By Chinwendu Obienyi

Wema Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s leading commercial banks and custodian of Nigeria’s first fully digital bank – ALAT– is to hold its Annual General Meeting for the year ended December 31, 2020, on Tuesday, May 25, 2021,.

The statutory annual gathering of shareholders and other critical stakeholders of the bank will take place  at the bank’s corporate head office  where the financial results for the year 2020 and other important issues related to the growth plans of the bank will be deliberated on.

In line with the current Covid-19 prevention and containment protocols, the meeting will be held virtually with shareholders enabled to take part via a Zoom conference call. At the meeting, there will be strict adherence to social distancing rules and use of face mask by every participant at the physical meeting as directed by the health authorities.

Wema Bank Plc recently released its audited results for the year ended 31st December 2020.  The Bank recorded a year on year double-digit growth of 39.42percent in Customer Deposit (FY 2020; N804.87billion, FY 2019; N577.28billion). The results show that net loans closed at N360.08billion, a growth of 24.49percent (FY 2019; N289.24billion), as the bank continues to support its customers across multiple sectors of the economy. Non-Performing Loans (NPL) was pushed down to 4.70percent y/y from 7.38percent in FY 2019. The Bank closed with Total Assets and Contingents of over N1trillion naira.

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The Chief Finance Officer of the bank, Tunde Mabawonku, who gave updates on the results, said the bank weathered the disruptions of the 2020 Financial Year through a sharp focus on safe lending, keeping non-performing loans low and driving transaction income.

“We have remained resilient and have continued to grow efficiently as we persist in adapting our corporate strategy to yield strong financial results despite the adverse economic situation,” he explained further.

  The bank has proposed a dividend of 4kobo per share in FY 2020 (FY 2019: 4kobo). This will be the 3rd straight year that the bank has paid dividends.

  According to Mabawonku, “We have a clear strategy of becoming the “Most Dominant Digital Bank in Nigeria” by 2023. We have positioned ALAT as the go-to platform by both increasing customer acquisition and working with eco-system partners on payments and settlements.

  During the year, Wema Bank was ranked 2nd in the Retail Category and 6th in the SME category in the 2020 KPMG Customer Satisfaction Survey. The bank also received an award for the Best SME Bank of the Year for 2020 from Business Day, thus recognizing Wema Bank’s continuous support for small and medium scale businesses through loans, business advisory and innovative payments & collections support.