Banking
Unity Bank Improves Gross Earnings 17% to N42.2bn in Q3
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
In the third quarter of 2022, a retail lender, Unity Bank Plc, improved its gross earnings by 17 per cent to N42.2 billion from the N36.2 billion recorded in the same period of 2021.
A review of the Agric-focused lender’s unaudited nine-month results released to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that this growth was influenced by the introduction of new products that are focused on deep penetration and driving volume in the retail market space.
The lender also substantially grew its interest income to N36.3 billion from N31.4 billion in the same period in 2021, creating a 15 per cent uptick from the value of the Bank’s loan asset portfolio.
The bank’s increased investment in digital banking platforms empowered its retail potential to deliver an impressive 17 per cent growth in fees and commission to N5.3 billion, closing September 30, 2022, from N4.6 billion recorded in the corresponding period in the year 2021.
While maintaining the retail expansionary and customer-centric business model, Unity Bank Plc continued its growth momentum as total loans and advances as of September 30, 2022, reported N284.2 billion, which represents a 6 per cent spurt from the N269.3 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021, even as the lender maintains strict compliance with the prevailing prudential guidelines.
Other key highlights of the 9-month financials included customer deposits of N334.7 billion, representing a 4 per cent increase from N322.3 billion in the corresponding period. The position underscores the increasing market uptake for the bank’s product innovation and mass-market-oriented retail focus that continues to boil wide acceptance across various segments of the mass market.
The lender’s performance comes on the heels of a fragile recovery from the global pandemic buffeted by economic headwinds, including rising inflationary trends, interest rate hikes, foreign exchange volatilities, etc., which have impacted the overall economic outlook in the country and the rest of the world severely.
Also, Unity Bank reported a profit before tax of N2.206 billion and a post-tax profit of N2.029 billion, 5 per cent higher than the N1.9 billion recorded in the same period of 2021.
Commenting on the results, the Managing Director/CEO of Unity Bank Plc, Mrs Tomi Somefun, said that the outlook for the full year 2022 remains positive, reflecting optimism, stability, and growth in key performance indicators.
She noted that the growth trajectory recorded in the bank’s revenue (17%), Profit (5%), and deposit (4%), etc., is a testament to the positive sentiment in the market, especially at a time the market is experiencing a downturn with high inflationary trend and volatility which impacts negatively on the operating environment.
She stated that “as we take further bold and audacious steps to round up the year on a stronger note, the Bank will create more initiatives even in the very short term to broaden its retail focus, ride on novel technology and digital Banking to push aggressively on product marketing in addition to major activations in identified market segments to attract sustainable streams of income for the bank.”
“The outlook for our financial position for the current year is bright as the bank is increasingly innovating with products and collaborative strategies to diversify our portfolio businesses while taking advantage of robust technological resources to take on mass market & the unbanked sector, thereby boosting income and liability generation and financial inclusion of the banking ecosystem,” she said.
In the view of analysts, the growing retail franchise of the lender will create a sustainable income with a stronger foothold in the market, which will impact business growth and the financial position of the bank.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.
The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.
The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.
They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.
They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.
The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.
In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.
The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.
After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.
“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.
“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.
“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.
“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.
“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.
This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.
“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”
Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.
He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.
“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.
“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.
A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.
It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.
The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.
Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.
He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.
Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.
He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.
He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.
At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.
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