FBN Holdings has been fined the sum of N9.6 million for failing to comply with the regulations of the capital market authority for the 2022 financial year.
The banking giant was sanctioned for the late submission of the 2022 Full Year audited financial statements and first quarter (Q1) 2023 unaudited financial statements.
NGX Regulation Limited fined FBN Holdings, the parent company of First Bank Nigeria the amount for not adhering to the regulations on the release of financial statements.
Meanwhile, FBN Holdings recorded a 55.2 per cent increase in its Net Interest Income in the first half (H1) of 2023, closing the period with N237.33 billion
This was disclosed in the company’s Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements for the period ending June 30, 2023, released at the weekend.
The rise in the Net Interest Income represents an addition of N84.41 billion, as FBN Holdings reported N152.91 billion in the same period in 2022.
In the same vein, FBN Holdings’ operating profit grew by 212.8 per cent year-on-year, as the company reported N206.08 billion in the first half 2023, which surpassed the N65.87 billion recorded in the first half of 2022.
The profit after tax followed the same path, with FBN Holdings generating N187.17 billion in the first six months of this year, up by 231 per cent when compared to the N56.53 billion posted in the corresponding period of 2022.
During the review period, FBN Holdings saw a 33.19 per cent increase in its Electronic banking fees, generating N34.01 billion from the use of its cashless channels. In the first half of 2022, the company generated N25.53 billion.
The financial services group reached the revenue milestone riding on the wave of higher interest rates in Nigeria, which have risen 650 basis points to 18.5 per cent since May 2022, enabling lenders to charge more for loans.
Interest income, which often accounts for the lion’s share of lenders’ revenues, surged by 64 percent growth to N179.61 billion, driven mainly by loans and advances to customers at N119.41 billion, investment securities at N48.93 billion and loans and advances to banks at N11.27 billion.
FBN Holdings’ net interest income hit a decade high to N111.85 billion in the first quarter of 2023, a 53.6 percent increase from N72.8 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2022.
Consequently, the holding company saw its interest expense grow 84.9 percent to N67.76 billion on the back of N46.6 billion expense on deposits from customers, deposit from banks expense which stood at N14.50 billion, borrowings and others at N6.67 billion in March 2023.
FBN Holdings’ revenue from external customers arrived at N259.51 billion which comprised commercial banking business group (N245.51 billion), merchant banking and asset management business group (N13.08 billion) and others (N918 million) for the period ended March 2023.
Commenting on the result, Adesola Adeduntan, chief executive Officer of First Bank of Nigeria said, “This year marks our 129th anniversary, and these results clearly demonstrate the resilience of our business model and proven ability to transform ourselves to meet the demands of changing times and seasons.”
“We are optimistic about the rest of 2023 and these results are a sign of better things to come,” Adeduntan said.
The holding company received N42.87 billion in fee and commission income while N7.57 billion was incurred as fee and commission expense in the first quarter of 2023.
