Economy
Union Bank’s Customer Deposits Rises 15% to N658.4b
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
One of Nigeria’s longest standing and most respected financial institutions, Union Bank, has announced its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016.
During the period, the lender said its customer deposits rose by 15 percent to N658.4 billion versus N570.6 billion as at December 31, 2015), thanks to new product offerings, increased market penetration and improved customer off-take by the firm.
Also, Union Bank’s pre-tax profit increased by 6 percent to N15.7 billion compared with N14.9 billion in 2015, while its gross earnings went up 8 percent to N126.6 billion against N₦117.2 billion in 2015.
In the same vein, the bank’s interest income increased 8 percent to N98 billion in contrast N90.9 billion in 2015, which was driven by loan book growth and improved bank asset yields.
However, interest expense recorded a decline by 6 percent to N33 billion versus N35.2 billion in 2015.
But its net revenue before impairment went up 14 percent to N93.6 billion against N81.9 billion in 2015.
Its non-interest revenue went up 9 percent to N28.6 billion compared with N26.2 billion in 2015, driven mostly by income from e-business channels, while the operating expenses (OPEX) advanced by 7 percent to N62 billion versus N57.9 billion in 2015 in the face of inflationary and devaluation pressures and ongoing investments in technology and network infrastructure. OPEX held flat from 2013 to 2015.
Union Bank, in the financial statements, disclosed that its gross loans grew by 38 percent to N535.8 billion compared with N388.8 billion as at December 31, 2015). It said 25 percent of the growth was the impact of devaluation on foreign currency loans.
Speaking on the results for the year, Managing Director of Union Bank, Mr Emeka Emuwa said, “In 2016, we focused on executing our priorities across the different business segments, especially in the retail space, with an aggressive strategy to increase adoption of our alternate channels.
“Our success in this area, along with improved core interest earnings, contributed to pre-tax profit growth of 6 percent, compared to 2015.
“Our research led product development strategy, coupled with an upskilled sales force and targeted marketing campaigns, propelled our customer deposit base by 15 percent, compared to 2015, and a 73 percent increase in new-to-bank customers.
“While the operating environment remains a challenge, we are focused on our 2017 priorities which include raising Tier 1 capital to execute our growth agenda across our retail, commercial and corporate businesses, particularly transaction banking and value chain.”
Also commenting further on the 2016 numbers, Chief Financial Officer, Oyinkan Adewale, said, “On the back of strong customer deposits, the Bank reduced average interbank local currency borrowing by 75 percent, leading to 141bps reduction in primary cost of funds and 17 percent increase in net interest income.
“The Group continued to drive cost optimisation, with cost-income-ratio declining to 66.2 percent from 70.7 percent in 2015, notwithstanding a high inflation environment. We will continue to focus on optimising cost in 2017. As we look to raise additional capital to execute business priorities, we will maintain our prudent approach to growing our risk assets while aggressively growing low cost deposits.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Ministry of Finance has directed the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to suspend enforcement of disputed recapitalisation fees and a directive requiring NICON Insurance Limited and the Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation to transfer their entire fresh capital into an escrow account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The ministry also demanded a detailed response and legal justification from NAICOM over assessments of N305 million against NICON and N375 million against Nigeria Re as part of the ongoing insurance industry recapitalisation exercise.
The directive was contained in a letter dated August 6, 2026, signed by the Permanent Secretary, Finance, Mr Raymond Omachi, on behalf of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele.
The letter followed a July 27 petition by NICON and Nigeria Re over the implementation of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act, 2025. The companies challenged NAICOM’s demand for a one per cent capital injection fee, alongside processing and verification charges under the commission’s Minimum Capital Requirement Guidelines.
They also disputed a directive requiring existing insurance companies to transfer their entire recapitalisation funds into a CBN escrow account, arguing that Section 16(3) of NIIRA 2025 provides for a statutory deposit of only 10 per cent.
According to the Finance Ministry, NICON and Nigeria Re had injected N20 billion and N30 billion respectively into Mudaraba Term Deposit accounts with Lotus Bank, exceeding their adjusted capital requirements of N16 billion and N28 billion.
