TAJBank Limited, Nigeria’s fast-growing non-interest bank, has set a new record in the Nigerian banking system with the payment of dividends to its shareholders within three years of its operations. According to a statement by Isiaku Gwamna, the Chairman of TAJBank’s board, in spite of the inclement operating environment, the board and management of the bank were able to sustain TAJBank on the path of sustainable growth. TAJBank had earlier made history as the first corporate entity in Nigeria’s history to list Sukuk Bond on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) after the successful issuance.
Gwamna said that the global economic whirlwinds in the past two years, as well as the macroeconomic developments, especially the surging inflation rate, had impacted negatively on businesses. “On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to inform our shareholders that we have recommended a scrip dividend payment of one share for every 10 shares, subject to shareholders’ approval. We remain committed to promoting business expansion and success while making sure that a sizeable amount of our profits is set aside for you,” he said. The bank’s Managing Director, Mr Hamid Joda, described 2022 as a significant milestone in the journey of TAJBank, in spite of the headwinds that characterised the operating environment. Joda said that the management was able to deliver on key strategic goals through relentless execution, backed by a positive culture and delivery on high-impact projects. He said that TAJBank recorded remarkable growth across key indices in 2022, as its balance sheet grew by over 93 per cent from N110 billion recorded in 2021 to N212 billion.
He said that its Profit Before Tax (PBT) also increased from N1.6 billion in 2021 to N5.081 billion in 2022. “The bank’s earnings per share grew by 138 per cent to N31.27 kobo in 2022 compared to N13.11 kobo recorded in 2021. In our relentless effort to promote non-interest products and modes of banking nationwide, the board and management of TAJBank have set key objectives for the year 2023 and beyond. These initiatives include, to promote financial inclusion by leveraging various channels and touchpoints, especially our electronic platforms. This is with the aim of reaching out to the unbanked populace; and to be recognised as the market leader in the non-interest banking industry in Nigeria. We also plan to open 110 branches/business offices across state capitals/major commercial centres before 2024,” he said. He said that the bank also planned to offer non-interest banking products and services to underserved markets; to grow its agency network to 100,000 active agents by 2025 thereby reducing the financial exclusion rate. “We also plan to grow our customer base to at least four million by 2027; and to achieve a minimum customer satisfaction score of 85 per cent ”, he said.(NAN)
