Page 15 - ACCESS BANK ANNUAL REPORTS_eBook

since 2014 attributable to the greater confidence in the until this appointment, our Executive Director, Commer-
health of Nigerian foreign exchange market. cial Banking. The Board is extremely confident in his ability
to excel in his new position. The Board also appointed Ms.
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Hadiza Ambursa as Executive Director - Commercial Bank-
ing, North. Ms. Ambursa is a thorough-bred professional
The Bank’s ability to generate strong financial performance with over 20-years’ experience in various facets of banking.
despite the adverse market conditions and the residual is- Before her appointment, she was a General Manager in the
sues from the recession is a testament to the tenacity of Bank responsible for our Commercial Banking business in
our Management team and staff. In the year, we recorded the Northern part of the country. Mrs. Ojinika Olaghere our
strong top line growth as gross earnings improved by 20% Executive Director, Operations and Information Technolo-
to N459 billion. Significant higher provisioning, arising from gy has also resigned her appointment to enable her pursue
the macroeconomic headwinds, affected profitability with personal endeavours. The Board has appointed Mr. Adeolu
profit before tax reducing year on year to N80 billion in 2017 Bajomo as her successor. Mr. Bajomo is a globally focused
from N90 billion in 2016. Total Assets as at December 2017 financial services executive with achievements cutting
stood at N4.1 trillion representing an 18% increase over across technology, banking, insurance and capital mar-
the N3.5 trillion recorded in 2016 while loans and advanc- ket. He was until his appointment, the Executive Director,
es grew by 11% to close at N2.1 trillion in 2017 from N1.9 Market Operations and Technology at the Nigerian Stock
trillion in 2016. Exchange. In that role, he delivered market-wide transfor-
mation initiatives that firmly established the Exchange as
Our overall performance underscores our commitment to the second largest bourse in Africa by market capitalization
the continued execution of our strategy in order to gener- with over 7 million investors. These appointments reflect
ate sustainable economic returns, while maximizing share- the rich pool of talent within the Bank as well as the Board’s
holders’ value. readiness to externally source the talent required to deliver
on the Bank’s strategy. The Board has great confidence in
DIVIDEND the abilities of the appointees.

The Board recognises the importance of dividends to I am also pleased to report that Mr. Emmanuel Chiejina re-
shareholders and believes in balancing returns on invest- tired from the Board in June 2017 following his successful
ment for shareholders with support for the Bank’s future completion of the maximum 12-year term limit as allowed
growth and preserving strong capital ratios. by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulation. On behalf of the
Board, I commend the exiting Directors for their respective
During the 2017 financial year, Directors declared and paid commitments and contributions to the Group and wish
an interim dividend of N0.25, for the half-year ended June them success in their future undertakings.
30, 2017.
SUSTAINABILITY
In light of recent performance, the Board recommends the
payment of a final dividend of N0.40, bringing the total divi- The Bank always strives to deliver sustainable economic
dend for the year ended December 31, 2017 to N0.65. growth that is profitable, environmentally responsible and
socially relevant. We delivered sustainable growth in mar-
ket share in most of our core market segments in line with
BOARD DEVELOPMENTS
our strategic growth plan leading to the Bank receiving 14
awards for its pace setting role in the sustainability space.
In 2017, we continued to ensure that our corporate gov-
The details of the awards are set out in the sustainability
ernance policies and standards stayed ahead of statutory
segment of the report.
requirements and showed strong adherence to our values.

EMPOWERED EMPLOYEES
Subsequent to the last Annual General Meeting and follow-
ing the resignation of Mr. Obinna Nwosu as Group Deputy
Our people are our greatest assets and our success is in-
Managing Director, the Board in line with our entrenched
trinsically linked to customers’ experiences created by our
succession plan appointed Mr. Roosevelt Ogbonna as his
staff at every service point. The results achieved during the
successor. Mr. Ogbonna joined the Bank in 2002 and was

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Annual Report & Accounts 2017