Shareholders of FCMB Group Plc have again applauded the financial institution for its resilience, dynamism and impressive performance recorded last year despite the challenging operating environment.
The shareholders, who gave the commendation at the seventh Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the group in Lagos, unanimously approved the payment of a cash dividend of 14 kobo per ordinary share, which translates to N2.77 billion, for the year ended December 31, 2019.
The AGM was held by proxy, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) pandemic, and streamed live to shareholders of the financial institution who were unable to physically attend due to the lockdown imposed by the Government. The decision to hold the AGM by proxy was to avoid unnecessary physical contact among attendees and in line with the social distancing protocol to avoid the spread of the pandemic. The meeting was previously scheduled before COVID-19 hit Nigeria.
The Chairman of FCMB Group, Oladipupo Jadesimi, along with the Group Chief Executive, Ladi Balogun, Company Secretary/General Counsel, Mrs. Funmi Adedibu, a director, Olusegun Odubogun, Chief Operating Officer of the Group, Peter Obaseki, representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Securities and Exchange Commission as well as leaders of shareholder Associations, were present at the meeting.
Also speaking at the AGM, the Group Chief Executive of FCMB Group Plc, Ladi Balogun, said, “our businesses continue to improve with growth in other key indicators, such as loans and advances, deposits and Assets Under Management (AUM), which grew by 13.1 per cent, 14.7 per cent and 28.3 per cent, respectively. Our customer base also grew by 27.5 per cent across the Group from 5.5 million to seven million. Overall customer satisfaction has shown positive trends, with a net promoter score of 31 in Banking and 23 in Asset Management”.
Balogun further reported that, “the Commercial and Retail Banking Group grew its profit by 20 per cent driven by improved performance in our consumer finance business, as we continue to expand our digital products offerings and channels. Commercial and Retail Banking remains the largest contributor to the Group’s profits with 92 per cent. Assets managed by our Asset and Wealth Management businesses increased by over 28 per cent to over N403 billion at the end of the year”.
He assured that 2020 will see a number of the financial institution’s digital initiatives coming of age, adding that these are expected to be substantial.
The Co-ordinator of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu, praised the institution for efficiently running its affairs and the appreciable growth recorded in key operating areas. According to him, ‘’the fact that FCMB was able to hold the AGM, and a successful one for that matter, is a welcome development.