The companies also deposited N2.5 billion and N3.5 billion respectively with the CBN as statutory deposits and paid initial fees of N80 million and N75 million.
The ministry said the companies therefore considered themselves compliant with the July 31, 2026 recapitalisation deadline.
“Pending the determination of the petition, the Commission should suspend the enforcement of the contested processing fees, 1 per cent capital injection fee demands, and full-capital escrow transfer directives against NICON Insurance Limited and Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation,” the letter stated.
The ministry consequently asked NAICOM to explain the basis and legal justification for the disputed charges and escrow requirement.
The intervention comes amid the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen the capital base of insurance companies and reinsurers, improve their capacity to underwrite larger risks and enhance the sector’s contribution to economic development.
The dispute, however, has raised questions over the extent of NAICOM’s authority to impose additional fees and require existing insurers to place their entire recapitalisation funds in escrow.
The Finance Ministry’s letter did not disclose whether NAICOM had responded to the issues raised. It also referenced an alleged N500 million demand and an additional N180 million capitalisation charge in its subject, although the substantive section specifically put the disputed assessments at N305 million for NICON and N375 million for Nigeria Re.
For now, enforcement of the contested fees and full-capital escrow directive against the two state-owned insurers has been suspended pending NAICOM’s response and legal clarification.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four price decliners overpowered the two price gainers recorded at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, August 10, weakening it by 0.32 per cent at the close of transactions.
The advancers were led by Food Concepts Plc, which chalked up 25 Kobo to sell at N2.75 per unit versus the previous price of N2.50 per unit, and Mass Telecoms Innovation Plc appreciated by 3 Kobo to 35 Kobo per share from 32 Kobo per share.
However, 11 Plc lost N24.75 to close at N222.75 per unit versus N247.50 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc declined by N3.09 to N145.00 per share from N148.09 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went down by 5 Kobo to 50 Kobo per unit from 55 Kobo per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc slid by 1 Kobo to N2.27 per share from N2.28 per share.
As a result, the market capitalisation contracted by N8.94 billion to N2.798 trillion from the previous session’s N2.807 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) retreated by 14.9 points to 4,663.18 points from 4,678.08 points.
The trading data showed that the volume of securities exchanged by investors rose by 108.9 per cent to 1.1 million units from 535,7560 units, and the value of securities jumped by 69.5 per cent to N10.2 million from N6.0 million, while the number of deals executed receded by 2.8 per cent to 35 deals from 36 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc closed the trading session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 77.0 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week on a positive note, appreciating against the US Dollar by N5.55 or 0.41 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, August 10, to N1,360.14/$1 from N1,365.69/$1.
The domestic currency also improved its exchange rate against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by 67 Kobo to sell at N1,838.50/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,839.17/£1, and gained N4.64 against the Euro to quote at N1,571.09/€1, in contrast to last Friday’s N1,575.73/€1.
However, the Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the black market and the GTBank forex counter on Monday at N1,400/$1 and N1,371/$1, respectively.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank FX turnover fell by 46 per cent yesterday to $213.845 million from the $393.477 million recorded at the close of trading on Friday.
The decline came despite a sharp increase in the volume of foreign exchange transactions executed during the session, indicating weaker participation by high-ticket FX customers and other major market participants.
The lower turnover suggests reduced demand for FX among large-scale buyers, even as market makers continued to facilitate transactions through the NAFEM window, with the number of FX traded rising to 182 from 102.
In the cryptocurrency market, traders and investors took profit as broader markets’ focus shifted to rising bond yields, higher oil prices and upcoming US inflation data.
Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 5.2 per cent to $0.1873, Ethereum (ETH) slipped by 2.6 per cent to $1,873.43, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 2.3 per cent to $1.01, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 1.8 per cent to $63,949.22, Solana (SOL) crashed by 1.3 per cent to $75.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) tumbled by 0.6 per cent to $599.49.
But TRON (TRX) gained 0.5 per cent to trade at $0.3314, and Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.2 per cent to $0.0700, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
