Bamidele Famoofo
Close to N700million has been spent by insiders in Fidelity Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s leading lenders, to acquire more shares of the bank in a bid to further consolidate their positions.
Analysis of data obtained from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) in May on the activities of insiders on the bank’s shares by Business a.m. showed that a total of 50,691,853 ordinary shares valued at N695, 542,127.25 were acquired by top executives and staff of the bank.
Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, managing director and chief executive officer, Fidelity Bank blazed the trail in the share acquisition spree in May, increasing her shareholding by 20 million valued at N373.5 million.
Onyeali-Ikpe who also increased her shares in the bank with 25 million ordinary shares between the financial years 2023 and 2024, executed the deals in two tranches in May, according to the notices of insiders dealing released by NGX Ltd.
Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe,MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc
In the first tranche on May 19, 2025, 18 million shares at N20.35 per unit were crossed for N336.3 million while 2million units were bought for N37.2 million on May 22, 2025. In all, N373.5 million was injected into the bank by means of shares acquisition as at May 22.
Onyeali-Ikpe, first female chief executive officer of Fidelity Bank Plc has intentionally raised the bar in the shareholding structure of the bank, increasing her shareholding by 25million units or 36 per cent from 69,644,260 units as at end of December 2023 to 94,644,260 units as at end of the 2024 financial year. As of May 22, 2025, it is expected that the CEO’s shareholding had increased to 114,644,260 units, consolidating her position as the largest shareholder on the board of the bank.
Opara Kenneth Onyewuchi, executive director, Fidelity Bank
Besides Onyeali-Ikpe, Opara Kenneth Onyewuchi, executive director, increased his shareholding stake in the bank with additional 3,031,500 units of ordinary shares of the bank bought at N18.70 per share on May 21. Dr. Opara injected about N57 million on the bank’s shares.
Another Executive Director, Ugwuoke Kevin Onyekachi, invested N18.5 million to acquire a million units of the shares in three tranches on May 23, 2025 while Adebowale Banzi, team lead, media and internal communication of the bank also invested N490,954.5 to buy 26,610 units of shares at N18.45k per unit also on May 23, 2025.
Ugwuoke Kevin Onyekachi, executive director, Fidelity Bank
Also, Fidelity Bank Plc disclosed that it vested 26,633,743 ordinary shares to 67 staff members under the staff loan shares for rights having completed payments. The value of purchase by staff under this arrangement amounted to N246, 362,122.75. The allotment was done on May 23, 2025 according to release by the bank obtained by Business a.m. on NGX Ltd.
Fidelity Bank Plc floated a combination of Public Offer and Rights Issue earlier this year in a bid to realize the recapitalization requirement of the Central Bank of Nigeria. It was the first phase of the capital raise.
The rights issue price for Fidelity Bank Plc was N9.25 per share. This price was offered on the basis of 1 new ordinary share for every 10 ordinary shares held by existing shareholders as of January 5, 2024. The total value of the rights issue was N29.6 billion.
Analysis of shareholdings
The 16 directors of the board of the bank increased their shareholding by 20.33 per cent or 66,937,491 to 396,138,559 in 2024 from 329,201,068 in 2023.
The number of shareholders of the bank as at Dec 31, 2024 stood at 403,549. The number of issued shares as at Dec 31, 2024 was 32,000,000,000 but that has risen to 50,200,000,000 after the Public Offer and Rights Issues of the bank. By implication, issued shares have risen by 56.86 per cent post offer.
Recapitalisation
The board and management of Fidelity Bank Plc have indicated that the bank plans to conclude the final phase of its recapitalisation programme this year, ahead of the 2026 deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Addressing shareholders at the annual general meeting of the bank, Chairman, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, said the bank’s stakeholders were all pleased with the success of the first stage of the capital-raise exercise.
“The oversubscription of 237.9 per cent in the public offer and 137.7 per cent in the rights issue is a testament to the strength of our brand and the confidence the investing public has in us. Equipped with this vote of trust, we will proceed swiftly and conclude the second tier of our capital-raise exercise,” Chike-Obi said.
Managing Director, Fidelity Bank Plc, Dr Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe outlined that the bank’s priorities in 2025 financial year were to complete the next phase of its capital raising programme and further strengthen its asset base.
She added that the bank would also enhance its operational efficiency and digital innovation while exploring strategic regional expansion into select African markets. Fidelity Bank Plc raised a total of N127.1 billion through a combination of a Rights Issue and a Public Offer, as part of its strategy to increase share capital in compliance with revised minimum capital requirements for Nigerian commercial banks. The bank’s capital raising efforts include a Rights Issue to existing shareholders and a Public Offer. The Public Offer alone resulted in 108,046 applications for 23,791,687,463 Ordinary Shares totaling N231, 968,952,764.25.
