By Dipo Olowookere
FBNQuest Merchant Bank is not resting on its oars as it has another target for itself after meeting the previous goals set by the management.
On Friday, April 23, 2021, the investment banking and asset management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc held its 6th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos.
The gathering afforded the board and management to give an account of how the company faired in the 2020 fiscal year, which struggled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This health crisis caused the macro-economic environment in Nigeria to face headwinds, which plunged the nation into a recession for the second time in less than 5 years.
However, robust growth in key business lines, especially in fixed income trading, corporate banking and asset management supported the strong performance recorded by the organisation in the period under review.
In the year, FBNQuest Merchant Bank improved its profit before tax (PBT) by 57.3 per cent to N6.52 billion.
The Chairman of FBNQuest Merchant Bank, Mr Bello Maccido, while speaking at the AGM, commended the company for the strong performance.
He noted that the outlook for 2021 is anchored on three important pillars; optimisation, innovation and partnerships, adding that the FBNQuest aims to ensure greater value creation through a renewed people agenda, as well as innovation through the transformation of operations with a great focus on digital channels.
Mr Maccido further commended the continued commitment of the board members, management and staff to the growth of the organisation.
On his part, the Managing Director/CEO of the firm, Mr Kayode Akinkugbe, said, “The bank commenced a new three year-strategy cycle in 2020, having set clear objectives and aspirations founded on the premise of a temperate macroeconomic and operating environment.”
“We believe our 2020 performance reflects the effectiveness of the strategy, while our diversified business platform enabled us to withstand the shocks, remain competitive and mitigate downside risks posed to any single business line,” he added.
FBNQuest remains committed to delivering value to its clients and has consistently reported growth across all its businesses.
The firm was recently recognised for outstanding transactions delivered, receiving the Banker Deal of the Year Award for Africa for the Restructuring of the Sahara Power Group; the Debt Deal of the Year Award from the BusinessDay Banking and Other Financial Institutions Awards for the Refinancing Lagos State Government loan facility; and the Best Asset Manager (Nigeria) Award from EMEA Finance African Banking Awards. The firm was also honoured at the 2020 Great Place to Work® Awards as one of the Best Workplaces in Nigeria.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Aduragbemi Omiyale