By Dipo Olowookere
**To Sustain Operational Efficiency Strategy
The management of Polaris Bank Limited under the leadership of Mr Adetokunbo Abiru is looking to improve on the strong performance recorded in the 2019 financial year.
It was the first full fiscal year since Mr Abiru took charge in late 2018 when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked the operating licence of the defunct Skye Bank Plc.
In the period under review, Polaris Bank posted a gross earnings figure of N150.8 billion and a profit before tax (PBT) of N27.8 billion.
The remarkable achievements coming in the first year of operations of the institution is a clear validation of regulatory induced interventions in the nation’s history.
In the views of some financial analysts, Polaris Bank’s performance in FY’19 has assured a strong positive outlook for earnings, margins, and profitability improvement in its cautious pursuit of loan growth, a sustained strategy for operational efficiency, funding cost optimization, and efficient deposit mix. The headroom for loan creation no doubt presents an opportunity for improved margins.
This was based on the key indices like the total assets of N1.1 trillion and shareholders’ funds of N83 billion. It was also based on Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 14 percent and Liquidity Ratio (LR) of 81 percent, which are well above regulatory requirements, demonstrating strong prudential compliance and strong capital buffer, careful liquidity management and resilience.
In the period under review, the bank’s customer deposits stood at N857.9 billion even as the bank continues to focus on stable, low-cost deposits and well-diversified portfolio devoid of high concentration.
Likewise, the loan book stood at N261 billion providing the Bank with the desired headroom to accommodate required growth in risk assets to support the nation’s economic growth.
The Bank equally recorded a Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on Assets (ROA) of 33.0 percent and 2.4 percent respectively for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Mr Abiru, while commenting on the bank’s performance, stated that, “The emergence of Polaris Bank on September 21, 2018, has heralded a new dawn as it laid the foundation for institutional competitiveness and service innovation in the nation’s challenging banking space.”
Expressing satisfaction with the bank’s new corporate governance regime, he noted that, “We shall continue to run an ethically governed bank, upholding sound risk management practices and proactively taking measures to mitigate the impact of the adverse business environment while the Board and Management continue to guide the bank towards a path of sustainable growth.”
Going into the year 2020 and despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, Polaris Bank says it is poised to reap the benefits of its investment in both the capacity of its employees to improve service experience as well as in critical infrastructures that will support the digitization of its operations.
Polaris Bank is a future-determining bank committed to the delivery of industry-defining products, services, and digital platforms across all the sectors of the Nigerian economy.
The lender is a member of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), which seeks to engage the private sector and the global financial sector to help create a financial sector that serves people and the planet while delivering positive impact.
