Fitch Upgrades Fidelity Bank’s rating to ‘A+, Affirms Long-Term IDR at ‘B’

Sunday 1st June 2025

Jun 01, 2025

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Fitch Ratings, a global credit rating agency, has affirmed Fidelity Bank Plc's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B' while upgrading its National Long-Term Rating to 'A+(nga)' from 'A(nga)'.

The upgrade, announced on May 29, 2025, reflects the bank's improved capital buffers and increased profitability, indicating its performance will continue improving.

According to Fitch, the rating upgrade was due to Fidelity Bank's successful capital raise via a rights issue and public offer and a significant increase in profitability, driven by higher interest income and a stable base of low-cost current and savings deposits.

The affirmation and upgrade by Fitch expects improved investor confidence and support of Fidelity's ongoing efforts to expand its operations locally and internationally.

Glovo’s Platform Generates over N71 billion in Revenue for Local Partners

Glovo Nigeria successfully hosted the Future of Commerce 2025 Summit, which brought together an influential crowd of ecosystem leaders, restaurateurs, policymakers, fintech pioneers, digital marketers, and investors for a full-day experience exploring the future of business in Nigeria's fast-paced commerce landscape.

The inaugural event in Lagos provided a strategic platform for dialogue on innovation, resilience, and scaling in Nigeria's food and quick commerce industries and an opportunity to highlight Glovo's evolving role as a technology and growth enabler for SMEs nationwide.

The summit emphasised Glovo's data-driven impact, revealing that since its launch in Nigeria in 2021, the platform has generated more than N71 billion in revenue for local partners.

With over 6,000 shops and restaurants using the app to fulfil orders over the years, Glovo continues to show its ability to drive partner growth at scale, serving as the first entry for most of them into the online world.

DBN Distributes N1 trillion to Nigerian MSMEs – MD

The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has stated that it has disbursed over N1 trillion to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country, supporting over 1.2 million jobs.

Tony Okpanachi, the bank's Managing Director, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings in Abidjan.

Mr Okpanachi described DBN's progress as a significant step towards improving access to finance for Nigeria's small businesses.

He made the following statements;

“We are proud to report that at the end of 2024, DBN had disbursed over N1 trillion to MSMEs through our partner financial institutions.

“The support has helped to stimulate economic activity and improve livelihoods, especially at the grassroots.

“In terms of job creation, we have been able to support over 1.2 million jobs directly and indirectly.”

Dangote Refinery to Import 5 Million Barrels of US WTI crude in July

Dangote Oil Refinery has scheduled imports of at least five million barrels of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for delivery in July, following what could be a record month of WTI intake in June.

According to a report published on the Reuters website on Friday, the refinery recently awarded tenders to purchase approximately 161,000 barrels per day (bpd) of U.S. crude, due in July.

It follows earlier deals for June cargoes totalling approximately 300,000 bpd — the refinery's highest volume of WTI ever booked in a single month.

The Lagos-based plant, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, becomes more reliant on foreign crude to meet its operational requirements.

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The Nigerian Business Weekly

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