Fidelity Bank soars with impressive Q1 2025 performance, Pre-tax profit jumps 167.79% 

This performance signals a strong start to the year, driven by strategic growth in its core business and effective management of expenses.

According to the unaudited financial statement, gross earnings grew by 64.21% to N315.421 billion.

Fidelity Bank’s earnings were largely driven by higher interest income, which accounted for 89% of gross earnings.

The bank earned significantly more from loans and advances to customers, with interest income from loans contributing 75% of the total interest income.

Investment in securities also played a role, adding 18.31% to interest income.

While interest expenses rose due to higher deposit rates, they consumed just 32% of the interest income in Q1 2025, a significant improvement compared to 41.14% in Q1 2024.

This allowed Fidelity Bank to retain a larger share of earnings, resulting in stronger profitability.

Another standout feature of the results was the reduction in credit loss expenses, which dropped 49.17% to N6.28 billion from N12.37 billion in Q1 2024.

This indicates that the bank’s loan portfolio is performing better, with fewer bad loans and improving credit quality.

Beyond lending, Fidelity Bank also saw growth in its non-interest income, particularly from fees and commissions, which increased by 30.1% YoY to N23.82 billion.

Despite a decline in account maintenance fees, the bank saw a 57% increase in commission from travelers cheques and foreign bills, and a 23.38% rise in letters of credit commissions.

Fidelity Bank’s balance sheet shows solid growth. Customer deposits rose by 11.15%, reflecting strong customer confidence, while the bank attracted N661.95 billion in new deposits.

This influx of funds supported the growth of total assets by 18.48% to N10.45 trillion and a huge jump in cash reserves by 128.90%, reaching N1.62 trillion.

Fidelity began the year with a share price of N17.50 and has since gained 14%, ranking it 48th on the NGX in terms of year-to-date performance.