Yemisi Izuora
Fidelity Bank Plc’s leadership in the exports space has once again been reaffirmed with the bank’s emergence as the Export Finance Bank of the Year at the BusinessDay and Other Financial Institutions’(BAFI) Awards 2023.
The bank was presented the award at a prestigious dinner event held on Saturday, 28 October 2023 at Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
“The BAFI Awards is the benchmark of distinction for institutions in the Nigerian financial services sector. Now in its 10th year, the awards recognises and celebrates organisations that excel in the delivery of financial services in Nigeria,” read a statement by BusinessDay Media Limited, the award organisers.
Commenting on the award, MD/CEO Fidelity Bank Plc, Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe said, “We are grateful for this recognition and dedicate the award to our customers who rely on us to provide the right support for operating effectively in the global non-oil exports market space. As a bank, we remain committed to our goal of helping individuals grow, inspiring businesses to thrive and empowering economies to prosper.”
It would be recalled that the bank recently hosted the second edition of its non-oil exports expo tagged the Fidelity International Trade and Creative Connect (FITCC) in Houston, Texas, United States of America. At the two-day event, the bank signed a cocoa pre-export deal with AFREXIM Bank and JohnVents Industries worth $40million dollars which has been adjudged as a landmark development by analysts in the exports space.
FITCC Houston also featured exhibitions by more than 160 Nigeria and US-based businesses as well as panel sessions as stakeholders engaged on strategies to increase the pipeline of Nigerian businesses that export into the US market. In recognition of the bank’s commitment to fostering bilateral trade and economic development between Nigeria and the USA through its FITCC initiative, the Mayor of the City of Houston, Sylvester Turner, proclaimed October 25, 2023 as FITCC Day in Houston Texas.
Ranked as one of the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged customer commercial bank with over 8 million customers serviced across its 251 business offices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom as well as on digital banking channels.
The bank has won multiple local and international awards including the Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023 and Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking and Finance Awards; Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2023; and Best Domestic Private Bank in Nigeria by the Euromoney Global Private Banking Awards 2023.