Economy
Analysts Predict Fall in Banking Stocks as Skye Bank Exits NSE
By Dipo Olowookere
Last Friday, after the stock market had closed for the week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) came with a big announcement which sent shivers down the spine of investors.
Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said at a media briefing that one of the financial institutions trading its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Skye Bank Plc, had been liquidated with its assets and liabilities transferred to a bridge bank called Polaris Bank Limited.
The news came as a huge shock to observers, shareholders of the bank as well as investing public, who mostly did not see this coming.
Few months ago, the apex bank had extended the tenure of the interim management it appointed for the lender in 2016 when it took over Skye Bank. The CBN had said it extended the tenure of the new management because it was impressed with the performance of the new handlers.
Even Skye Bank, which confirmed this in a statement in July 2018, had said it was working tirelessly with the CBN to conclude various resolution initiatives to achieve a positive turn around for the bank.
“We wish to assure the bank’s shareholders and all stakeholders of the commitment of its board and management, working with the CBN and other regulators, to conclude various resolution initiatives to achieve a positive turn around for the bank and deliver value to its stakeholders,” the statement signed by Skye Bank’s Secretary/General Counsel, Mr Babatunde Osibodu, had stated.
Last month, the lender also released another statement had assured its shareholders that, “As with the Bank’s Audited Financial Statements for previous financial years (2016 and 2017), the Unaudited Financial Statements for the period ended June 30, 2018 shall be published as soon as the CBN grants its approval.”
“We wish to assure all our stakeholders that the bank remains committed to transparency, full disclosure, and compliance with regulatory requirements,” it had further assured.
But since last Friday’s announcement, many investors have been talking about how Skye Bank got itself into a mess, while some shareholders have been licking their wounds with their tails between their legs.
Already, the NSE has announced suspending trading on the shares of Skye Bank on its platform beginning from Monday, September 24, 2018 (today).
As the market resume today, analysts at Business Post are forecasting that investors will brutally whip banking stocks this week because of the Skye Bank issue.
Few of those that may be fatally wounded include Diamond Bank and Unity Bank, while others may not be spared too from the onslaught.
Last week, Unity Bank and Skye Bank were among the best performing stocks, gaining 17.70 percent and 15.50 percent respectively.
Before Skye Bank collapsed, it was recording a steady growth, which some investors misinterpreted to be something good cooking. However, they got their fingers burnt.
With this in mind, Unity Bank, which has been gathering momentum lately, may likely be viewed by investors in the same light with the defunct Skye Bank, resulting into selloffs.
It is important to note that Unity Bank is yet to release its financial statements for the year 2017 as well as for two already used quarters of this year.
We believe that as the market resumes today, the banking stocks are in for a big trouble with selloffs expected in the sector.
However, analysts at Cowry Asset believe that the NSE index will close positive at the end of the week “as we expect both domestic institutional and retail investors to take advantage of the fallen prices.
“More so, we maintain that investors should hunt for companies with potentially high dividend yields and have recorded increased earnings as at H1 2018.”
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
