Uche Usim, Abuja
Jaiz Bank Plc, Nigeria’s premier non-interest financial institution, on Tuesday, released its 2018 operational result, where it announced a profit after tax of N834 million for the year ended December 31st.
The figure represents a 55% growth compared to N537 million that was recorded in 2017.
The bank also disclosed a rise in total assets by 24% (N108 billion) in the period under review compared to N87 billion declared in 2017.
The 2018 audited report of the bank submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) also showed a significant increase in the bank’s customer deposits from N68 billion in 2017 to N85 billion, showing an increase of about 25%.
Speaking on the 2018 performance, the Managing Director of Jaiz Bank, Hassan Usman attributed the growth to improve in its cost reduction mechanism and more investments in e-banking channels amongst others.
He said: “2018 is the year we demonstrated we have the capacity to grow safely and sustainably. We used a number of measures to spark progress in this regard, some of which include our commitment to the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, focus on unserved markets and the financially excluded, institutional alliances, nimble workforce as well as effective performance tracking amongst others
“While noting the elements that contributed to our improved performance in 2018, we shall work harder on optimizing some of them for a better outcome in 2019. For instance, I am committed to making sure that our engagement with the financially excluded remains boldly innovative as well as transformative in current and future years.”
In 2017, the leadership of the Bank crafted a strategic plan to transform Jaiz Bank into the leading Non-Interest Bank both at home and in Sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years.
“Since then we have been working hard across the business towards the strategic milestones we set for 2018 (being the first year), as well as focusing on ‘business as usual’. The commitment and dedication of our people is what is making me confident that the attainment of this goal is assured,” Usman said.