The Managing Director/CEO Weba Bank, Mr. Ademola Adebise, has debunked a recent publication in the media alleging a dip in its liquidity status based on figures extracted from its unaudited report for 2020.
Mr. Adebise urged the general public to distance itself from the publication which he described as a deliberate smear campaign to create panic among its stakeholders using false news.
The rebuttal from Wema bank, RovingNaija reports, follows a statement from PanAfrican Capital Holdings Limited (PACN) that the recent media report about liquidity crisis in Wema Bank did not originate from it.
PACN said the report, which was attributed to its Chief Economist and Head of Investment Research, Moses Ojo, neither emanated from the company nor Mr. Ojo and took exceptions to malicious publications of the nature.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Wema Bank has given assurances to the public, esteemed customers and shareholders that it stands firm on strong financial fundamentals and reliable performance metrics which are products of its “seasoned and astute leadership.”
He said, “The strength and viability of financial institutions are not measured on the isolated performance of one outlier year. The said report based a lot of its false allegations on the unaudited 2020 financial year. But that was a year when COVID-19 induced a lockdown and a disruption of such magnitude that negatively impacted businesses, industries and economies the world over.
“Wema Bank has continually exhibited not just resilience, but admirable viability over the years with a 30.95% increase in earnings recorded in just 2019. Then came 2020, and in spite of the difficulties, we succeeded in achieving impressive results in key areas such as net earnings from fees and commissions, while growing the Bank’s asset base significantly.”
Mr. Adebise also praised its customer service records: “That’s not all, customer credibility in the bank was also accentuated with a massive increase in customer deposits over the previous year. This is an audacious show of confidence from our customers at Wema Bank.
“These performance metrics amongst others, are testament to our smart balance sheet optimization approach which will be affirmed by the time the audited and official 2020 Financial Report is released in the coming weeks “
The CEO also referenced how well the Bank’s performance in the said 2020 makes it one of the best performing financial institutions in the land.
“We won the BusinessDay award for the Best SME Bank of the Year for 2020. A recognition of our unrivalled support for small and medium scale businesses through loans, business advisory, and ease of payments and transactions.
“Also, the recently published 2020 KPMG Customer Experience Survey, showed Wema Bank making significant growth in the retail category, climbing up ten (10) places from the previous year to 2nd position, with an above industry average of 74.6% Customer Experience score. This achievement is a mark of dedication to excellent customer service and refreshing support for all our customer categories,” he said
The KPMG Customer Experience Survey grades banks over six universal pillars of Personalization, Integrity, Expectations, Resolution, Time & Effort and Empathy, and Wema Bank, according to Mr. Adebise, has showed a mastery of these pillars and have been outstanding at all of them.
“Furthermore, and in line with the bank’s sustainability goal of developing digital solutions for societal impact, it successfully organized the second edition of Hackaholics, a radical gathering of developers, web designers and creative thinkers to develop solutions around key themes of Education, Health, Agriculture, Fintech, Gaming & Betting.
“These are intentional measures put in place to sustain an institution’s legacy of economic evolution and social inclusion.
“We are a responsible corporate citizen with empathy as a core pillar of our personality. Thus, we stood by the nation in the trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic with significant support for governments at both the federal and state levels.
“Particularly to prevent severe food shortages and align with the SDG of Zero Hunger, we supported State Governments with food palliatives donation which alleviated the conditions of over 80,000 households of the most vulnerable segments of the population,” he stated.
Mr. Adebise further said that “With all these financial and non-financial performance metrics, it is not in doubt that Wema Bank is not only standing strong, it is also among the best performing financial institutions in Nigeria, in 2020.
“I’ll take this opportunity to commend our customers for their sustained trust in us. A support that has remained a critical pillar of our stability and growth over the years, especially as we celebrate our 76th anniversary.
As a responsible and visionary organization, we are staying committed to our corporate purpose of making life easier and better through innovation and digital-driven lifestyle solutions for Nigerians and their businesses.” Adebise submitted to RovingNaija.
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