Shareholders of Sterling Bank Plc, last week commended its financial performance and dividend payout for the financial year ended December 31, 2019.

Speaking at the 58th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the bank held virtually by proxy and streamed live from Lagos, Boniface Okezie, President, Progressive Shareholders Association commended the board, management and workforce for the hard work, for what he called “the impressive outing in 2019 and the dividend recommendation.”

He noted the growth in assets to N1.182tr, just as the loans and advances, operating income, and deposit base, which he expects to hit N1tr by next year.

“We commend the board for retaining earnings, protecting shareholders’ funds, and ensuring there is no insider abuse as it relates to loans. We are happy that our bank is at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 and keeping the environment clean through its support for LAWMA,” Okezie added.

Also speaking, Sir Sunny Nwosu, National Coordinator Emeritus of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN) appreciated the increase in Sterling Bank’s demand deposit which went up by 47%, describing it as “quite good.”

As a shareholder who is also a customer of the bank, Sir Nwosu was full of appreciation for the way employees of the bank attend to customers and expressed the hope that this excellent service delivery would continue to differentiate Sterling Bank post-COVID-19.

Nonah Awoh, a shareholder, commended the bank for its level of financial disclosure. He said, “I don’t think it is out of place to have payments of external assessors stated. I want other companies to learn from Sterling Bank and do the same.”

Mathew Akinlade, President, Noble Shareholders Association also commended the bank for bringing down its Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ratio from 8.7 percent in 2018 to 2.2 percent in 2019, a development which he described as below the benchmark of five percent prescribed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. He lauded the bank for compliance which reduced penalties for contraventions in 2019 by 73.3% compared to 2018.

Addressing the shareholders at the meeting, Chairman of Sterling Bank, Asue Ighodalo said the bank’s shareholders’ fund grew by 22.2% to N119.6bn, because of increase in retained earnings despite the challenging operating environment under which it operated during the financial year ended December 31, 2019.

The Chairman attributable the growth in total equity to the rise in comprehensive income arising from gains recorded from investments in debt securities, adding that the board recognised the importance of dividends to its shareholders and constantly sought to balance this with capital requirements to support the bank’s next wave of
growth.

 “Accordingly, the Board recommends the payment of three kobo per share as dividend for the year ended December 31, 2019 to reward our loyal and committed shareholders. This affords the bank the required buffer to finance its growth ambitions, and effectively become a first-class, stronger, creative and extremely dependable financial institution,” he said.

Ighodalo said, “A
direct
contribution
of
our
investments
in
technology
and intelligent automation can be seen in the performance of
SPECTA -Nigeria’s
fastest
digital
retail
lending
platform.”

He said SPECTA, “remained the major
source
of
incremental
lending, contributing to the growth of the bank’s core business and
offering over N45bn in loans to individuals and small
business owners in 2019 alone. This represents over 200 percent
growth in loans given to the bank’s retail and consumer segment compared to 2018.”

The chairman explained that the bank consolidated its efforts in the mobilization of deposits during the review period, thereby recording a 17.4% growth in deposit base to N893 billion from N761bn.

He said the bank, “achieved
a
higher
growth
of
19.4% in
the
mobilisation
of
low-cost current and savings accounts deposits, maintaining a 60 percent (CASA/total deposit) deposit mix during the year,” adding that the development contributed largely to improved cost of funds from 7.4% in 2018 to 6.3%.

He said although the bank’s earnings grew only marginally by 1% to N150.2bn, it was able to deliver 12.5% growth
in profit
before
tax and 15% growth
in
profit
after-tax at N10.6bn; despite 12% increase in operating
expenses.

He attributed the growth in operating expenses to increased investments in human capital and technology, reflective of the bank’s transformation journey and desire to further motivate and upskill employees of the bank.

Also commentsing, the Chief Executive, Suleiman Abubakar, said “for a bank to succeed in these uncertain times, it must be agile, cautious, innovative, knowledgeable and prepared.”

He added that the bank’s unwavering commitment to a more disciplined deployment of scarce capital and the strength of its retail business contributed to a 15% growth in profit after tax to N10.6bn.

On the future prospect of the bank, he said, “we have laid a sound foundation for 2020 with significant investments in technology to accelerate our digitization,” adding that the bank will serve customers with empathy and knowledge on their own terms.