Banking

FCMB Promises to Sustain Impressive Performance

Published

7 years ago

30/04/2019

By Dipo Olowookere

The Group Chief Executive Officer of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mr Ladi Balogun, has assured shareholders of the company a sustainable growth. This assurance was given during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of FCMB held in Lagos, where shareholders approved the 2018 financial results and payment of a cash dividend of 14 kobo per ordinary share, totaling N2.8 billion.

Mr Balogun, while addressing the shareholders, outlined that the commercial and retail banking group, which includes First City Monument Bank Limited, Credit Direct Limited, FCMB (UK) Limited and FCMB Microfinance Bank Limited, grew its profit by 61 percent, driven by improved performance in consumer finance business and increase in fees and commissions.

He added that commercial and retail banking remains the largest group, contributing 83 percent of profit while the group’s banking franchise continued to grow as reflected by a 20 percent increase each in deposits and customer base, which rose to 4.9 million customers.

He pointed out that the pre-tax profit of investment banking group, which includes FCMB Capital Markets Limited and CSL Stockbrokers Limited, increased by 24 percent in 2018, a performance driven by higher conversion of investment banking deal pipeline as well as cost efficiencies.

He said the asset and wealth management franchise, which includes FCMB Pensions Limited, First City Asset Management Limited and CSL Trustees Limited, increased combined assets under management to over N310 billion, an increase of 24 percent.

According to him, in spite of the reduction in fees charged by pension fund administrators by the primary regulator, asset management businesses increased pre-tax profits by 15 percent while the group also acquired additional shares in FCMB Pensions Limited to increase its stake from 88.2 percent to 91.6 percent in 2018.

He assured shareholders and other stakeholder that 2019 would see continued growth along all key indices for the Group, especially those around profitability, deposits, customer numbers and assets under management.

Chairman of FCMB, Mr Oladipupo Jadesimi, in his address, said the group has continued to move forward on the path of good governance, strengthening and improving its corporate governance structure and bringing it into line with its long-term strategy and the highest international standards.

He said the group has taken initiatives to increase the confidence of its shareholders, investors and other stakeholders in an environment that is demanding even more transparency.

‘’The board of directors, fully engaged and committed to the group’s corporate culture and strategy, has the experience, knowledge, dedication and diversity needed to accomplish our objective of making FCMB one of the leading financial services groups of African origin, helping people and businesses prosper and upholding our adopted of execution, professionalism, innovation and customer focus,’’ Mr p ppJadesimi said.

At the meeting, shareholders of the company commended the board for the impressive performance in the 2018 financial year, urging them to do more so as to result to more dividend payout.

Chairman, Trusted Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr Mukhtar Mukhtar, said the increased dividend payment was a delight to shareholders given the low economic activities in the country.

“I am highly impressed with the group’s balance sheet quality which witnessed a high growth. This shows vigorous policies that have positively impacted on and optimised the balance sheet.

“Another significant aspect of the performance of FCMB is the growing contributions of the subsidiaries in the profit margin. The 14 kobo dividend declaration signals FCMB’s commitment to improving the lots of shareholders,’’

Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN) Chairman, Mr Boniface Okezie, said FCMB and its subsidiaries have done very well in terms of dividend payment and the overall performance.

According to him, the loans portfolio of the bank is also encouraging while the fact that it has been able to increase its branch network is an indication that it is expanding.

“I believe that FCMB will build on this performance,’’ Mr Okezie said.

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of FCMB Group for the year ended December 31, 2018 showed that profit before tax rose by 73 percent to N18.4 billion in 2018 as against N11.5 billion in 2017.

Also, gross revenue grew to N177.4 billion, an increase of 4.3 percent compared with N169.9 billion in 2017. Net interest income rose by three percent to N72.6 billion while deposits also increased by 19 per cent to N821.7 billion. Loans and advances stood at N633 billion while total assets grew by 21 percent to N1.43 trillion. Capital adequacy ratio stood at 15.9 percent.

Banking

Secure IT, StockMed, 18 Others Make Wema Bank Hackaholics 6.0 Top 20 List

Published

19 hours ago

18/12/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

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.

Banking

Customs to Penalise Banks for Delayed Revenue Remittance

Published

1 day ago

18/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

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.

Banking

First Bank Deputy MD Sells Off 11.8m First Holdco Shares Worth N366.9m

Published

1 day ago

18/12/2025

Aduragbemi Omiyale

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.