Wema Bank Wednesday held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) where its financial report for the year ending December 31, 2016 was presented to shareholders.
The report showed that the bank recorded a double-digit growth in gross earnings, which rose 18.48 per cent from ₦45.79 billion to ₦54.25 billion, driven by an 18.61 per cent and 13.61 per cent increase in Interest and Non-Interest Income respectively.
The bank recorded a Profit After Tax (PAT) of ₦2.59 billion, rising 14.10 per cent over the ₦2.27 billion recorded in 2015.
Speaking on the bank’s performance, MD/CEO, Segun Oloketuyi, said despite the challenging economic environment in 2016, particularly in the banking industry, the bank benefited from its improving brand acceptance and market penetration.
“Sound risk management practices remain at the core of our business model. The bank was not immune to the impact of the economic slowdown, but a more prudent approach was taken in providing for some loans. We closed with a Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio of 5.07 per cent from 2.67 per cent in the prior year. In addition, our coverage ratio remains robust at 100 per cent with Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at 11.07 per cent, which is above the regulatory minimum of 10 per cent,” he said.
He noted that funding remains at the core of the enterprise strategy.
“We reported an encouraging growth rate in our retail deposit volumes. We also intensified and contracted a couple of partnerships during the year, which have contributed in good measure to customer acquisition.”
Speaking on what to expect in the new financial year, he said, “we expect the vestiges of the headwinds in the economy to remain in 2017. However, we remain optimistic about the bank’s performance as we leverage on the continued growth of our digital and physical footprints to grow our market share and improve our returns to all stakeholders.”