Fidelity Bank Advances Gender Inclusion with Chairman Appointment

• Appointment of Amaka Onwughalu as Chairperson of Fidelity Bank
• This appointment is light of the milestones the bank has achieved in its journey
• Her chairmanship will be marked by important achievements like the payment of eurobonds, listing of the bank on the stock exchange, and opening up business in the UK.

Amaka Onwughalu has been appointed as the new Chairperson of the Board of Directors at Fidelity Bank PLC effective January 1, 2026. Her appointment will come at a critical juncture in the development of Fidelity Bank and will coincide with the milestone achievements by Fidelity.

The new Board Chair will be instrumental in the continued success of Fidelity through consolidation associated with its pay down of its Eurobond; the successful completion of its public offering and rights issue; and expansion into the UK all of which have enhanced the market's perception of Fidelity Bank and the trajectory of the performance of the bank to date.

Amaka OnwuGhalu has taken on a new role as Executive Director of Fidelity Bank Plc during this transformational period for the institution as it consolidates major achievements such as improved capital reserves, international expansion, and continued growth in revenues.

With the outgoing Board in place, Fidelity Bank successfully completed the repayment of a Eurobond, completed the first tranche of both its public offering and rights issue and has begun international operations in the UK. Each of these milestones has provided greater confidence to the capital markets about Fidelity Bank’s ability to perform upwards.

In addition, Fidelity Bank has had strong success in its recent recapitalisation initiatives with its private placement raising over N259 Billion in a single day which then took its eligible capital to well above the N500 Billion required for Nigerian banks wishing to operate internationally.

Against this rapidly changing backdrop, Fidelity Bank has higher expectations than ever of its governance. This is why Amaka OnwuGhalu brings experience, discipline and strategic judgement necessary for her to help provide direction to the Board during their next phase of execution.

With more than thirty years in the banking industry, she has accumulated a wealth of knowledge as she has held positions of leadership throughout her career, including over ten years in executive management in various sections of banking such as retail banking, commercial banking, treasury, banking operations and corporate banking.

Transitioning large-scale debt to equity or equity to debt takes a very specific skill set; she performed this successfully whilst serving as the Group Managing Director of Mainstreet Bank Ltd during its merger with Skye Bank Plc; and subsequently as the Deputy Managing Director from which she retired in July 2016.

In addition to being a strong executive leader within the overall organization, she is an excellent fit for a fast-growing financial institution based on her background and is currently the CEO of Blueshield Financial Services Ltd.

She earned a BSC in Economics from the University of Buckingham, an MSc in Corporate Governance from Leeds Metropolitan University, United Kingdom, and an MBA from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.