Fidelity Bank Plc has reported a 45 per cent increase in gross earnings for the 2025 financial year, as the lender’s shareholders’ funds crossed the N1tn mark following sustained balance sheet expansion and fresh capital injection.

Analysis from the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025, submitted to the NGX on Tuesday, reveals that the bank delivered robust results across key financial metrics, including Gross Earnings, which stood at N1.5tn, up from N1.04tn reported in 2024.

Net Interest Income rose to N831.3bn, compared to N629.7bn in 2024, reflecting the bank’s stronger earnings capacity amid elevated interest rates and growth in interest-earning assets.

Interest and similar income calculated using the effective interest rate rose 38.7 per cent to N1.11tn in 2025 from N803.05bn in 2024, while other interest and similar income increased 25.1 per cent to N184.51tn.

Net interest income after credit loss also rose significantly by 41.2 per cent to N809.74bn from N573.33bn. The bank also recorded an improvement in asset quality costs, as credit loss expense moderated to N21.61bn from N56.44bn, representing a 61.7 per cent improvement year-on-year.

Fidelity Bank continued to expand its digital banking footprint, enhance customer experience, and support key sectors of the economy. Non-interest revenue performance remained strong during the period, with fee and commission income increasing 44.7 per cent to N113.36bn from N78.36bn. This was driven by letters of credit commissions and fees (N12.5bn), ATM charges and fees (N11.6bn), commission on travellers’ cheques and foreign bills (N8.9bn), account maintenance charges (N7.13bn) and commission on e-banking activities (N2.2bn).

Other operating income rose 200.5 per cent to N8.24bn, while foreign currency revaluation gains surged 749.9 per cent to N99.58bn from N11.72bn in 2024.

Fidelity Bank’s investment assets expanded significantly during the year, reflecting the bank’s stronger positioning in fixed income and other securities markets. Debt instruments at fair value through other comprehensive income rose 199 per cent to N557.78bn from N186.57bn, while debt instruments at amortised cost increased 27.2 per cent to N1.97tn from N1.55tn. Equity instruments at FVOCI also rose 26.2 per cent to N87.85bn.

The bank also recorded gains from financial assets measured at fair value through profit or loss, which increased 280.7 per cent to N2.75bn. A new gain of N988bn from derecognition activities was also recorded during the period.

On the balance sheet side, cash and cash equivalents increased sharply by 87 per cent to N1.32tn from N707.45bn, indicating stronger liquidity buffers. Restricted balances with the Central Bank of Nigeria also rose to N1.65tn from N1.59tn.

Other assets surged 76.4 per cent to N278.89bn, while investments in property, plant, and equipment rose 161.6 per cent to N203.72bn. Intangible assets climbed 147.5 per cent to N50.44bn, indicating continued investment in technology and operational infrastructure. Deferred tax assets also increased significantly to N33.10bn from N5.31bn.

The bank further reduced debts issued and other borrowed funds to N888.95bn from N929.60bn, reflecting lower reliance on external borrowings. Deferred tax liabilities declined completely from N727m in 2024 to zero in 2025.

The lender’s total assets grew 18.6 per cent to N10.46tn from N8.82tn, driven by growth in liquid assets and investment securities. Customer deposits rose 16.1 per cent to N6.89tn from N5.94tn, reflecting sustained customer confidence and expansion in the bank’s funding base.

Fidelity Bank also strengthened its capital position during the year as total equity increased 21.1 per cent to N1.09tn from N897.87bn, pushing shareholders’ funds above the N1tn mark, reinforcing the lender’s capacity to support larger transactions, absorb shocks, and expand its regional and international banking ambitions.

The bank disclosed that it completed a private placement of 12.9 billion ordinary shares in December 2025, raising fresh capital that increased eligible capital to N532.6bn, above the CBN’s N500bn minimum requirement for banks with international authorisation.

The PUNCH reported that the bank raised N259bn through a Private Placement of ordinary shares, significantly boosting its capital base as the lender intensifies efforts to meet the new regulatory capital requirements for commercial banks with international authorisation.

In a statement issued on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, the bank said the Private Placement was conducted following approvals from the CBN and the Securities and Exchange Commission and was successfully opened and closed on 31 December 2025.

“Fidelity Bank Plc is pleased to inform the general public that, following approvals granted by the CBN and the SEC, it successfully opened and closed a Private Placement of ordinary shares on 31 December 2025,” the bank stated.

The exercise increased total issued shares from 50.2 billion units to 63.17 billion units, significantly boosting shareholders’ funds beyond the N1tn threshold.

The stronger capital base is expected to improve the lender’s capacity to finance larger transactions, expand lending activities, and support future regional growth opportunities.

Fresh data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has shown that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals exported an estimated 1.66 billion litres of refined petroleum products in April 2026.

This came amid mounting tensions in the Middle East and fears of possible disruption to global fuel supply routes following the growing conflict involving the United States and Iran.

