Wema Bank earns N131b year end, as new MD forecasts steady growth

Despite the economic headwinds, the fortune of Wema Bank is on the upswing as the bank continues to grow its bottom-line, show a lot of promise in its fundamentals, the new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Moruf Oseni has stressed.

Speaking at the Bank’s 2022 annual general meeting in Lagos, the new helmsman said the bank will continue to pursue avenues to deliver on its promises of seamless customer service and superior returns, while also empowering customers and non-customers through the provision of innovative products and services.

While giving the scorecard of the outgoing year, he said the bank recorded improved performance, while gross earnings grew by 42 per cent from N92.14 billion in 2021 to N131.08 billion in 2022.

The profit before tax (PBT) increased by 19 per cent to N14.75 billion from N12.38 billion in FY 2021, and profit after tax increased by 26 per cent to N11.2 billion from N8.93 billion reported in FY 2021.

The bank grew its total deposits by 26 per cent as of FY 2022 to N1, 165.93 billion from N927.47billion reported in FY 2021.

The total assets as of December 2022 stood at N1, 433.7 billion representing a 23 per cent increase over the N1,164.52 billion recorded in the corresponding year of 2021 and placing the bank squarely above the N1 trillion mark- a milestone we surpassed in Q3 2021.

Additionally, loans to customers rose by 24 per cent to close the year 2022 at N521.43 billion from the N418.86bn recorded in 2021.

“Impressively, the Wema and ALAT brands continue to win public acceptance and market relevance, the bank continues to record growth in its retail deposit drive. It also has been a good year with our earnings growing by 42 per cent year on year and earnings per share at 87.2kobo. The Bank’s NPL closed at 6.08 per cent given the economic and environmental challenges faced in the year 2022.

These modest successes, he stressed, were recorded in spite of turbulence and socio-political headwinds that beset the operating environment in the intervening period.

“We will continue to work towards our goal of becoming Nigeria’s dominant digital banking platform, an objective which requires an unwavering focus on our digital business, a key lever for customer acquisition, retention and engagement,” Oseni said.

He said this would go hand in hand with the company’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its corporate and commercial play, adding that Wema will continue its aggressive strategy to improve its commercial lending business alongside trade and other revenue lines.


In its human capital management scheme, the bank reviewed its compensation package through a thorough industry survey and analysis.

The review puts the bank at the 75 percentage of pay in the industry. The bank also introduced a guaranteed pay-for-performance element to incentivise and reward performance in real-time.

Oseni said, “We understand that dedicated employee training and development programmes not only contribute to employee productivity, staff retention and profitability of the bank, it is also vital for sustained business growth. The importance of sustainability considerations in global business practices and operations has been repeatedly emphasised and magnified in the light of various social and environmental challenges.

“To this end, we continue to train members of staff in various capacities on local and global sustainability trends and challenges to ensure that each employee. Understands their role in shaping a collective sustainable future,” he said.

Oseni added that the bank’s determination and focus on improving the complaint management process led to the total overhaul/revamping of the complaint management framework.

“We invested in one of the world’s best incident management platforms-fresh desk. This platform has enabled us to achieve the desired 360 degree view of complaints across and significantly improve first time resolution (FTR) of complaints.”

Oseni added to sustain a viable financial inclusion, the bank has continued to drive ALAT for seamless account opening and usage for the people. “Financial inclusion is fundamental to poverty eradication and overall economic development. Financial inclusion is one of the key socio-economic strategies that will drive development and growth in Nigeria.

“To deepen this, we organised financial literacy sessions across the country, especially among the youth population, impacting over 17,000 people. We collaborated with our agents to reach out to customers in remote parts of the country through bank pass, a platform for opening tier 1 and 2 accounts for the unbanked and underbanked and BVN enrolment.”

Speaking on the importance of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), Oseni said: “SMEs are crucial to national economic growth and prosperity. They provide products and services, contribute to employment and create value for economies. When given the right support, there are various benefits to the society and economy as a whole. 2022 witnessed some recovery from the massive disruption in economic activities due to COVID-19. The bank was able to play a part in supporting MSMEs with quality training to help scale their businesses as well as strategies to take advantage of evolving climate action needs.”

Oseni added that Wema bank has taken proactive steps in terms of customer outreach, risk assessment and data management to mitigate the operational challenges resulting from the current global situation.

He added that the bank carried out some modification programmes such as identifying key loan attributes, evaluating integrity of existing data, group borrowers by common characteristics and similar needs, adding that the bank established a process for borrowers to determine eligibility for intervention funds.

“Our guiding principle of credit is that all information should be independently verified. This may involve an external expert or a skilled member of staff. Independently verified information helps to reduce risk considerably.”

Expectedly, the shareholders unanimously approved a dividend payout of 30 kobo per ordinary share of 50 kobo each.

The dividend, stemming from the bank’s profits in the Financial Year ended December 31, 2022, will be paid to members on the company’s register as of May 9, 2023, after the deduction of the appropriate withholding tax.

Also, the AGM witnessed the ratification of a new Director’s appointment. Mr. Tunde Mabawonku was unanimously appointed as an Executive Director of the bank, bringing his wealth of experience and expertise to the organisation.

In addition, the AGM addressed the re-election of Directors retiring by rotation. Shareholders unanimously voted for the re-election of Mr. Abubakar Lawal, Mr. Adeyemi Adefarakan, and Prince Olusegun Adesegun as Non-Executive Directors on the Bank’s Board.

Another resolution passed at the AGM involved the authorisation of directors to determine the remuneration of the auditors.

The shareholders unanimously empowered the Board of Directors to fix the fees payable to the Bank’s Auditors. Additionally, the election of members of the audit committee was a vital aspect of the AGM.

The shareholders elected Professor Oyelakin Samuel Awobode, Mr. Ogbonna Joe Anosikeh, and Mrs. Omobola Esther Osijo as the shareholders’ representatives to the Bank’s Statutory Audit Committee.

Also, Mr. Abubakar Lawal and Mrs. Bolarin Okunowo were chosen as the Board’s representatives on the Committee.

Similarly, the AGM approved the directors’ fees for the financial year ending December 31, 2022.

The Directors’ annual fee was fixed at N62, 000,000.00, with the Chairman receiving N9, 500,000.00 and Non-Executive Directors each receiving N7, 500,000.00.

Additionally, a sitting allowance of N300, 000.00 was approved for the Chairman and N250, 000.00 for other directors for the 2023 financial year.

On his part, Mabawonku maintained that the proposition of the bank is to empower lives through innovation, noting that this is a single concept, which drives the understanding of the new direction of the bank brand.

He stated that to drive the proposition, the bank develops an intimate relationship with its customers, putting the bank in a position to recognise their requirements and priorities, stressing that the approach is hinged on partnership, progress, service, innovation, and efficiency.

“We seek to understand our customers’ businesses and objectives, such that we can anticipate and meet their needs as they fulfill their financial goals and aspirations.”

Mabawonku also reiterated the bank’s commitment to full compliance with the highest standards of corporate governance and proactively integrates its practices across its operations, while ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Corporate Governance Codes of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG).

“At Wema Bank, we consider ourselves trustees of our shareholders and acknowledge our responsibility towards them, to maintain their trust and confidence and safeguard their investment. The Bank’s performance on corporate governance is regularly being monitored and reported.”