Fidelity Bank Plc has announced the purchase of 18,000,000 units of shares by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe.
This was disclosed in a notice of directors’ dealings published on the Nigerian Exchange on May 19, 2025, and signed by the Company Secretary, Ezinwa Unuigboje.
According to the disclosure, the 18,000,000 units of shares were acquired at a price of N20.35 per share, bringing the total value of the purchase to approximately N366.3 million.
The transaction, which took place in Lagos, was dated May 19, 2025, and recorded under the identification code NGFIDELITYB5.
- With this purchase, Dr. Onyeali-Ikpe’s total shareholding in Fidelity Bank has risen from 94,644,260 units to 112,644,260 units—an increase of 19.02%.
- Her stake now represents 29.03% of total director shareholding, up from 25.56% as of December 31, 2024.
The acquisition also appears to have fueled trading activity, with Fidelity Bank leading the volume chart on May 19, 2024, with 60.1 million shares exchanging hands on the Nigerian Exchange.
The purchase will likely boost investor confidence and comes on the heels of a disclosure made the same day, in which the bank refuted a false bankruptcy claim it said was orchestrated by a certain media group to discredit and embarrass the institution.
Market trend:
Fidelity Bank has maintained a bullish trend so far in 2025, with a year-to-date gain of 8.6%.
- The stock opened the year at N17.50 and, supported by a trading volume of 292.2 million shares, ended January on a high note at N19.45.
- Although it briefly dipped to N17.80 in April, the stock showed resilience—closing positively in both March and April and climbing to N19.95 by the end of April.
- As of May 19, 2025, Fidelity shares are trading at N19.00.
Q1 2025 performance:
Fidelity Bank Plc delivered a strong start to the year, reporting a pre-tax profit of N107.77 billion in Q1 2025—a 167.79% year-on-year growth.
This performance was largely fueled by a surge in interest income, which made up 89% of the bank’s total gross earnings.
- A major contributor was interest from loans and advances to customers, which accounted for 75% of total interest income.
- Income from investments in securities also played a key role, contributing 18.31% to total interest earnings.
The bank’s balance sheet reflected this momentum. Customer deposits rose by 11.15%, with Fidelity attracting N661.95 billion in new deposits—signaling strong market confidence.
This deposit growth helped boost total assets by 18.48% to N10.45 trillion, while cash reserves soared by 128.90% to N1.62 trillion.
