Fidelity Bank appoints Onyeali-Ikpe, MD/CEO designate … As Okonkwo retires
In compliance with its succession policy, the Board of Directors of Fidelity Bank Plc has approved the appointment of Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe as the bank’s Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer(MD/CEO) designate.
This comes as the bank also announced the retirement of the current MD/CEO, Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo, upon completion of his contract tenure, in line with the bank’s governance policies.
The approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) has been obtained for the appointment while the transition in leadership would be effective on the December 31, 2020. Onyeali-Ikpe is the bank’s current Executive Director, Lagos and South West Directorate.
The Board has also approved the appointment of Mr. Kevin Ugwuoke, the current Chief Risk Officer of the Bank, as Executive Director and Chief Risk Officer, subject to the approval of the CBN. Chairman of the bank, Mr. Ernest Ebi, commended Okonkwo for his significant contributions to the growth and development of the bank. He stated: “Fidelity Bank has enjoyed a very stable leadership since inception.
These appointments underscore the bank’s robust human capital capabilities, governance and succession policies. “We thank Okonkwo not only for his sterling performance but also for nurturing the new team and current crop of leaders to continue to steer the bank on its growth trajectory.”
Okonkwo was appointed to the Board of Fidelity Bank in April 2012 as an Executive Director and was subsequently appointed the MD/CEO on January 01, 2014.
He implemented a Digital-led Strategy which led to significant growth across key performance matrix and increased market share, with the Bank currently ranked 6th amongst Nigerian Banks on most performance indices. Some of his key achievements include PBT growth of 236% from N9.0bn to N30.4bn; RoE increase from 5.5% to 13.3%; Customer Deposits growth of 68% from N806.3bn to N1,352.3bn and Savings Deposit growth of 275% from N83.3bn to N312.1bn.
Other notable achievements include Net Loans and Advances growth of 174% from N426.1bn to N1,165.8bn; 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. In addition, the Bank successfully accessed the local and international markets through the issuance of N30bn Corporate Bonds in 2015 and $400million Eurobonds in 2017 under his leadership. Vanguard
