Banking
Ecobank Carts Away Two Key Awards at 2021 BAFI Awards
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Two key awards were clinched by Ecobank Nigeria Limited at the just-concluded 2021 Banks and Other Financial Institutions’ (BAFI) Awards.
At the prestigious 2021 BAFI Awards held in Lagos over the weekend, the bank emerged winner of the Market Confidence and Capital Structure Transaction of the Year for its unsecured $300 million bond, a fixed-rate 5-year Dollar-denominated bond launched early in the year.
The lender also went home as the winner of the Female Economic Advancement Bank of the Year for its sustained support for female entrepreneurs and the development of savings and loans products specifically aimed at women through its Ellevate program.
These two awards, which were keenly contested by other highly-rated financial institutions, made Ecobank the cynosure of all eyes when it was called to the podium to pick them.
“The strong demand for our bond shows the international appetite for the Ecobank franchise in Nigeria, its unique positioning for facilitating pan-Africa trade and the attractive opportunity for the many investors seeking to back world-class Nigerian corporates,” the Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Patrick Akinwuntan, commented on the awards.
He also noted that “with the Ellevate program, Ecobank aims to empower 40 million women, being a gender-based proposition designed to empower women-owned and managed businesses in Nigeria, as well as in the 33 African countries and beyond where Ecobank has a presence.”
According to the BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU), the impressive strength and depth of the book on the Ecobank’s $300 million bond transaction signalled solid global investor confidence in the financial institution at a time when Nigeria was racked by a perfect storm: a COVID-19 pandemic, economic recession in the 4th quarter, and a year of falling oil prices. It reiterated that further proof of market confidence and demand was seen when the bonds were listed on the London Stock Exchange.
“The success also stamped market faith in Ecobank Nigeria’s prospects, as it was the second major bond sale by Ecobank Nigeria in the space of two years; the first being an oversubscribed N50 billion Tier-2 issuance in December 2020,” the unit stated.
On the Ecobank Ellevate proposition, BRIU said, “Ellevate program, which is designed for businesses owned by women, managed by women, have a high percentage of female board members or employees and companies manufacturing products for women, received special attention of the BAFI Awards Review Panel for its comprehensiveness.
“A fully 360º solution, it cuts across Cash Management & Collections, Liability & Loans, and Support & Development. Being an inside-outside award that adheres to the charity begins at home principle, Ecobank as the winner of the Female Economic Advancement Bank of the Year Award has demonstrated a commitment to creating a work environment that allows its female employees to thrive to their full potential within the bank.”
“Ecobank was chosen based on the diversity and scope of Ellevate which is specifically developed for women; being a strong SME banking proposition since many women-owned and women-led businesses fall into this category; a clear, articulated vision to become a Bank of Choice for women through training of product development specialists, marketers, and customer service agents on the needs of women; and the service to female customers beyond providing loans, as advice and support are critical to business success anywhere in the world,” it explained.
Earlier, the Publisher of BusinessDay, Mr Frank Aigbogun, said the BAFI Awards is backed by BRIU, noting that nominations for the BAFI Awards were the culmination of a rigorous review process.
He said BRIU and an independent panel of judges evaluated more than 250 institutions and benchmarked them against their global peers using several indices in a thorough evaluation process and nominees were assessed for their vision, execution, and market-leading propositions.
He added that they also considered factors like corporate values, integrity, workplace culture, gender balance, and other human issues.
The BAFI award categories cut across banking, insurance, capital markets, investment, pension funds, trustees, registrars, stockbroking, and private equity.
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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