Bank Customers Hold Summit in Lagos Thursday

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Despite the harsh operating environment and the unexpected policies of the government that affected businesses in Nigeria, Unity Bank Plc showed resilience in the first six months of 2023. In its half-year unaudited financial statements filed to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited over the weekend, the bank marginally improved its gross earnings by 0.37 per cent to N27.5 billion from N27.4 billion in the first half of last year. It was observed that 10 per cent growth in the fees and income commission to N3.5 billion from N3.2 billion helped the lender jerk up its income in

By Bliss Okperan The Managing Director and chief executive of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mr Adesola Adeduntan, has disclosed that financial institutions in the country have the balance sheet to support big-ticket transactions, particularly from offshore investors. President Bola Tinubu travelled to the United States last week for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and went with some businessmen and bank executives, including Mr Adeduntan. The Nigerian leader used the occasion to urge foreign investors to bring their funds into the country because he would create a business-friendly environment to make their investments grow. Nigeria, which is the largest

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The board of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has raised the bar in the interim dividend payout for the first half of 2023, increasing it to 50 Kobo from 20 Kobo in the same period of 2023. This was after the bank recorded triple-digit growth in the bottom line, as the profit before tax (PBT) jumped by 371 per cent to N404 billion from the N85.75 billion recorded in the first half of 2022, translating to an annualised Return on Average Equity of 57.7 per cent as against 17.1 per cent a year earlier, as the

By Dipo Olowookere The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in charge of Financial System Stability, Mrs Aishah Ahmad, has been apprehended by the Department of State Services (DSS). The central banker was arrested by the country’s secret police to harvest vital information from her over the sale of a first-generation bank, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, to a relatively new lender, Titan Trust Bank Limited. The acquisition of the more than 100-year-old financial institution by the less than 5-year-old bank raised eyebrows because the buyer coughed out $300 million to complete the transaction. Titan Trust Bank

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A leading consumer goods company, Procter & Gamble (P&G) Nigeria, has partnered with the Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF) to facilitate the educational programs (WARIF Educational School Programme. This is part of its efforts to address the issues affecting girls confidence and empowerment and with the collaboration, P&G will facilitate the educational programs around gender-based violence and support WARIF with the acquisition of personal protective equipment (PPE) for its frontline healthcare, which supports its “protect our heroes” interventions while promoting both its Education and Gender Equality Citizenship Pillars. The partnership is driven by P&G Employees through

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh From late February to early March, in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, there was the week-long Africa’s largest film festival FESPACO. In fact, FESPACO was launched in 1969. This festival provided some kind of entertainment, but the most important aspect was the platform created a show screening different films with diverse themes. The competition was very keen, with rewards for winners delivering excellent results. Wolfram Vetter, the European Union ambassador in Burkina Faso, called the film festival “an important contribution to peace and reconciliation in Burkina Faso and beyond.” The EU was the event’s largest

By Adedapo Adesanya The Senate has declined to advise the federal government to liberalise its current policies on cement production but rather called for more industrial incentives and industrial protections to boost production, reduce price and encourage more valuable producers in the country. Rather than calling on the central government to lift restrictions placed on licenses, the upper chamber has called on the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to offer concessionary loans and larger tax incentives for local players to enter into the cement industry. The Senate also rejected a call to set up a committee to investigate anti-competitive practices by

By Adedapo Adesanya The United Kingdom government has said it will not block Newcastle United FC takeover from a Saudi Arabia-backed consortium. The Middle-Eastern Kingdom was recently reported to be involved in a proposed £300 million takeover of the English football outfit alongside American and British investors. However, Amnesty International and Qatar-based TV giant, beIN Sport, have called on the UK government to block the deal. The UK Culture Secretary, Mr Oliver Dowden, has. however, clarified that there is no plan to block the buy-out, despite allegations against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman regarding the death of journalist Jamal

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria recorded the biggest decline in oil production among the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) output cut quota in August, according to a Reuters survey. The country’s output dropped by 100,000 barrels per day, the survey said, noting that it occurred as exports from the Forcados terminal were under force majeure due to a leak on August 15. A force majeure provides temporary reprieve to a party from performing its obligations under a contract upon the occurrence of an uncontrollable event. Oil output, however, rose to its highest since April 2020, as the involuntary losses

By Anthony Elikene Wikipedia says “Climate Change occurs when changes in earth’s climate system result in new weather patterns that remain in place for an extended period. This length of time can be as short as a few decades to as long as millions of years.” In a simpler explanation, Climate Change is the rise in average surface temperatures on earth. Also called Global Warming, Climate Change is the biggest threat to the world and mankind – this is beyond the environment. What causes Climate Change? The western Public Relations firms and media have developed several explanatory narratives that seek

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel The external reserves of Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa, grew by 1.7 per cent in one week to $35.4 billion from $34.8 billion, data obtained by Business Post has revealed. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which publishes the amount left in the nation’s account, disclosed that on Thursday, September 9, 2021, the foreign exchange (FX) buffers stood at $34.8 billion but expanded to $35.4 billion on Thursday, September 16. The week-on-week growth happened few days after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) release its latest report which showed that the nation’s crude oil

By Adedapo Adesanya Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research has put its latest Brent crude price forecasts for 2022 at $100 per barrel. In a new report, Fitch Solutions outlined that it sees the Brent oil price, which Nigeria prices its benchmark crude against, averaging $100 per barrel this year, $90 per barrel in 2023, $85 per barrel in 2024, and $88 per barrel in both 2025 and 2026. “This month, we are holding our annual average Brent front-month forecast at $100 per barrel for 2022 and $90 per barrel in 2023, despite the EU embargo on Russia oil