lives and businesses to thrive. Through this initiative, we have made undergraduate millionaires, established businesses across Nigeria, boosted existing ventures despite economic fluctuations, given hope to Nigerians of various ages and walks of life; and this season, we are more than prepared to exceed all milestones, break new ground and transform more lives for the best. The Wema Bank 5 for 5 Promo Season 4 kicks off on October 1 and we have a special Independence Day live draw to kickstart the season, so I welcome every Nigerian to Wema Bank and encourage all to get on ALAT, request a Wema/ALAT card or onboard on *945# and get ready for an intriguing new 5 for 5 Promo Season, bigger than ever before”, Oseni concluded.

The Wema Bank 5 for 5 Promo season 4 promises to be a game changer and every Nigerian can participate and secure big wins throughout the season by being a Wema Bank customer and getting onboarded on the valid transaction channels which include the ALAT app, the Wema/ALAT card and the Bank’s USSD Banking platform, *945#.
All transactions made using the qualifying Wema Bank and ALAT transaction channels from October 1, 2024, are potentially qualifying transactions and could secure rewards ranking in millions for Nigerians across Nigeria.

GTCO Plc Releases 2024 Half Year Audited Results

……. Reports Profit Before Tax of ₦1.004trillion

Sahara Weekly Reports That Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (“GTCO” or the “Group”) has released its Audited Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements for the period ended June 30, 2024, to the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) and London Stock Exchange (LSE).

The Group reported profit before tax of ₦1.004trilion, becoming the first Nigerian financial institution to cross the ₦1trillion mark in profit. This milestone figure represents an increase of 206.6% over ₦327.4billion recorded in the corresponding period ended June 2023. The Group’s loan book (net) Increased by 25.5% from ₦2.48trillion recorded as at December 2023 to ₦3.11trillion in June 2024, while deposit liabilities grew by 39.8% from ₦7.55trillion in December 2023 to ₦10.55trillion in June 2024.

The Group recorded growth across all its asset lines and continues to maintain a well-structured, healthy, and diversified balance sheet across all jurisdictions wherein it operates a Banking franchise as well as across its Payments, Pension and Funds Management business verticals with total assets and shareholders’ funds closing at ₦14.5trillion and ₦2.4trillion, respectively. Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very robust and strong, closing at 21.0%, while asset quality was sustained as evidenced by IFRS 9 Stage 3 Loans which closed at 4.3% in June 2024 from 4.2% in December 2023 and improvement in Cost of Risk (COR) to 1.6% from 4.5% in December 2023.

Commenting on the results, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said: “We are immensely proud of the progress we have made as a leading financial holding company. Despite the uncertainties in the operating environment, our performance in the first half of the year, where we recorded our highest profit to date, is a testament to the resilience and adaptability of our business model. We remain optimistic about the future and are committed to leveraging our unique strengths as a thriving financial services ecosystem to create sustainable value for all our stakeholders as we continue to position all our business verticals–Banking, Funds Management, Pension, and Payments–for rapid growth across key markets.”

Overall, the Group continues to post one of the best metrics in the Nigerian Financial Services industry in terms of key financial ratios i.e., Pre-Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) of 103.6%, Pre-Tax Return on Assets (ROAA) of 16.6%, Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 21.0% and Cost to Income ratio of 16.7%.

GTCO Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc is the ultimate holding company of the GTCO Plc Group, one of the largest financial services institutions in Africa. Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc maintains direct and indirect investments in a network of operating entities located in 10 countries across Africa and the United Kingdom. GTCO’s leadership in the banking industry and efforts at empowering people and communities has earned it many prestigious awards over the years. Guaranty Trust Bank is a Twelve-time winner of Euromoney’s Best Bank in Nigeria award and was recently named Nigeria’s Strongest Brand and Best Banking Brand in Nigeria by Brand Finance and Global Brands Magazine, respectively.