Banking
Ecobank Grows Profit by 37% Amid 0.59% Drop in H1 2018 Earnings
By Dipo Olowookere
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) Plc on Thursday released its financial results for the first six months of this year.
The bank released the financial details shortly after it announced yesterday that Mr Patrick Akinwuntan will now be the new chief executive of Ecobank Nigeria after the resignation of Mr Charles Kie.
In the results, the lender posted a slight drop in its gross earnings for the period, 0.59 percent, to close at N384.6 billion in contrast to N386.9 billion in the corresponding period of last year.
However, the profit before tax appreciated by 40.8 percent to N65.1 billion from N46.2 billion achieved in H1 2017, while the profit after tax went up by 36.6 percent to N51.6 billion from N37.7 billion.
In the period under review, the financial institution raked N242.2 billion from interest income against N241.9 billion in the first half of 2017, while interest expense stood at N95.7 billion against N99.2 billion 12 months ago.
Furthermore, the net interest income in this period was N146.6 billion compared with N142.7 billion in H1 2018, while the net trading income closed at N58.9 billion as at June 30, 2018 in contrast to N71.1 billion as at June 30, 2017.
Business Post observed in the financial statements that the operating income generated by the bank in the period under review slightly declined by 0.04 percent, closing at N278.6 billion against N278.7 billion recorded exactly a year ago.
For the operating expenses, Ecobank said it spent N172.4 billion in first half of this year compared with the N169 billion it used in the first half of last year.
A look at its balance sheet showed that the total assets value was N6.6 trillion in the period under review against N6.5 trillion in the corresponding period of last year, while the value of total liabilities closed at N6 trillion in H1 2018 in contrast to N5.9 trillion in H1 2017.
For the shareholders’ fund, it closed at N587.8 billion as at June 30, 2018 compared with N602.6 billion as at June 30, 2017.
However, the bank recorded as earnings per share (EPS) of N1.67k against N1.31k 12 months ago, while the return on assets (ROA) stood at 0.78 percent against 0.58 percent the last time, and the return on equity (ROE) was 8.77 percent as at June 30, 2018 versus 6.26 percent as at June 30, 2017.
Banking
Ecobank Assures Customers of 24-Hour Digital Banking Access at Yuletide
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Customers of Ecobank Nigeria Limited have been assured of seamless digital banking services during the year-end festivities but warned to remain vigilant against fraudsters during this time.
The lender in a statement said customers would continue to enjoy uninterrupted banking solutions throughout the holiday season through Ecobank cards, the Ecobank Mobile app, USSD code *326#, Ecobank Online, Ecobank OmniPlus, Ecobank Omnilite, EcobankPay, Ecobank RapidTransfer, ATMs, and PoS terminals.
The Head of Consumer Banking at Ecobank Nigeria, Mrs Adeola Ogunyemi, highlighted the bank’s long-standing commitment to digital transformation, which aims to improve customer experience and provide alternative access to banking services.
Focusing on the Ecobank Mobile app, she noted that it offers a convenient, round-the-clock banking experience, allowing customers to perform transactions anytime, anywhere, directly from their mobile devices.
Available for download on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the app enables users to manage accounts, send money, pay bills, buy airtime, pay merchants, and send money across the 33 countries where Ecobank operates.
Businesses also benefit from seamless transactions during the holiday season through the Ecobank Omni Lite app. Designed to enhance productivity and streamline cash flow management, the app offers account services, payments, collections, liquidity management, and customizable reports.
The app supports faster processing of instructions, including mass payments, with customizable system settings such as language and time zone preferences.
Mrs Ogunyemi concluded by reaffirming Ecobank’s ongoing efforts to deliver convenient digital banking solutions, ensuring that individuals can easily open and manage bank accounts, make payments, and send remittances, all through the Bank’s wide range of self-service options.
Banking
We’re Committed to Partnerships to Drive Sustainable Growth—Access Bank
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The chief executive of Access Bank Plc, Mr Roosevelt Ogbonna, has expressed the commitment of the company to building partnerships that drive sustainable growth.
Speaking when the lender hosted the President of Germany, Mr Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in Lagos last week, he said the organisation will always leverage its deep expertise in cross-border banking and market integration to the advantage of its customers.
“Nigeria’s position as Germany’s second-largest trading partner in Africa reflects the mutual benefits of this relationship.
