Ecobank Wins Big At Asian Banker’s Awards

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Last week, the United States Mission in Nigeria organised the annual US College and Career Fairs at the Ecobank Pan African Centre (EPAC) on Victoria Island, Lagos. The US Consul General, Mr Will Stevens, while speaking at the event, said that America remains a leading destination for international students, noting the United States offers students an unrivalled educational experience, flexibility, and diversity. “We are happy to provide Nigerian students who wish to study in the United States a unique opportunity to learn about the diversity of the programs offered at various U.S. educational institutions,” Mr Stevens said.

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 Adedapo Adesanya A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Yakubu Maikyau, has emerged as the 31st President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). Mr Maikyau was named the new NBA president following an election of the legal body which was held virtually. The Chairman of the Electoral Committee, who is also a SAN, Professor Ayodele Akintunde, announced the outcome of the exercise on Sunday in Abuja. He said Mr Maikyau polled a total of 22,342 votes to win the election and was followed closely by his fellow SAN, Mr Joe-Kyari Gadzama, who garnered 10,842 votes while Mr Taidi Jonathan

By Dipo Olowookere A new report released by Nielsen Africa, which measures Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) in some countries on the continent, said things were not to rosy for Nigeria in the second quarter of 2019 because the country’s index slightly increased by one point to 127 unlike its West African neighbor, Ghana, which gained 10 points to settle at 118. The 127 points reached by Nigeria, according to a summary of the report made available to Business Post, remains the highest confidence level for the country since the first quarter of 2016. “Following a turbulent period in its history,

By Sodeinde Temidayo David President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday officially unveiled the digital Performance Management System (PMS) that would help track government projects across the country in real-time. This system was launched during the Midterm Ministerial Performance Review Retreat which was held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Unveiling the PMS, the President noted that the dashboard will keep an eye on projects using live data. The PMS is the strategic process by which the government measures the performance of the ministers, sometimes in order to reward their contribution towards the country’s growth and success. This would

Fashion retailer, Bebe, has launched its e-commerce website www.bebearabia.com for the Middle East in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. Online shoppers will now be able to shop with ease and confidence by clicking on the newly designed website, to discover all the new collections and iconic styles from the brand. With a variety of innovative features and special options, the site is destined to become a vibrant online destination for all the latest fashion. The e-commerce site will also allow bebe to communicate and engage with customers in unique interactive ways, prioritizing data-driven metrics, propelling the consumer

By Adedapo Adesanya  The market capitalisation of the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a record rise of N11.43 billion on Monday, October 26. This 2.16 per cent jump left the total value of securities on the exchange to close at N541.19 billion in contrast to N529.76 billion it finished at the last session. The appreciation was influenced by the spectacular performance in the equities of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc. Stocks of the milk-producing company rose by 9.35 per cent or N11.71 on Monday to close at N137 per unit compared with the previous N125.29 per unit. This propelled the

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has again increased the monetary policy rate (MPR) by 0.50 per cent to 18.50 per cent. The Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, announced this interest rate hike on Wednesday while addressing newsmen in Abuja. He informed journalists after the two-day monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting today that most members of the team agreed to raise the benchmark interest rate to curb inflation. According to him, research conducted showed that the actions taken by the MPC to jerk up the rate are yielding results, though not as many Nigerians would

By Dipo Olowookere A total of 32 lads from six states of the country including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja are competing in the 1st edition of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC/IBB Golf and Country Club Under-16 Tennis Tournament which served-off in Abuja on Thursday. The three day tournament which comes to a climax this weekend also has players from Benue, Kano, Kaduna, Nassarawa and Plateau. Serving off the tournament at the tennis court of the IBB golf club, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru who was represented by Mr Samson Makoju, General Manager in

By Dipo Olowookere Leading mobile communications infrastructure company, IHS Holding Ltd, has secured a credit facility of $231 million from South African GSM service provider, MTN Group. The facility was given to HIS Holding in form of a shareholder loan. MTN Group is Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator and it explained on Thursday that the loan will lead to a loss of $228 million on transfer, which will impact headline earnings per share (HEPS) for 2017, the main profit measure in South Africa that strips out certain one-off items, but not earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). IHS