Fidelity Bank Promotes Employees in 2026 As Banks Raise Staff Salaries
- Fidelity Bank promoted 433 employees under its 2026 Promotion and Notch Award Exercise, up from 376 in 2025
- The exercise came as Nigerian banks face rising competition for skilled professionals from fintech companies
- An analysis of four major banks showed their combined wages rose by 27.49% to N1.05 trillion in 2025
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Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
Fidelity Bank Plc has promoted 433 of its staff under the 2026 Promotion and Notch Award Exercise, covering roughly 13% of its total workforce, as Nigerian banks step up efforts to retain experienced professionals in an increasingly competitive market.
The figure marks a steady rise from the 376 employees promoted in 2025, which represented about 12% of staff, and the 337 promoted in 2024, when around 11% of the workforce benefited from the annual exercise.
Source: Getty Images
The bank said the promotion round was designed to reward strong performance, recognise individual contributions and build a stronger internal leadership structure.
Fidelity Bank's investment in staff welfare
Since Nneka Onyeali Ikpe took over as managing director and chief executive officer, Fidelity Bank has run annual promotion exercises alongside a broader package of staff welfare improvements.
The bank carried out salary increases across employee grades in 2022, 2024 and 2025, and introduced staff buses to ease commuting.
It also widened medical coverage, expanded learning and professional development programmes, and extended its mortgage loan and home ownership scheme to employees from the Assistant Banking Executive to Deputy Manager cadres, with higher mortgage limits for those who qualify.
The bank said these steps form part of a wider plan to improve staff productivity, workplace satisfaction and employee retention.
Banks raise pay as competition for talent grows
The push to retain staff comes as Nigerian lenders compete with fintech companies and other financial technology businesses for skilled workers.
A review of the 2025 audited financial statements of Access Holdings, United Bank for Africa, Zenith Bank and Wema Bank showed that the four institutions grew their combined workforce by 12.75% to 33,675 employees during the year.
Their combined wages and salaries climbed by 27.49% to N1.05 trillion over the same period, driven by higher living costs and stronger demand for experienced talent across the financial services sector.
Source: UGC
The four banks collectively recorded N2.36 trillion in profit for the 2025 financial year, Punch reports.
The statements also showed that 13,790 employees across the four banks earned at least N718,125 per month, equivalent to N8.62 million annually.
The figures exclude benefits such as medical expenses, pension contributions and productivity incentives.
Nigerian worker needs N372,300 monthly to cover basic costs
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a single Nigerian worker living in an urban centre needs at least N372,300 every month to meet basic living expenses, according to an analysis by The Guardian, a figure that is more than five times the current national minimum wage of N70,000.
The breakdown covers housing, food, transport, healthcare, utilities, personal care, clothing and a monthly savings contribution. Housing takes the largest share at N125,000 per month, based on an annual rent of N1.5 million for a one-room apartment.
Source: Legit.ng
