Fidelity Bank Ghana recently held its 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) via a virtual platform for its shareholders to receive and adopt the reports of the directors, auditors and the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019.

At the meeting, the bank announced a 33% increase in profit before tax to GHS322 million for 2019, representing an “impressive growth” from the GHS242 million recorded in 2018.

Speaking at the virtual AGM, the Board Chairman of Fidelity Bank, Edward Effah, stated that “2019 was a good year for Fidelity Bank, in spite of the uncertainties that characterised the financial services industry in Ghana”, adding: “Each of our three strategic business units – Retail Banking, Corporate & Institutional Banking and Financial & Capital Markets – registered significant growth during the year”.

“We would not have been able to record these financial achievements without the support of our customers and for that I thank all of our customers for contributing to our continued success”, Mr Effah added.

He further shared that: “Our balance sheet remains one of the largest and strongest in the country, as we closed the year with a balance sheet size of GHS10.48 billion, up from the 2018 asset balance of GHS 7.02 billion.”

Mr Effah also noted that: “The bank is sufficiently capitalised and will continue to execute our medium term strategy, while making the appropriate investments in our people, culture and technology to better serve our clients.”

In addition to presenting strong financial results, the bank addressed the impact of COVID-19 and its focus on protecting its employees, helping its customers and supporting national efforts to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Mr Julian Opuni, assured the shareholders that Fidelity Bank has thoroughly assessed the potential impact of the pandemic and has put in place measures to mitigate the risks to its operations and customers.

Fidelity Bank said it took a proactive approach that focused on serving its customers through an enhanced digital offering and serving the larger community through targeted financial contributions and strategic partnerships.

“It was important to provide the necessary support to our customers to alleviate the liquidity pressure exerted by the economic effects of COVID-19. Interest rate reductions, loan repayment holidays and loan restructuring were some of the key tools that we used to provide financial relief to our customers,” disclosed Mr Opuni.

In addition to the financial relief that the bank offered customers, Fidelity Bank was also concerned with the safety of its customers and employees. To that end, the bank provided every branch with hand washing stations, thermometers, safety materials, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), sanitisers and established other preventive measures to protect customers and employees.

At the national level, the bank partnered with the COVID-19 Private Sector Fund and supported the construction of the COVID-19 Infectious Disease and Isolation Facility with a donation of GHS1,000,000.

The bank also donated more than 3,000 PPE to the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi and GHS30,000 worth of PPE to the Kumasi South Hospital.

“In the coming months, we will launch initiatives aimed at supporting various segments of the economy including SMEs, youth, and others. These projects reinforce our commitment to working together with our customers and the general public to achieve more through our collective efforts”, said Mr Opuni.