NDIC begins liquidation payment to depositors, ex-staff of defunct Peak Merchant Bank

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), has commenced the first liquidity payment to depositors and ex-staff of the defunct Peak Merchant Bank. In a statement by Director, Communication & Public Affairs of the Corporation, Bashir A. Nuhu, the verification exercise which is expected to run from 18thSeptember to 16th October, 2023,would enable depositors of the defunct bank to cross-check and ascertain their account information as well as balances with the bank as at closure. “As the official Liquidator of the failed Banks in Nigeria, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), in line with its mandate wishes to inform the depositors & ex-staff (deposits) of defunct Peak Merchant Bankthat it has concluded preparations to pay their first liquidation dividend,” it said. The deposit insurer enjoined all eligible stakeholders of the defunct bank to visit any of its offices or its website for verification of their claims.

Fidelity Bank Consolidates Acquisition of Union Bank UK

Fidelity Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s Tier 1 banks and one of NGX’s high-performing banking stocks this year, has disclosed that it had completed the acquisition of Union Bank Plc UK (UBUK), a subsidiary of Union Bank Plc. The bank noted that the UK acquisition, which has received the approval of the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA), is one of six countries the bank targets in the next three years to move its footprint outside Nigeria and compete favourably with international peers. In August 2022, the bank entered into a binding agreement to acquire a 100% equity stake in Union Bank UK Plc, subject to the approval of the PRA of the United Kingdom. Fidelity Bank has been in the news in recent times. First, the bank grew from a Tier II bank in 2020 to a Tier I bank in 2021, according to the Proshare Bank Strength Index released in 2022, which saw a notable improvement in the lender’s total asset size, cost-to-income ratio (CIR), capital adequacy ratio (CAR), cost of risk ratio (CoR), and a few proxies’ for management quality. Also, in August, the bank announced a hybrid capital raise of about N6.6bn in new equity to increase the bank’s share capital to N22.6bn. The bank also declared an interim dividend of N0.25 per share, following an impressive performance in H1 2023. The bank reported a +51% Y-o-Y growth in gross earnings from N126.35bn to N190.42bn in H1 2023 and +166% growth in profit for the year from N23.31bn in H1 2022 to N62bn in H1 2023. The lender’s fundamentals, expansion drive, and corporate actions have attracted analysts’ and investors’ interests. Number crunchers observe that the bank has the potential to remain a Tier 1 bank, while investors have largely gone long (bought) the bank’s share, which has a year-to-date (YTD) return of +92% and an annual return of +143%