Fidelity Bank eyes 3rd place in industry
Fidelity Bank Ghana Ltd is to deploy technology-based solutions to drive financial inclusion and grow the bank among the top three largest banks in the country by 2018.
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The Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Mr Jim Baiden, said the bank had already adopted cutting-edge technology to suport its product and service offerings.
Technology has alraedy enabled the bank to engage about 2,500 agents across the country to ensure that more people, especially the unbanked get access to financial services.
Addressingthe media after the launch of the bank’s 10th anniversary celebrations in Accra, Mr Baiden said currently the bank was ranked 4th out of the over 27 universal banks operating in the competitive banking industry.
“This is because it is forseeable that very soon we will open up a lot more shops serving banking inclusion services and it is possible that we will be dealing with 5000 agents operating from 5000 shops across the country,” he said.
According to him, the bank’s agency banking model, the first of its kind in Ghana, is an innovative strategy to promote financial inclusion by ensuring that anyone who is bankable can receive a full bank account in five minutes, despite any limitations they might have that previously excluded them from accessing banking services.
Humble beginnings
He indicated that although the bank started its operations with a single branch, it can currently boast 75 branches, 115 ATMs and about 900 agents across the country.
“There is a saying that an army is only as good as the soldiers it has. As a bank, the only asset that we have is our people. I am extremely proud of the Fidelity family and I can say wholeheartedly that we have the best human resource base that any organisation of our age can have,” he said.
He indicated that Fidelity Bank successfully acquired 100 per cent ownership of ProCredit Savings and Loans Company Limited in October 2014.
“The rationale behind the acquisition was to leverage the distribution network of ProCredit Ghana, and to enable Fidelity Bank enhance its SME offering by acquiring the strong SME platform, processes and credit methodology ProCredit is noted for,” he said.
He explained that the acquisition was also an alternative to the organic growth process. An integration management team was established ensure a successful integration of the operations of the two organisations.
Capital raising exercise
Fidelity Bank has completed a US$127.3 million capital raising exercise to inject more capital into the bank. The transaction included a Tier One and Tier Two capital of US$ 67.3 million and US$60 million respectively.
“As Ghana’s most socially responsible bank for the second consecutive time, we are committed to building a better society through investments in our communities as well as supporting creative and meaningful initiatives,” he said.
He said, “we appreciate the role our customers have played in our journey so far and we will definitely give back to the community in which we operate.”