Banking
An Overview of Legal Requirements For a Bank’s Website
By Gbolahan Oluyemi
Websites create an online presence for businesses and serve as a valuable tool to enhance e-commerce, customer engagement, branding, marketing, and lead generation. A website provides the bank customers with information on branch location, the composition of the bank’s management team, product features, forms, and terms and conditions of service.
Aside from the branding and customer information, banks are legally required to publish certain information on their website. This article considers some of the information banks are mandated by law to publish on their respective websites. Additionally, banks may explore fractional general counsel services to navigate the intricate legal landscape efficiently, ensuring compliance and robust risk management.
- A bank is required to publish its foreign exchange, lending, and deposit rates on its website. This is because section 22 (1) of the Banking and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) directs all banks (except non-interest banks) to publish information on foreign exchange rates, lending and deposit rates on their respective websites, failing which such Bank will be liable to a penalty of not less than N5,000,000 and an additional N100,000 for every day during which the contravention continues.
- BOFIA require banks to disclose their obligations to report suspicious transactions on their respective websites, failing which the bank will be liable to a penalty of not less than N5,000,000 and an additional N100,000 for every day during which the contravention continues.
- A bank is required to publish its certificate of occupancy on its website. The bank is also required to publish its approved audited accounts and financial statements. Section 22 (1e) of BOFIA mandates these obligations and imposes a penalty of not less than N5,000,000 and an additional N100,000 for every day during which the contravention continues.
- The Nigerian Data Protection Regulation 2019 impose a duty on banks to publish a privacy policy on all data-collecting platforms (which may include a website). The privacy policy should address at minimum the items listed in Article 2.5 of the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation 2019 which include:
- what constitutes the Data Subject’s consent;
- description of collectable personal information;
- purpose of collection of Personal Data;
- technical methods used to collect and store personal information, cookies, JWT, web tokens etc;
- access (if any) of third parties to Personal Data and purpose of access;
- available remedies in the event of violation of the privacy policy;
- the time frame for remedy.
- Another piece of information required on a bank’s website is the details and location of Automated Teller Machines (ATM) for persons with visual impairment. Article 1.1.1 (G) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines on operations of electronic payment channels in Nigeria requires that 2% of ATMs deployed should have tactile graphic symbols for the use of visually impaired customers. The location of the specialised ATMs should be published on the bank’s website.
- Banks deploying agent banking by providing services to customers through a third party (agent) are required by Article 9 of the CBN Guidelines for the regulation of Agent Banking and Agent Banking relationships in Nigeria to publish an updated list of all their agents on their websites.
- The CBN Corporate Governance Guidelines for Commercial, Merchant, Non-interest and Payment Service Banks in Nigeria 2023 require publicly quoted banks to publish a summary of their risk management policies. Further, all Banks are mandated by the guideline to publish a summary of the Bank’s insider trading and related party transaction policy on their website.
In view of the above, the content of a bank’s website is not solely a technology or branding affair. There are legal issues to be considered in populating content for a bank’s website. In all, banks are mandated by the CBN Guidelines on Disclosure and Transparency to ensure that their websites and other information dissemination channels are functional and regularly updated with the current product features and service offerings.
Banks are encouraged by CBN guidelines to communicate with stakeholders via their website and also host a stakeholder communication policy on their website.
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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