Banking
Eveline Tall Daouda Quits Ecobank as Deputy CEO
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The exit of Ms Eveline Tall Daouda from Ecobank as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer has been announced.
Ms Daouda is proceeding on an early retirement on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 after spending about two decades at the institution.
A statement issued by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the parent company of Ecobank Group, disclosed that the “stellar professional” banker was leaving the company after two decades.
In the statement signed by the company’s chief spokesman, Mr Richard Uku, Ms Daouda was described by the Group CEO, Mr Ade Ayeyemi, as a “stellar professional who has built a reputation as an outstanding banker and influential leader.”
Mr Adeyemi pointed out that throughout Ms Daouda’s career, she has been “nothing short of the quintessential banker, one whose savvy and experience has helped grow our institution to the pan-African banking leader we are today.”
The bank boss said the retiring banker has “developed, coached and mentored many staff, some of whom now occupy senior leadership positions across the Ecobank Group.”
“She has contributed in no small measure to the development of human capital, actualising a key purpose of Ecobank, which is to build pan-African professionals who are true models to emulate,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.
During her banking career, Ms Daouda received wide recognition as an eminent African professional.
In 2013, Jeune Afrique magazine recognised her as one of the 25 most influential women in business in Africa. In 2014 and 2015, Forbes Africa nominated her as one of the top 100 most influential women in Africa.
The following year, Jeune Afrique again acknowledged her as one of the 50 most influential women on the continent and in 2016, the magazine again identified her as one of the top 50 most influential women on the continent.
As a graduate of English with a diploma in Business Management and Administration, Ms Daouda began her banking career with Citibank, working with that organisation for 17 years before joining Ecobank in 1998.
Since then, she has played a pivotal leadership role in Ecobank’s evolution. She successfully opened Ecobank Mali as deputy managing director in 1998 and in 2000 became its managing director, making her the first female managing director of a banking affiliate in the Ecobank Group.
She then went on to overhaul operations in Ecobank Senegal, which she managed for five years, later becoming regional director for the UEMOA zone and successfully consolidating the bank’s position across the region.
It is to her credit that Ecobank’s West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) zone affiliates remain on a consolidated base and a number one position throughout the region till today.
As Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ms Daouda managed the expansion of the Ecobank Group from
2010 to 2016.
In 2011, she was also appointed deputy group CEO. Her management of the company’s expansion involved, in part, consolidating acquisitions in some target countries like Zimbabwe and Mozambique and ensuring their successful integration into the Ecobank Group.
She also obtained banking licences and successful openings for Ecobank Equatorial Guinea and Ecobank South Sudan, as well as a representational office in Ethiopia.
By the end of her stewardship as COO in early 2016, the total balance sheet for the 33 Ecobank banking affiliates in Africa that Ms Daouda supervised stood at over $20 billion.
As COO, she successfully managed crises for affiliates during politically turbulent periods in Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.
Her leadership ensured business continuity, maximum protection for Ecobank employees and minimal impact for the bank during these crises.
Ms Daouda, in her last role in the Ecobank Group as deputy CEO and chief regulatory officer, established the function responsible for protecting the Ecobank Group’s franchise and a high level regulatory relationship management.
She brought her vast experience in banking and governance to bear on several Ecobank affiliate boards. She represented ETI as the major shareholder on the boards of the eight countries of UEMOA and Cape Verde from 2005 to 2010 and on the boards of Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroun and Zimbabwe from 2010 to 2016.
In an internal communication to staff, Mr Ade Ayeyemi said, “After a successful career, Eveline is leaving the Ecobank Group to pursue, among other things, her lifetime passion of developing, inspiring and empowering African women. She will apply her vast experience to deepen the advocacy for women entrepreneurs.”
“We owe Eveline an immense debt of gratitude for everything she has given to Ecobank over the years. She has valiantly served this organisation and her continent, and she will always stand out among the amazing professionals who have come through the doors of our institution,” Mr Ayeyemi further said.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has denied reports that customers performing financial transactions would pay a Value Added Tax (VAT) of 7.5 per cent from January 19, 2026.
Information about this emanated from messages sent out to customers of a financial institution, informing them of the new development in compliance of Nigeria’s new tax laws, especially the Nigeria Tax Act 2025.
It was claimed that Nigerians, as part of efforts of the government to generate more funds from taxes, would begin to pay VAT for the use of banking services like USSD and others.
But reacting in a statement signed by its management on Thursday, January 15, 2026, the tax collecting agency emphasised that the VAT collection for such services was not new.
It stressed that customers have always paid taxes for electronic money transfers and others, as this is charged on the fee, not from the main amount of the transaction.
