CBN Revokes Licence of Seven Payment Service Providers

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Like a golden fish, which has no hiding place, Stanbic IBTC Capital, the investment banking subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, was the cynosure of all eyes at the recently concluded Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN) Investment Banking Dinner and Awards ceremony. At the event held in Lagos, the company went home with five awards, named as the Best Investment Bank in Nigeria, the Equity Deal of 2022, the Best Equity House of 2022, the Best Corporate Bond House 2022 and the M&A Deal of the Year 2022. The recognitions spread across Stanbic IBTC Capital’s Advisory,

By Adedapo Adesanya The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks across the country to continue issuing and accepting old as well as the redesigned Naira banknotes following the order of the Supreme Court. Business Post reported on Wednesday morning that the apex court granted the prayer of the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation to extend the use of old Naira banknotes ad infinitum, scrapping a previous deadline of December 31. In a statement after the judgement, the central bank “directed all its branches to continue to issue and accept all denominations of Nigerian banknotes, old

By Bliss Okperan A digital investment platform known as AltInvest has been introduced by a new kid in the banking industry in Nigeria, Alternative Bank. According to the non-interest lender, which commenced operations in October 2023, the new product empowers individuals to navigate seamlessly the investment world, blending ethical and digital features for increased accessibility. At the unveiling of the innovative financial solution at the 44th Kano International Trade Fair, the company also launched another produced AltBiz, which it said caters to the financial needs of businesses, offering a comprehensive suite of services to fuel growth, innovation, and sustainability. “These

By Adedapo Adesanya All bank accounts without Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN) will from April 2024 have “Post No Debit (PND)” placed on them. This is the latest directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to financial institutions operating in the country. In a circular issued by the apex bank and sent to all deposit money banks (DMBs) on Friday evening, the CBN said all the BVN or NIN attached to and/or associated with AL accounts/wallets must be electronically revalidated by January 31, 2024. In the circular seen by Business Post, the central bank said

By Adedapo Adesanya The Lagos Leather Fair has been positioned to continue to change the narrative within the leather industry as it continues to drive economic growth and create visibility and access to opportunities for MSMEs across Nigeria and the wider continent. This is as the platform created to unlock and showcase the untapped potential of the African leather industry will be celebrating 5 years of its transformative existence. This year’s edition themed LLF5, will take place at the Balmoral Convention Center, Victoria Island, Lagos from June 11-12. The event will bring together local and international designers to showcase their

By Dipo Olowookere For allegedly selling shares belonging to investors without their consents, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has blacklisted a stockbroker, Mr Uduma Arunsi. Mr Arunsi is an executive director of Royal Trust Securities Limited, one of the brokerage companies approved by the exchange to trade shares in Nigeria. He is also a non-executive director on the board of Multiverse Mining & Exploration Plc. In a notice sighted by Business Post on Monday, the exchange said Mr Arunsi was also involved in misconduct and was punished for that. He was not the only stockbroker sanctioned and blacklisted from the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Global provider of contactless mobile payments and financial services software, Youtap, has launched a QR code solution and smartphone apps for mobile money services in Africa and Asia. Youtap’s solution enables customer-initiated or merchant-initiated QR code payments for smartphones and smart point-of-sale devices. T he solution conforms to the BharatQR industry standard developed by Bharat, Mastercard and Visa. Youtap’s apps can be white-labelled and branded with the logo and colours of the mobile money service. The new solution gives any merchant or small business owner with a smartphone the potential to download Youtap’s Merchant App, self-register, and

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The lawmaker representing Imo West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Mr Osita Izunaso, has been appointed as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market. The was named as the head of the team by the Senate President, Mr Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday along with other members of the upper chamber of the parliament. Mr Izunaso, who was among the candidates earlier vying for Mr Akpabio’s position at the 10th Senate, is not a rookie in the leadership of a senate committee. He was formerly the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Gas and Housing.

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil prices extended their fall into another day on Wednesday as surging COVID-19 cases affecting demand were further dampened by a slight increase in crude inventories in the United States. Consequently, the Brent crude futures dropped 27 cents or 0.41 per cent to $65.05 per barrel, while the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 27 cents or 0.44 per cent to trade at $61.08 per barrel. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), there was an inventory build of 600,000 barrels for the week to April 16 in the US compared with the decline of 5.9

By Modupe Gbadeyanka About 5,200 live ammunitions (cartridges of 30GR 70mm Calibre) and various contraband with duty paid value of N386 million have been seized by personnel of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘C’ Owerri. Addressing journalists, the Controller in charge of the zone, Mr Yusuf Lawal, said the items, which were smuggled into the country, were intercepted by his men between November 23 and December 27, 2020. Mr Lawal attributed this achievement and others to the leadership style of the Comptroller General of Customs, Mr Hameed Ibrahim Ali, and the entire management team of the

By Adedapo Adesanya Private creditors have established the Africa Private Creditor Working Group (AfricaPCWG) to assist African countries and other debt providers to contain the economic impact of COVID-19 across the continent. African governments are fighting to manage the fallout from the coronavirus, which the World Health Organisation has warned could infect between 29 million and 44 million on the continent in the first year if not contained. African countries face a combined $44 billion debt-servicing bill this year alone. AfricaPCWG is an initiative to represent the views of international private creditors invested in Africa and to work with countries

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The sum of $241.5 million has been approved for Togo under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) by the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This is to support the country’s economic and financial reforms. It was learnt that Togo’s ECF-supported program aims to reinforce macroeconomic stability and to promote sustainable and inclusive growth. It also aims to reduce the overall fiscal deficit substantially upfront to ensure long-term debt and external sustainability; refocus policies on sustainable and inclusive growth through targeted social spending and infrastructure spending that is financially sustainable; and resolve the existing financial sector