By Babajide Komolafe

Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) will receive N6.25 billion dividend from the profit made by Mainstreet Bank in its 2013 operating year.

This follows the approval of dividend of N1 per N1 share of the bank at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the bank held last week.

Recall that Mainstreet Bank is one of the three bridge banks sold to AMCON by Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation in 2011. The others are Keystone Bank and Enterprise Bank. The three banks were created to acquire the assets of Afribank, Bank PHB and spring bank following the revocation of their licenses, for failing to meet the recapitalization deadline of the CBN.

Consequently, AMCON injected N679 billion into the three banks to enable them meet the minimum capital base of N25 billion and the minimum capital adequacy ratio of 15 per cent. Mainstreet Bank received N285 billion, Keystone Bank received N283 billion, while Enterprise Bank received N111 billion.

Speaking at the AGM of Mainstreet Bank,   Chairman of the bank, Alhaji Gambo Ahmed, said that the bank made a profit before tax of N13.2 billion in its group financial performance for the year ended December 31, 2013. “This result is the outcome of strategies we have put in place in the last two years to build confidence, optimize costs, improve operational efficiency and  customer service delivery”, Gambo said.

Result for the year show that Gross earnings grew to N49.6 billion in 2013. The growth was largely driven by increased interest income as the Bank significantly grew its loan portfolio by 63 percent from N34.9 billion in 2012 to N57billion in 2013.

Despite the significant growth in risk assets, the non-performing loan ratio (NPL Ratio) remained low at 3.66 percent; well below the 5 percent regulatory limit. The bank’s operational efficiency strategy yielded a 26.6 percent growth in net interest margin.

“We have achieved this result in spite of the socio-economic challenges and increased competition in the Nigerian banking industry. The result clearly reaffirms that the bank is on the right track of becoming a top tier bank,” said Gambo.

“We are particularly encouraged by year-on-year growth in our customers’ deposit which shows their increasing confidence in the Mainstreet Brand.”

On the several initiatives the bank put in place to bring efficiency in the bank’s operations the bank’s Group Managing/Chief Executive Officer Faith Tuedor-Matthews noted, “Within the period under review, we successfully migrated to the latest version of Finacle core banking application, which has significantly improved our ability to deliver service to our customers and  introduce innovative products and services.