“By leveraging our deep expertise in cross-border banking and market integration, Access Bank is committed to building partnerships that drive sustainable growth, innovation, and economic advancement across the continent,” Mr Ogbonna said while addressing stakeholders at a roundtable organised to welcome the German leader.
Last week, Mr Steinmeier made his first official visit to Nigeria and was welcomed by President Bola Tinubu.
President Steinmeier’s visit showcased Germany’s commitment to fostering economic partnerships in the region.
His Lagos agenda featured a landmark visit to Access Bank, as well as engagements with Nigerian startup founders and German-Nigerian business representatives to explore opportunities for trade and investment.
A central feature of the engagement at Access Bank was a business roundtable hosted by Access Bank’s leadership team and its German Desk.
The roundtable brought together German and Nigerian stakeholders, with discussions focused on two key areas: finance and energy, both of which are crucial to bolstering economic growth and innovation in the region.
President Steinmeier also received remarks from Roland Siller, CEO of DEG (German Development Bank), who elaborated on the financial synergies and products DEG provides to German and Nigerian businesses alike.
Access Bank’s German Desk, led by Sebastian Barroso da Fonseca, marked its sixth anniversary this year and has become a cornerstone for German and European businesses operating in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Desk has provided critical support to over 100 clients, offering end-to-end financial solutions, including local funding facilitation, cash management, and seamless repatriation of funds to corporate headquarters. With operations spanning Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, South Africa, and beyond, the Desk has played an instrumental role in enabling businesses to navigate complex financial landscapes in Africa.
The engagement concluded with a Networking Reception at Access Bank’s headquarters, where delegates and stakeholders had the opportunity to engage and strengthen ties further.
Despite global challenges, Africa remains the fastest-growing economic region, with its GDP rising by 30 per cent over the past decade and average annual growth rates exceeding 5 per cent.
As a key player in the continent’s economic outlook, Nigeria continues to attract interest from global investors, and Germany has emerged as a critical economic partner in this regard.
Access Bank has strategically positioned itself as a gateway for trade and investment, leveraging its growing international footprint across 24 countries in Africa, Europe, and Asia to facilitate cross-border collaboration.
Banking
Ecobank, Afreximbank Simplify Trade, Compliance for African Businesses
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The duo of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Ecobank Group has joined forces to enable African businesses to benefit from seamless shared services.
Based on the deal, the two organisations will integrate their respective platforms, the Single Market Trade Hub of Ecobank and the MANSA Digital Repository Platform of Afreximbank for smooth trade and compliance.
It was gathered that users of the Single Market Trade Hub would easily leverage MANSA’s comprehensive database for efficient know-thy-customer (KYC) and customer due diligence (CDD) checks while MANSA platform users would, in turn, be able to directly connect to the Single Market Trade Hub to explore trade opportunities to expand their businesses across Africa.
This collaboration will enable Ecobank and Afreximbank to provide a central solution to the key challenge of KYC compliance and access to business across 35 countries in Africa.
The improved interoperability is expected to further streamline cross-border trade and compliance in Africa, fostering greater financial and economic integration on the continent.
The Ecobank Single Market Trade Hub connects registered businesses across Africa on a single platform, helping them benefit from opportunities in the unified market of 1.4 billion people created by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
It serves as a one-stop repository for the AfCFTA by providing small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) and corporates with insights about the agreement while its online match-making feature enables importers and exporters to upload their profiles and showcase goods and services they offer, or wish to source, with the aim of finding partners within Africa.
Once a match is found, connections are made via the platform and the transaction can be concluded by leveraging Ecobank’s trade and payment solutions in 35 African markets.
The MANSA Digital Repository Platform is a one-stop-shop for due diligence matters on all African entities.
As a centralised digital repository, MANSA seeks to eliminate information asymmetry and to increase intra-African trade and trade with the rest of the world.
It drives and promotes good governance culture among African SMEs and creates visibility for their businesses while also supporting African entities to expand, diversify and add value to their export products at both the local and international levels.
Entities onboarded unto MANSA are allotted an Africa Entity Identifier (AEI) code which enables them to leverage other Afreximbank products and initiatives.
MANSA is also a key digital solution at the Africa Trade Gateway (ATG) marketplace which houses a suite of digital platforms designed as a single window to enable Afreximbank to better deliver on its mandate, providing critical services to support and promote intra-African trade and the implementation of the AfCFTA.
The platform enables African entities to accelerate their business activities at the ATG marketplace by working with verified information on trusted counterparties.
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