Fidelity Bank Plc has debunked the recent allegations that the bank is under threat of bankruptcy and liquidation from a judgment debt awarded to a company, SAGECOM Concepts Limited.
In a recent Press Release signed by its Divisional Head, Brand & Communications, Dr. Meksley Nwagboh, Fidelity Bank Plc The bank assured depositors and investors of the deposit money institution’s (DMB’s) safety as a going business concern, noting that the bank does not have solvency or liquidity problems.
The bank assured the public that, regardless of a recent Supreme Court of Nigeria judgment debt decision involving the payment of N225 billion to Sagecom Limited, the bank was not under the threat of bankruptcy or liquidation.
The issues regarding Sagecom’s legacy challenges with Fidelity Bank Plc pertain to a US3m transaction in which FSB International Bank (a legacy bank taken over by Fidelity Bank) loaned money to Messrs G. Cappa in 2002 for the sum of US$3m. The loan was secured with the mortgage on a property located in Ikoyi, Lagos. However, when G. Cappa defaulted, the construction company quickly commenced legal proceedings against FSB at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
Having exhausted the appeal process, the bank is willing to settle the obligation.
Clarifying the actual financial liability by the bank regarding the court judgement, Nwagboh stated thus:
“Unfortunately, there are significant ambiguities in the judgment, resulting in difficulties in calculating the actual financial liability to G. Cappa and the bank, which is about N14 billion from our computation based on the exchange rate as of 2005, when the incident and cause of action arose.
“Meanwhile, the Supreme Court in the case of Anibaba v. Dana Airlines Limited, delivered in January 2025, has clarified that foreign currency judgment debt must be converted to Naira at the exchange rate obtainable at the date of judgment of the trial court, which in this case was 30 January 2018,”
Even if the 2018 exchange rate supported by the Supreme Court is applied, the judgment debt will be just under N30.7 billion, payable to G. Cappa Plc (who delayed delivery of possession of the apartments from 2005 till June 2018, when possession was eventually delivered), with contribution from the bank.”
The bank assured depositors and investors of the deposit money institution’s safety as a going business concern, noting that the bank does not have solvency or liquidity problems.