In order to boost the value of its shareholders, Sterling Bank Plc has reiterated its dedication to reducing costs and increasing lending while enhancing risk management and recovery procedures.
Asue Ighodalo, the bank’s chairman, gave a performance review at the bank’s 60th annual general meeting, which was held over the weekend in Lagos. He noted that the strategy had helped the bank reduce its exposure to non-performing loans from 1.9% in 2020 to 0.7% in 2021 and increase shareholder funds by 4.2%.
The bank’s investors will receive a dividend of 10 kobo for the 2021 fiscal year, a 22% increase over the five kobo paid the year before, as authorized by shareholders at the same meeting.
Ighodalo claims that the bank’s profits increased by 20.2% to N13.515 billion from N11.242 billion in the same time of 2020, while gross earnings increased by 4.8% from N135.8 billion to N142.3 billion in 2021, led by a 28.5 % increase in non-interest revenue.
“2021 was a year of recovery for us and the country as a whole from the damaging economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Advances in the creation of the viral vaccine as well as initiatives to immunize the entire world’s population gained traction and increased investor and consumer trust on a global and local scale.
“Despite the possibility of a third wave and the introduction of viral strains, the pace of the economic recovery outpaced forecasts. As we steered the Bank to boost her profitability and growth, this gave us wind in our sails.
He emphasized that the bank continued to pursue its ‘HEART’ strategic goal of promoting financial intermediation in high impact industries.
“This allowed us to concentrate and offer creative solutions that helped our customers flourish in a changing environment. We are steadfast in our dedication to creating an organization that is forward-thinking and committed to providing our stakeholders with the best value.
Abubakar Suleiman, the chief executive of Sterling, stated that the growth of 28.5% in non-interest revenue and a 51.4% increase in transaction volumes processed were key factors in the year’s success. These figures are important and show the success of the bank’s recent digitization initiatives.
He claimed that despite an increase in operating costs driven on by pressures from foreign exchange inflation, customer deposits increased by 21.7 percent over the prior year’s figures, with an improvement in cost-to-income ratios.
Suleiman reassured investors that the bank would continue to invest in current businesses and increase the adoption of technology in order to build on the performance.
