We Were Forced Not to Pay Dividend to Shareholders—Jaiz Bank

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Since its inception about eight years ago, Nigeria’s first full-fledged non-interest bank, Jaiz Bank Plc, is yet to pay dividend to its shareholders.

In the 2018 financial year, the lender, according to its Chairman, Mr Umaru Mutallab, had planned to break this jinx, but he said the board was not given the approval to make this a reality.

Speaking at the 7th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Jaiz Bank on Wednesday in Abuja, Mr Mutallab said barring any unforeseen contingencies, shareholders of the company should receive their first-ever dividend from the bank by next year.

He informed the shareholders at the meeting that the board had tried to recommend the payment of dividend for the 2018 financial period, but the regulators of the bank were of the view that there was a need for Jaiz Bank to improve on some specific performance benchmarks.

According to him, some of the performance benchmarks included improvement in capital buffers and reduction in non-performing loans.

The Chairman said the bank would work assiduously in the 2019 financial period to meet those regulatory requirements for dividend payment.

“The board had tried to recommend the payment of dividend for the reporting period but the feedback from regulators meant it was not possible until we improve upon some specific performance benchmarks such as our capital buffers and reduction in non-performing risk assets.

“This year, we are working assiduously towards ensuring that the bank meets all those regulatory requirements for dividend payment in order to meet our aspirations of dividend payout to shareholders,” Mr Mutallab said.

Speaking on the outlook for the year, the Managing Director/CEO, Mr Hassan Usman, said, “We are poised to create a responsible business that best meets our customers’ needs and a culture where our employees put customers first.

“Being an exceptional institution with a humble beginning and optimistic outlook, the bank seeks to continuously redefine standards in all it does.

“As we look towards the actualisation of our current strategic plan, we shall remain ever committed to the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).”