Wema Bank hits N1trn asset valuation despite N13.51bn revenue shortfall

Wema Bank hits N1trn asset valuation despite N13.51bn revenue shortfall

Despite a recorded decline in its revenue in 2020, Wema Bank Plc has grown its total assets to N1 trillion at the end of the same year.

The lender recorded a sharp decline in revenue generated for the year on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic, its recently released financial statement shows.

According to the bank’s financial statements released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the bank recorded a N13.51 billion shortfall in revenue for year 2020, as it generated a total sum of N81.38 billion falling short of the N94.89 billion recorded during the same period in 2019.

During the same period under review, the interest income fell to N64.55 billion in 2020, falling short of the N70.68 billion it generated in the corresponding 2019 period.

Nonetheless, the bank has proposed dividend payment of 4 kobo per share, making it the third consecutive year of paying dividend.

The Chief Finance Officer of the bank, Tunde Mabawonku who gave updates on the results, said the bank weathered the disruptions of the 2020 financial year through a sharp focus on safe lending, keeping non performing loans low and driving transaction income.

Mabawonku

He explained further that the bank remains resilient and has continued to grow its business in an efficient manner as we persist in adapting our strategy to yield strong financial results despite the adverse economic situation.

According to the audited financial statements of the bank, Customer Deposit rose by   39.42 per cent to N804.87 billion in 2020 from   N577.28 billion in 2019.

The results show that net loans grew by 24.49 per cent to N360.08 billion from N289.24 billion from 2019, as the bank continues to support its customers across multiple sectors of the economy.

The recorded significant improvement in assets quality as Non-Performing Loans (NPL) dropped to   4.70 per cent in 2020 from 7.38 per cent in 2019.

According to Mabawonku, “We have a clear strategy of becoming the ‘Most Dominant Digital Bank in Nigeria’ by 2023.   We have positioned ALAT as the go-to platform by both increasing customer acquisition and working with eco-system partners on payments and settlements.”

During the year, Wema Bank was ranked 2nd in the Retail Category and 6th in the SME category in the 2020 KPMG Customer Satisfaction Survey. The bank also received an award for the Best SME Bank of the Year for 2020 from BusinessDay, thus recognizing Wema Bank’s continuous support for small and medium scale businesses through loans, business advisory and innovative payments & collections support.