Economy
Stanbic IBTC Sustains Strong, Diversified Funding Base in Q1 2021
By Dipo Olowookere
Despite the unfriendly business environment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has continued to stay strong as a result of the futuristic strategies put in place by the board and management.
In the first quarter of 2021, the financial group maintained an adequate level of capital, with the total capital adequacy ratio closing at 22.7 per cent, significantly higher than the 10 per cent minimum requirement of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the industry’s regulatory agency.
Also, its liquidity ratio was above the regulatory minimum requirement of 30 per cent, signifying Stanbic IBTC’s sound position to continue meeting its liquidity obligations in a timely manner.
In the period under review, the total assets increased by 3 per cent to N2.569 trillion from N2.486 trillion in the full year of 2020, while the customer deposits rose by 6 per cent to N867.0 billion in Q1 2021 from N819.9 billion in FY 2020, with the gross loans and advances up 16 per cent to N762.7 billion from N655.3 billion in December 2020 and the non-performing loans (NPLs) jumping by 3 per cent to N27.2 billion from N26.5 billion as of December 31, 2020.
Sadly, the gross earnings reduced by 26 per cent to N45.7 billion from N61.4 billion in the first quarter of last year just as the net interest income decreased by 14 per cent to N15.9 billion from N18.5 billion, with the non-interest revenue down by 29 per cent to N23.1 billion N32.6 billion in the same period of 2020 and the total operating income down by 24 per cent to N38.9 billion from N51.2 billion.
Further, the profit before tax reduced by 50 per cent to N12.1 billion from N24.4 billion, while the profit after tax went down by 45 per cent to N11.3 billion from N20.6 billion, with the cost to income ratio at 69.2 per cent as against 48.4 per cent in Q1 of 2020 and the annualised return on average equity at 11.6 per cent.
The CEO of Stanbic IBCT, Mr Demola Sogunle, while commenting on the results, blamed the decline in the company’s profitability on pressure on trading income as trading activities slowed down while rising operating expenses from regulatory induced charges did not help matters amid continued pressure on risk asset yields.
However, he emphasised that the decline was partly cushioned by the year-on-year improvement in net fee and commission revenue as well as an impairment write-back of N155 million in Q1 2021 compared to the charge of N1.97 billion in the prior year.
He explained that the impairment write-back was due to releases and after write-off recoveries achieved during the quarter.
“Again, the diversity of our earnings proved supportive during the period. Wealth’s profitability improved from the prior period and provided succour for the contraction in the profitability of the Corporate and Investment Banking and the Personal and Business Banking businesses,” he disclosed.
Mr Sogunle expressed optimism that the company will achieve “our full-year 2021 guidance,” especially with the commencement of the firm’s latest addition, Stanbic IBTC Insurance Limited, in the first quarter of the year.
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.
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