“The Nigeria Revenue Service wishes to address and correct misleading narratives circulating in sections of the media suggesting that Value Added Tax (VAT has been newly introduced on banking services, fees, commissions, or electronic money transfers. This claim is categorically incorrect.
“VAT has always applied to fees, commissions, and charges for services rendered by banks and other financial institutions under Nigeria’s long-established VAT regime. The Nigeria Tax Act did not introduce VAT on banking charges, nor (sic) did it impose new tax obligation on customers in this regard.
“The Nigeria Revenue Service urges members of the public and all stakeholders to disregard misinformation and to rely exclusively on official communications for accurate, authoritative, and up-to-date tax information,” the statement read.
Business Post reports that what this basically means is that if a customer sends N10,000 and the bank charges N50 for the service, a 7.5 per cent VAT on the N50, which is N3.75, would be paid by the sender, not N750, which is 7.5 per cent of N10,000.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian-born payments company, Paystack, has announced its entry into the banking sector with the launch of Paystack Microfinance Bank (Paystack MFB) after the acquisition of Ladder Microfinance Bank.
The bank continues Paystack’s push into consumer products and adds a banking layer to its business-focused payment product, coming ten years after the company was founded with the goal of simplifying payments for businesses using modern technology.
In Nigeria alone, the company says its systems process trillions of Naira every month, supporting more than 300,000 businesses and millions of customers. According to Paystack, this growth highlighted a broader need beyond payments, prompting the decision to build a more comprehensive financial offering.
Paystack MFB will begin lending to businesses before expanding to consumers. It will also offer banking-as-a-service (BaaS) products to companies building financial products and treasury management products.
The company explained that while payments are a critical part of the financial journey, businesses and individuals increasingly require a full financial operating system. This includes the ability to store money securely, move funds easily, gain clarity from financial data, and access tools that support long-term growth. Developers, Paystack added, also need reliable, secure, and compliant infrastructure to build new financial solutions efficiently.
To address these needs, Paystack said it has established Paystack Microfinance Bank as a separate and independent entity from Paystack Payments Limited.
The new microfinance bank operates with its own license, governance structure, and product roadmap, although it will work closely with its sister company.
“By adding Paystack MFB to our family of brands, we’re finding the right balance through combining the rapid innovation of a tech-first platform with the stability of traditional banking,” said Ms Amandine Lobelle, Paystack’s chief operating officer.
Last year, it launched its controversial consumer payments app Zap, and now it is taking a step further with the company securing regulatory backing to become a deposit-taking institution. According to a statement, the bank will be guided by the same principles that shaped Paystack’s early success, including reliability, simplicity, transparency, and trust.
Paystack MFB has begun operations with a small group of early members and plans a gradual rollout to more businesses and individuals. The company also announced the opening of a waitlist for interested users and confirmed it is recruiting a dedicated team to help build its long-term banking infrastructure.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has helped First Bank of Nigeria to recover the sum of N802.4 million from a suspect, Mr Kingsley Eghosa Ojo, who unlawfully took possession of over N1.3 billion belonging to the bank.
The funds were handed over the financial institution by the Benin Zonal Directorate of the anti-money laundering agency on Monday, January 12, 2026, a statement on Tuesday confirmed.
First Bank approached the EFCC for the recovery of the money through a petition, claiming that the suspect received the money into his account after system glitches.
The commission in its investigation; discovered that the suspect, upon the receipt of the money, transferred a good measure of it to the bank accounts of his mother, Mrs Itohan Ojo and that of his sister, Ms Edith Okoro Osaretin, and committed part of the money to completion of his building project and the funding of a new flamboyant lifestyle.
With the recovery of the money from the identified bank accounts, the EFCC handed it over in drafts to First Bank.
While handing over the lender, the acting Director for the Directorate, Mr Sa’ad Hanafi Sa’ad, stressed his organisation would continue to discharge its mandate effectively in the overall interests of society.
“The EFCC Establishment Act empowers us to trace and recover proceeds of crime and restitute the victim. In this case, First Bank was the victim and that is exactly what we have done.
“We will continue to discharge our duties to ensure that fraudsters do not benefit from fraud and that economic and financial crimes are nipped in the bud,” he said.
In his response, the Business Manager for First Bank in Benin City, Mr Olalere Sunday Ajayi, who received the drafts on behalf of the bank, commended the EFCC for the swiftness and the professionalism it brought to bear in the handling of the matter and expressed the bank’s gratitude to the commission.
He described the EFCC as one of Nigeria’s most effective and reliable institutions.
Meanwhile, Mr Kingsley and all other suspects in the matter have been charged to court for stealing by the EFCC.
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