An analysis of the NMDPRA’s April 2026 fact sheet by our correspondent showed that the country exported about 513 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol; 534 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil, also known as diesel; and 615 million litres of aviation fuel within the month under review.

The Dangote refinery is the only major functional refinery in Nigeria that currently produces enough refined petroleum products for both local consumption and export.

This is the first month the refinery has exported such a high volume of petroleum products, especially jet fuel and diesel, indicating the significance of the 650,000-barrel-per-day plant in Lekki, Lagos State.

The combined export volume translates to approximately 55.4 million litres daily. The development comes as the international oil market faces fresh uncertainty over the security of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil shipping route, following the failure of the United States and Iran to agree on a peace deal.

Industry experts said the rising geopolitical uncertainty had significantly boosted demand for refined petroleum products from alternative suppliers such as Nigeria, especially as Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia scramble for more secure fuel sources.

The NMDPRA document showed that local refineries operated at an average capacity utilisation of 99.12 per cent in April, with the Dangote refinery accounting for the overwhelming share of production.

The regulator stated that the refinery achieved 100 per cent capacity utilisation “for most of the days in April.” The report also indicated that domestic refineries received 18.37 million barrels of crude oil in April, up from 13.11 million barrels recorded in March.

Findings further showed that the refinery maintained strong export momentum despite increased domestic supply obligations. According to the fact sheet, average daily petrol production stood at 53.6 million litres, while 40.7 million litres were supplied locally and 17.1 million litres were exported daily.

Similarly, diesel production averaged 23.6 million litres daily, with exports accounting for 17.8 million litres per day, more than double the domestic supply volume of 8 million litres daily. For aviation fuel, exports stood at 20.5 million litres daily, compared to the domestic supply of 2.6 million litres per day.

The strong aviation fuel export performance comes weeks after reports emerged that domestic airline operators threatened to shut down over the rising cost of the fuel.

There are reports that Nigeria has become a net petrol exporter for the first time in decades due to rising output from the Dangote refinery. The refinery had earlier exported about 434 million litres of petrol in March after domestic production exceeded local consumption levels.

The latest figures underscore Nigeria’s gradual transition from a major importer of refined petroleum products to an export hub within Africa. It was observed that jet fuel exports may rise further if instability in the Middle East continues to disrupt traditional supply chains serving Europe and other regions.

The Middle East accounts for a substantial share of global aviation fuel exports, with the Strait of Hormuz serving as a strategic transit corridor for crude oil and refined petroleum products. The prolonged disruption in the region has tightened global fuel supply and pushed up prices internationally.

The NMDPRA report also revealed that Nigerians consumed an average of 51.1 million litres of petrol daily in April, slightly above the 50 million litres benchmark estimated by the regulator. Diesel consumption stood at 17.3 million litres daily, while aviation fuel consumption averaged 2.5 million litres per day.

Despite increased local refining activity, petrol prices remained elevated across the country. The regulator attributed prevailing prices partly to international crude oil costs, which averaged $120.55 per barrel during the month, while gasoline costs stood at $1,074.97 per metric tonne.

The refinery, with a nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, is expected to play a central role in Nigeria’s energy security and foreign exchange earnings as global fuel trade patterns shift amid geopolitical tensions.

As the Nigerian refinery exports petrol, the NMDPRA has continued to issue licences for the importation of petrol.

Four banks have published details of no fewer than 321,181 dormant accounts following a directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria,

This comes as economic analysts have warned that the CBN directive raises major concerns around customer communication, account reactivation procedures, business failures, and privacy.

The published dormant accounts span individuals, companies, cooperatives, churches, clubs, community associations, and small businesses that have remained inactive for over 10 years.

The banks include Access Bank Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank, and Fidelity Bank Plc.

The disclosures followed the CBN’s July 2024 Guidelines on Management of Dormant Accounts, Unclaimed Balances and Other Financial Assets, which directed financial institutions to publish dormant account details on their websites six months before such funds become eligible for transfer to the apex bank’s Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund Pool Account.

Analysis of the published records showed that Access Bank listed 243,934 dormant accounts, Stanbic IBTC published 26,135 dormant accounts, Fidelity Bank disclosed about 61,900 dormant accounts, while Union Bank published 212 dormant and unclaimed accounts that had remained inactive for 10 years and above.

The combined figure from the four banks stood at about 321,181 dormant accounts. Findings from the Access Bank register showed an almost even split between individual and corporate dormant accounts, indicating that business inactivity contributed heavily to the rising dormant account volumes across the banking industry.

A full extraction of the Access Bank document showed 122,390 individual accounts and 120,718 corporate accounts, representing 50.34 per cent and 49.66 per cent, respectively.

The Fidelity Bank register showed a significantly different pattern, with corporate accounts accounting for about 79 per cent of dormant accounts. The document, which spanned 693 pages, contained approximately 48,900 corporate dormant accounts and about 13,000 individual dormant accounts.

The accounts reflected widespread inactivity among SMEs, oil and gas firms, logistics operators, churches, schools, hospitality businesses, pharmaceutical firms, marine operators, and informal trading businesses.

