Photo Caption: From left to right, Abubakar Jimoh, Managing Director; Cornelia Utuk, Company Secretary; Babatunde Folawiyo, Chairman, all of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited; and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman, Coronation Capital and President, National Council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, at the bank’s Annual General Meeting in Lagos.

Shareholders of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited met at the annual general meeting in Lagos on Monday to review its performance for the year ended December 31, 2016, the highlight of which was the 128% growth in profit before tax, the 102 kobo earnings per share, up from 69 kobo in 2015 and the zero Non-Performing Loans ratio, from 0.4% a year earlier.
According to a statement by the bank, gross customer loans and advances was up 817% to N22.7bn from previous year’s N2.5bn; while customer deposits climbed 53% to N53.5bn from N34.9bn. Net Interest Income stood at N8.0bn, up 86% from N4.3bn in 2015; as PBT rose from N2.3bn in 2015 to N5.3bn; and shareholders’ funds rose to N25.9bn from prior year’s N20.4bn.
The bank also recorded key ratios, such as a 40.1% Capital from 77.3%; Loan to Deposit Ratio of 42.6% as at December 2016, from 7.1% in the corresponding period of 2015; Cost to Income ratio was 45%, down from 47%. Net Interest Margin stood at 9.6%, up from 6.1%; just as Return on Equity, 22.3% from 15.9%.
Addressing the shareholders, Abu Jimoh, Group Managing Director and chief executive of the bank appreciated the continued support of stakeholders that ensured return of maximum value extraction, despite the harsh operating environment of the period under review.
According to him, “in furtherance of our promise to show leadership in the financial services industry, we were also the first to announce our FYE 2016 results. This is a strong reflection of our recently unveiled brand’s first-to-market and efficiency aspirations and is a trend we intend to continue.”
Aside the strong earnings performance, the group also recorded significant growth in its Balance Sheet in 2016, as total assets rose to N106.5bn from N78.3bn in December 2015, and shareholder’s funds of N25.9bn from N20.24bn. This, a statement by the bank, is a valid testament to the resilience of the group’s operations and its adaptability to current market realities and challenges.
“The impressive results of the bank in our last two years of business operations demonstrate the effectiveness of our strategy as we continue to grow market share in key segments of the economy. We will continue to maintain a disciplined and prudent approach in asset creation in line with our overall risk management framework and evidenced in our growth in loan book of 817% from N2.5bn to N22.7bn with zero Non Performing Loans.
“While general economic conditions and the regulatory environment remain tight, we believe that our new business and lending strategies, embedded risk management culture and continuous cost savings will enable us stand firm throughout this period. We remain on track to deliver on our 2017 financial projections.”