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Coronation Merchant’s assets hit N137 billion with zero NPL

By Chijioke Nelson
23 April 2018   |   3:47 am
Coronation Merchant Bank Group has recorded a significant growth in its 2017 operations, as total assets increased by 28 per cent to N136.7 billion from N106.6 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2016.

Coronation Merchant Bank Group has recorded a significant growth in its 2017 operations, as total assets increased by 28 per cent to N136.7 billion from N106.6 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2016.

The shareholder’s funds also increased to N29.5 billion from N25.9 billion, an indication of the resilience of the Group’s operations and its adaptability to current market realities and challenges. Meanwhile, the bank has pledged to sustain a disciplined and prudent approach in asset creation in line with its overall risk management framework and evident in growth in loan book of 42 per cent, from N22.7 billion to N32.3 billion with zero Non-Performing Loans (NPL).

Already, Agusto & Co, Nigeria’s foremost rating agency, upgraded the bank’s credit rating from “A”to “A+” with a stable outlook, just as it successfully launched and listed three mutual funds on the Nigeria Stock Exchange.

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Abu Jimoh, at the yearly general meeting of the lender, in Lagos, said that, “despite the tough market conditions that characterised a significant part of 2017, the underlying business fundamentals of the institution remained strong as reflected in the gross earnings growth of 66 per cent to N25.5 billion.

Customer deposits went up by 43 per cent to N76.4 billion as at Dec 2017, against N53.4 billion in 2016, with net interest income remaining unchanged at N8billion, while profit before tax at N5.1billion, lost N200 million when compared to N5.3 billion in 2016.The Group’s interest income growth of 67 per cent year-on-year and non-interest income growth of 57 per cent in 2017 re-affirmed the sustainability of the core business growth.

While the report showed a notable improvement across key performance metrics in 2017, despite the tough and challenging operating environment, the maintained that it will continue its efforts to achieve more diversified earnings, as it strengthens the subsidiaries’ offerings.

Jimoh said: “Our deliberate focus on the efficiency of our business operations has continued to yield considerable returns for the Bank. Despite the high inflation rate, cost-to-income ratio increased marginally by 90bps to 46.1 per cent as against 45.2 per cent, reaffirming the bank’s commitment to rein in costs, while improving operating efficiency.

“While general economic conditions and the regulatory environment remain tight, we believe that our new business and lending strategies, embedded risk management culture and continuous cost savings will enable us stand firm throughout this period.“In the coming years, we will focus on the disciplined implementation of our growth strategy to drive efficiency in all segments of our business, leveraging Fintech and process re-engineering.

“As we progress in our journey to become Africa’s premier Investment Bank, we remain committed to providing our clients with superior financial services, while generating attractive and sustainable returns for shareholders.“We will continue to focus on delivering world-class solutions, accompanied by innovative products and services, while remaining committed to our values of strong corporate governance and transparency.

“The impressive results of the bank in the last three years demonstrate the effectiveness of our strategy, the quality of our past decisions and the commitment of our board and management to maximise shareholder value, while actively expanding our franchise in select, high growth markets where we believe we have a competitive advantage.”

The bank said it was established to fill the gap in a long-underserved market segment, seeking to address the need for long term capital across key sectors of the economy.Presently, the Group offers investment and corporate banking, private banking/wealth management and global markets/treasury services to its diverse clients. It also offers securities trading/brokerage, asset management and trustees services via its subsidiaries- Coronation Securities Limited and Coronation Asset Management Limited.

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