‘Fidelity Bank will aggressively go after chronic debtors’- Chairman

The board Chairman of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Ernst Ebi, has said that the bank was ready to put in place measures to reduce its Non-Performing loans (NPLs).
He said this on Thursday at the 29th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the bank held in Lagos. He noted that the bank would deploy both legal and other means to recover bad debts that have increased to 6.6 per cent of its total loan portfolio.
The shareholders of the bank approved the payment of a total dividend per share of 14kobo.
Shareholder group leaders at the AGM, the National Chairman of Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Okezie Boniface commended the management of the bank for the dividend payment and the sterling 2016 performance but charged the bank to expand its operation to other parts of Abia State
Mr. Nona Awoh on his part charged the bank on the full disclosure of fraud statement, stressing that the bank must try to protect the shareholders by driving down the unclaimed dividend which is currently standing at N1.8 billion. He, however, urged the bank to work assiduously in ensuring that the internal control systems are efficient.
Mr. Patrick Ajudua described Fidelity Bank as the leader in the financial market and lauded it for the 2016 report but cautioned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for unnecessary financial punishment to erring banks. He stressed that the actions of the apex bank is killing the growth of the banking industry.
Ajudua, in his observation, commended the bank for the case of gender balance, as the board of fidelity Bank had also six women on board at the moment.
Sir Sunny Nwosu commended the board of the bank for the 2016 financial year results; he was particularly impressed by the arrival of the new chairman of the bank, Ernst Ebi, with the high knowledge from the apex bank, where he served as former CBN deputy governor
Responding, the chairman of the bank thanked the shareholders for the continuous support and assured that Fidelity Bank will remain focused on efficient, viable and strategic financial services.