FDH Bank Plc has successfully held its 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM) with a promise to continue to leverage on technology and innovation to ensure financial inclusion of the marginalized targeting to reach over 1.4 million digital customers.
Speaking in Blantyre, FDH Bank plc Board Chairperson Charity Mseka said as Malawi’s leading digital bank, FDH Bank plc is committed to enhance customer experience, maximizing shareholders’ returns as well as innovation and expansion in Malawi and beyond.
“As a leading digital bank, we will continue to leverage technology and innovation to ensure financial inclusion of the marginalized and provision of utmost convenience to the masses. This is being done in coordination with our various partners including the Government of Malawi, Financial Access for Rural Markets, Smallholders and Enterprise (FARMSE), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). We continue to expand our large agency banking footprint and reach over 1.4 million digital customers,” said Mseka.
She said to drive customer payment convenience, the Bank has expanded the distribution of its Mastercard Debit Card and enhanced its functionality and increased the number of merchants with its point of sale (POS) machines.
“We provide a wide branch network of 51 service centres and 92 auto-teller machines to enhance last mile banking services. In our quest to enhance customer experience, we have relocated our two service centres in Lilongwe Old Town and Capital City to bigger and more spacious buildings and renovated our Zomba Service Centre to modern standards,” said Mseka.
“The Bank continues to engage its strategic partners on the global markets and this is expected to grow further in 2022. The Bank is working on strengthening existing relationships with various international institutions and building new ones for acquisition of both funded and non-funded facilities to support its growth and its Trade Finance business.”
“The focus in the Trade Finance space is to support the growth of the country’s exports by providing well-structured solutions and support the importation of strategic commodities. Given our agro-based economy, the Bank is increasing its seasonal agricultural commodity financing and pre-export financing to drive exports thereby contributing positively towards the balance of trade,” added Mseka.
She noted that as an enabler in the attainment of Malawi Vision 2063, the Bank is leveraging on its investment banking expertise and strategic partnerships to support clients undertaking various large and complex projects or transactions especially those that drive sustainability.
“Looking ahead, the Bank is building its capabilities to continue staying ahead of the volatile and complex operating business environment while providing first class business solutions that will help our customers grow with us,” said Mseka.
She announced that in the last financial year, the Bank posted a profit after tax of K11.659 billion, down from K13.988 billion reported in 2020.
“The Bank has registered sustainable growth over the past 5 years with profitability growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 242% from a loss of K1.0 billion in 2017 to a Profit After Tax (PAT) of K11.7 billion and the total assets had a CAGR of 11% from K150 billion in 2017 to K305 billion in 2021 which shows the trust people have in this home-grown Bank,” said Mseka.
The Bank has paid a total of K8.3 billion to its shareholders as dividends in the year ended 31 December 2021.