Sterling Bank a mid-tier Nigerian bank which has been accused of clout chasing after revealing that they would like to work with singer, Cynthia Morgan on a new campaign, spent about N4 billion on branding and business promotion in 2019.
The bank in a recent social media post on Twitter invited Cynthia Morgan to come and work on a campaign for the institution.
The post read: “Hey Cynthia Morgan, we have followed your story and believe there is a bright future ahead of you. We would like to work with you on our ONE BANK campaign. Please get in touch by DM”
This has been met with various reactions from Nigerians and most people registering their displeasure, with some social media users who reacted to the post accusing the institution of only helping the music star in other to gain the attention of Nigerians.
A Twitter user in a reply wrote:
“Sterling bank is chasing clout. Why announce it on social media when they could have just discreetly messaged her? Never accept help from people who publicize it”
Another user who also had problems with the move also wrote;
“I am disappointed at our banks & corporate businesses. There are millions out there on your loan who prayed you freeze or reschedule their repayments but No. There are loads whom are your loyal customer & seeks you financial supports to be afloat but you ignore them. This is sad.”
A deep dive into the Banks financial statement shows that it spent N3.649 billion on Advertising and Business promotion in 2019 and a further N419 million on branding expenses.
The steep expense line on marketing somewhat paid off in 2019 as deposit from customers increased 17 percent to N892.6 billion from N760 billion in 2018.
Profits grew by 17 percent to N10.8 billion and the firm declared a dividend of N0.03k equivalent to a miserly 2.23 percent yield.
Sterling Bank stock has however gone nowhere in the past 5 years and investor will be wondering if the clout chasing strategy is money and time well spent to improve shareholder value.