Several dormant accounts were linked to Lagos commercial districts such as Idumota, Oyingbo, Allen Avenue, Awolowo Road, and Ladipo, while major clusters also appeared around Port Harcourt oil-service corridors and northern trading centres.

Union Bank’s list, though significantly smaller at 212 entries, largely consisted of cooperatives, clubs, churches, associations, alumni bodies, women’s groups, and community development unions spread across the country.

Stanbic IBTC’s dormant accounts register, which exceeded 1,520 pages, showed strong concentrations in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kaduna, and Maiduguri. The document contained mostly current accounts, including salary accounts, joint accounts, and a smaller number of corporate and institutional accounts.

Meanwhile, some major lenders adopted different approaches. United Bank for Africa Plc did not publish a dormant accounts register but instead maintained an unclaimed dividend list.

First Bank of Nigeria Limited and Zenith Bank Plc provided dedicated portals for customers to search for affected accounts rather than publishing comprehensive lists.

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc published dormant account management guidelines without attaching a dormant accounts document, while Ecobank Nigeria offered dormant account reactivation services but did not publish a Nigerian dormant accounts list.

Analysts react

In phone interviews with The PUNCH, analysts and finance stakeholders addressed the implications for bank-customer communications, improved customer relations, and privacy concerns. They also noted that the data from the documents revealed the state of business and corporate account holder closures/ dormancy.

The Director of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, said the CBN directive highlighted shortcomings in customer communication by banks. “I think it’s more about getting the banks to communicate a lot more with their customers because if the CBN is compelling them to publish, it’s a communication issue,” Yusuf said.

“So, the bank needs to do a lot more to get in touch with its customers. This is a customer service issue, actually, to know what exactly is happening, why they are not active in their accounts, what they can do to resuscitate their accounts.”

Yusuf added that worsening economic conditions and rising SME failures contributed heavily to dormant corporate accounts. “The mortality rate of businesses has grown significantly. When you are running a business, you have an account, and the business collapses because of a whole lot of issues. You just walk away from everything,” Yusuf said.

“The economic situation and the high rate of business mortality, especially among micro-enterprises, small businesses, and even medium-sized businesses, are also factors.”

He also criticised account reactivation procedures, saying cumbersome documentation discouraged customers from reviving dormant accounts. “We need to simplify as much as possible the process of resuscitating dormant accounts,” Yusuf said. “If I have my ID card, I will give you my name. I have my BVN. I have my NIN. Why are you asking me for the NEPA bill?”

Yusuf further called for reforms to simplify access to funds belonging to deceased account holders. “It’s not fair for the families of people who have died to have huge amounts of money in their accounts, and they cannot access it,” Yusuf said. “We have to simplify the process. The process is very, very bureaucratic.”

Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the University of Uyo, Akpan Ekpo, questioned the rationale behind publishing dormant account details publicly.

“The Central Bank has examiners who can go to a bank and ask for accounts and know what they have to do without making it public,” Ekpo said. “For me, it bothers me about privacy. Because if you publish that person A has a dormant account, it doesn’t look good in terms of the environment we are living in. You can expose the person.”

Ekpo said the apex bank already possessed enough regulatory powers to inspect dormant accounts directly from banks without public disclosure.

“I don’t see any reason why that has a monetary policy purpose,” Ekpo said. “They should communicate more about why they want to do it.”

Former President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gabriel Idahosa, said dormant accounts emerged for several reasons, including bank mergers, customer relocations, deaths, and abandoned businesses.

“Companies collapsed, failed, and the owners did not bother to withdraw all the balances from accounts,” Idahosa said. “People who passed on and do not have the next of kin to open their accounts. There are all kinds of reasons why accounts become dormant.”

Idahosa said many customers abandoned small balances because of the stress associated with account recovery. “A couple of people tried to go to the new banks that inherited their accounts from the other banks. Especially for small amounts, people just forgot about it because of the trouble pursuing it,” Idahosa said.

He also warned that publication of dormant account holders could trigger legal disputes and privacy concerns. “Ordinarily, the central bank should not do that because of the privacy doctrine in the relationship between the customer and the bank,” Idahosa said. “A lawyer or a group of lawyers, or even civil society organisations, can go to court to prevent the central bank from doing so.”

He added, “It could lead to some chaos in some families, who may find that their parents have lots of money in an account and they never knew about it. Now there will be battles among the children to come and get it.”

Under the 2024 guidelines, the CBN said dormant accounts and unclaimed balances had become vulnerable to fraud and abuse.

The apex bank stated that dormant balances eligible for transfer included current accounts, savings accounts, domiciliary accounts, prepaid card wallets, unclaimed salaries, stale drafts, deposits for shares, and abandoned financial assets that had remained inactive for at least 10 years.

The CBN also directed banks to notify dormant account owners regularly through emails, text messages, and letters, while maintaining audit trails and quarterly reporting obligations.