Heritage Bank: Going higher, higher…

With its successful entry into Nigeria’s banking industry, its acquisition of Enterprise Bank in October 2014, rapid deployment of innovative and technology-driven products, unparalleled commitment and support for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Nigeria, and earnings of N24.2bn in the 2015 financial year, what else does Heritage Bank need to convince the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of its financial strength to survive the country’s economic terrain?
Despite the campaign of calumny linked to some ‘big players’ in the industry, Heritage Bank has continued to move higher and higher.
That was why the CBN recently appointed the bank as its pilot partner to unveil, administer and manage the N3 billion Youth Innovative Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YIEDP), a sign of the apex bank’s confidence that Heritage Bank has come to stay.
Its financial reports for the year ended December 31, 2015 showed a net profit margin of 4.5 per cent, which shows that it made N4.50 kobo on every N100 earned.
The financial score card showed gross earnings of N24.2 billion in the year under review, net interest income of N12.2 billion, a profit before tax of N1.5 billion and a profit after tax of N1.1 billion.
With the above, it has demonstrated, despite demarketing strategies by some competitors, its resilience and determination to be among the top 10 in the next few years.
In fact, it plans to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in the near future. The bank’s Executive Director, Ivory Banking, Mrs. Mary Akpobome, confirmed this.
To show that the battle aimed at demarketing the bank has already been lost, Heritage Bank achieved a return of total assets of 0.22 per cent, indicating that the management raised deposits at a reasonable cost for profitable investment purposes, and total assets turnover of five per cent, indicating a proficient use of the assets in generating income.
Also, the bank’s balance sheet showed that loan to deposit ratio stood at 54.3 per cent, depicting adequate ability to cover withdrawals made by its customers, and confirmed by a return of equity of 1.7 per cent which endorsed its profitability, growth potential as well as good managerial performance.
In the year under review, Heritage Bank attracted N311.9 billion as deposit from customers.
As at the end of 2015, its loans and advances were N175.1 billion, total assets stood at N483.4 billion while N417.9 billion was recorded as its total liabilities.
The YIEDP business model from CBN is aimed at creating sustainable wealth and employment in the country with focus on dependable job creating sectors such as Agricultural Value Chain (fish farming, poultry, snail farming); Cottage Industry, Mining and Solid Minerals; Creative Industry (Tourism, Arts and Crafts) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
Not a few stakeholders in the financial sector knew, in 2015, that with its achievements after acquiring Enterprise Bank, Heritage Bank would become the target of de-marketing.
They were not disappointed.
But, a strong point to the bank’s advantage is that it never allowed this ‘gang-up by a few’ to distract it from achieving its goal.
Politically, the bank is now being smeared that it is owned by the Saraki Family but records have shown that the Saraki Family, through Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria (SGBN), owns less than 10 per cent shares of the bank.
To prove that the bank is on a sound footing, Afrexim Bank recently invested $150 million into Heritage Bank to support it, checkmate agents of demarketing and dispel the rumours that the bank could go under anytime.
While demarketing agents are busy plotting, Heritage Bank is attracting a more robust body of investors and opportunities to further strengthen its vision to create, preserve and transfer wealth across generations.
For Heritage Bank, the future is looking brighter.