Access Bank a leading Nigerian banking group today held its 29 Annual General Meeting in Lagos, where it declared a profit-after-tax of N61.9bn for the 2017 financial year.
As a result of this, the board of the bank with the approval of the shareholders declared and paid the dividend of 0.40k per share.
This was on the premise of a robust 2017 financial year performance for the bank, which witnessed an 18% growth in total assets of N4.10trn from N3.48trn in 2016.
The bank also enjoyed a 7% increase in customer deposits of N2.25trn from N2.1trn in 2016, and a 20% increase in gross revenue for 2017 of N459bn.
Giving their financial statements, the Independent auditor Mr Anthony Oputa(representing PricewaterhouseCoopers) and the Audit Committee led by Mr Henry Aragho gave the Access Bank a clean bill of health on its 2017 financials.
Shareholders like Mr Mukhtar Mukhtar and Mr Godwin Alex Adio commended Access Bank Plc for its value creation in the Nigerian financial services industry, payment of dividend, and driving leadership in areas like Fintech.
Other Shareholders charged the management to sustain efficiency in its banking service and payment of dividend.
In his remarks the Group Managing Director of Access Bank Mr Herbert .O. Wigwe assured the shareholders that the bank was focused on creating value for them, leveraging technology.
According to him “Today we have almost 400 branches, and we have improved our customer base from 6 million in 2013, to currently a 9 million customer base”.
With the completion of the 2013-2017 five year strategy, Wigwe shared that the bank is set for the 2018-2022 next phase of another 5-year strategy which will position it as Africa’s Gateway to the world.
He listed the six elements which will drive its pathway to becoming the most respected African Bank in the globe, to include; Retail Banking & Wholesale Banking Consolidation, Digital led Bank, Customer-Focused Bank, Analytics Driven Insight and Robust Risk Management, Global Collaboration and Universal Payment Gateway.
