On Friday, April 4, 2025, Fidelity Bank Plc—a tier-2 Nigerian commercial bank—crossed the ₦1 trillion market capitalisation mark, joining the ranks of tier-1 banks such as Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), Access Holdings, First HoldCo, and United Bank for Africa (UBA).
However, it slipped below that threshold on Monday, April 7, before reclaiming its position on April 23. The bank dropped out again on May 12, but reentered the elite club after its share price rose by 5.3% to ₦21.00 from ₦19.95 on April 4, according to data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). This development also increases the total number of Nigerian companies with a trillion-naira market capitalisation to 19.
Market capitalisation, or market cap, represents a publicly listed company’s value on the stock market and is calculated by multiplying the total number of outstanding shares by the current share price. For Fidelity Bank, with 50.2 billion outstanding shares, this calculation results in a market cap of one trillion naira.
The midsize lender’s growth positions it as a likely tier-1 Nigerian bank, attracting wider investor interest and improving its capital raising ability. Analysts say the bank is well-placed to meet the Central Bank’s ₦500 billion ($311.9 million) minimum capital requirement through equity, increasing its stock market investments.
“The bank’s financial performance, particularly their strong Q1 results, suggests a potential for continued share price increase,” said Nabila Mohammed, a research analyst at Chapel Hill Denham, an investment banking firm in Lagos. “Maintaining this momentum could elevate their market value, attract greater investor interest, and reflect a higher level of investor confidence.”
On what drove Fidelity’s share price which rose by 141% from ₦8.70 in May 13, 2024, Meksley Nwagboh, the company’s chief marketing officer attributed it to its 2024 strong after-tax profit performance which recorded the highest growth of 189% among the 10 major banks, improving investors’ appetite for the bank.
“Our 2024 results showed the highest percentage increase, and this momentum continued into Q1 2025 with triple-digit percentage growth,” Nwagboh said. “This strong performance reflects positive market sentiment.”
In its Q1 financial results, the bank reported a 190% after-tax profit growth to ₦91 billion ($56.8 million), up from ₦31.4 billion ($19.4 million) in the same period of 2024. This sharp growth was fueled by a combination of higher interest income, forex exchange gains, and improved cost efficiencies.
“Fidelity’s rise is partly due to significantly lower credit loss expenses, which boosted net interest income,” said Olamide, a Lagos-based banking and macroeconomic analyst who asked to be identified by first name only. “Lower loan defaults generally enhance bank performance.”
She added that the bank’s rally was also spurred by its 2024 full-year results, as investors anticipated dividend payouts. “The broader uptick in the banking sector and a resilient Q1 performance on the NGX added to the momentum.”
A recent report by Proshare, a market intelligence firm in Nigeria, noted that the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gained 2.66% year-to-date by the end of Q1 2025, despite broader market volatility. The banking sector, in particular, posted a 6.96% gain, fueled by recapitalisation efforts that collectively raised ₦2.4 trillion in fresh capital.
“This has driven a rally in the sector and contributed to the broader market uptrend, as most banks are now in the second phase of their recapitalisation plans,” the report noted.
According to African Stock Exchanges, a real-time market data platform, Fidelity was the third most-traded stock on the NGX between February 5 and May 13, 2025. One thing that makes a company stock rally is when investors perceive it to be a very worthy one, says Mohammed of Chapel Hill Denham.
She added that Fidelity Bank recorded the highest net interest margin, indicating strong earnings from lending compared to funding costs, and also has one of the highest low-cost deposits in its books, “Meaning that they are not spending as much in terms of interest expenses, making it attractive to the investors.”
On February 8, 2024, Fidelity concluded the first phase of its equity capital raise with a 237% oversubscription. The company’s CEO, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, announced at the company’s recent AGM that the next round of capital raising is planned for 2025.
The bank’s transformation agenda, tagged Vision 2025, aims to reposition the bank as a top-tier financial institution. In 2023, it made its first international acquisition by acquiring Union Bank UK..
Analysts at Afrinvest are optimistic about Fidelity’s recapitalisation timeline, citing the previous oversubscription of 237.9% and 137.7% in its capital raise efforts.
“Looking ahead, we expect Fidelity to sustain its upbeat performance in 2025, with gross earnings and pre-tax profit projected to grow by 46.0% and 49.4% respectively, reaching ₦1.5 trillion ($963.7 million) and ₦415.4 billion ($259.4 million) in a blue-sky scenario,” the firm wrote in a recent note. Afrinvest maintains a 12-month target price of ₦21.60 for the stock.
With ambitious expansion plans and strong investor backing, Fidelity is positioning itself as a serious contender in Nigeria’s tier-1 banking category. Whether it can maintain this trajectory will become clearer in the quarters ahead.
