Fidelity Bank Plc and its customers suffered losses of N2.1 billion after the lender saw a rise in fraud and forgery cases in 2023.
Cases of fraud and forgery increased by 22.2 percent year-on-year, from 2,518 recorded in 2022 to 3,079 in 2023, according to the bank's financial statement analyzed by THE PRESS.
The Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Act 2006 requires banks to submit monthly fraud and forgery statements.
Sections 35 and 36 of the NDIC Act 2006 also oblige banks to notify the company of any staff dismissed or whose appointment has been terminated on account of fraud or financial irregularities.
The books revealed that the amount involved in fraud and forgery cases increased by 279.6 percent to N3.82 billion at the end of 2023, above the N1 billion considered as the amount of fraud and forgery cases in 2022.
In addition to incidents of fraud on naira accounts, the bank also reported cases of foreign currency fraud worth US$15,700, up from US$8,554 recorded in 2022.
According to the data, the actual loss in naira accounts was N2.1 billion, increasing 783 percent from the N237.2 million recorded as actual loss in the year 2022.
However, data showed that the actual loss resulting from foreign currency fraud cases dropped from $2,450 in 2022 to just $200 at the end of 2023.
The bank recorded no losses in euros compared to 2022, when it lost 100 euros due to fraud and counterfeiting activities.
Fidelity Bank is not the only Nigerian bank that has reported cases of fraud and forgery.
A 2023 report on fraud and forgery in Nigerian banks showed that N5.79 billion was lost in the second quarter of 2023 alone.
Despite the increase in fraud cases, the bank increased its gross profit from N337.1 billion in 2022 to N555.8 billion at the end of 2023.
The lender's after-tax profit grew by 131.4 percent from N53.7 billion to N124.3 billion, while the bank's net profit rose to N99.45 billion from N46.7 billion recorded in 2022.
Fidelity Bank also increased its total asset base from N3.98 billion recorded in 2022 to N6.2 billion at the end of 2023.
Source:- ThePressNG
