Banking
Afreximbank Grows Net Interest Income 24.5% to $826.2m in H1’24
By Adedapo Adesanya
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) recorded a 24.5 per cent growth in its net interest income for the first half of 2024 to $826.2 million from $663.6 million in the same period of last year, according to its consolidated financial statements for the six months ended June 30, 2024.
The Group delivered solid year-on-year growth across key performance metrics and an increase in shareholder value indicating resilience amid challenging macro-economic conditions.
According to a statement, the increase was driven by a 31.42 per cent increase in interest income to $1.5 billion, on the back of growth in the Bank’s portfolio of Loans and advances.
The group said its performance for the period reflects that of the bank as subsidiary entities are still in their early stages of development, with the notable exception of the Funds for Export Development in Africa (FEDA) which contributed $11 million to the Net Interest Income of the Group, compared to $9.1 million at H1’2023.
The group’s total fees and commission income for the period under review increased by 20.1 per cent to $71.2 million, compared to $59.2 in the same period last year.
Operating expenses increased by 30.4 per cent, to $152.8 million, compared to $117.2 million at the first six months of 2023 reflecting higher personnel and administrative costs to support the initiatives of the bank and subsidiaries amid a high inflationary external environment. The Cost to Income Ratio remained low at 16.98 per cent, well within the strategic upper limit of 30 per cent.
During the period, the group said it continued to make strategic progress in its mission to develop African trade, including deepening ties with Caribbean countries and the broader diaspora.
The winding down of the Ukraine Crisis Adjustment Trade Financing Programme for Africa (UKAFPA) facilities as African economies demonstrated resilience, and adapted to the crisis, resulted in a marginal decline in Loans and advances from $26.7 billion to $26 billion.
Cash and cash equivalents closed the period at $3.9 billion, a drop of 30.4 per cent versus H1 2023’s $5.6 billion, while the Liquid Assets to Total Assets ratio remained high, at 12.5 per cent.
The group’s Shareholders’ Funds rose by 1.6 per cent to $6.2 billion compared to $6.1 billion in FY 2023, reflecting growth in internally generated Net Income of $407.7 million. The Bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio remained strong at 25 per cent.
In June 2024 at the Afreximbank Annual General Meeting held in Nassau, The Bahamas, shareholders approved a dividend of $264.6 million and other appropriation amounting to US$50 million to support concessionary funding.
Speaking on the result, Mr Denys Denya, Afreximbank’s Senior Executive Vice President, said, “Afreximbank Group reported a strong performance in the first half of 2024, delivering robust financial results and making significant strides in its implementation of the 6th Strategic Plan – Extending the Frontiers.
“The bank continued to demonstrate its commitment to enhancing Africa’s economic resilience, by helping countries mitigate the negative effects emanating from the external challenges, advocating for the Continent’s interests on the global stage, and contributing to “Global Africa” by connecting the continent with its global diaspora through strategic interventions.”
“The strong results achieved during this period were delivered against a backdrop of a continuously challenging and evolving macro environment, reflecting the effectiveness of the Group’s strategy and its commitment to operational excellence. Leveraging its healthy financial position, the Group will continue to play a central role in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by fostering accelerating economic integration, industrialisation and trade across the continent,” he added.
He indicated that Group Management remained focused on maintaining a healthy and strong liquidity position, and sound asset quality while strengthening Afreximbank’s institutional capacity to support Africa’s growth and development aspirations.
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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