Banking
FCMB to Sustain Conservative Dividend Policy to Boost Capital Position
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Group chief executive of FCMB, Mr Ladi Balogun, has disclosed that the group will continue to maintain a conservative dividend policy so as to improve its capital position.
Mr Balogun made this disclosure during a conference call to stakeholders of the banking group on Friday.
According to him, the financial institution does not have plans to raise funds this year due to high funding costs, especially for borrowing in Dollars.
In its 2017 financial statements released this week, the board of FCMB proposed the payment of 10k per share dividend to shareholders.
As at Friday, April 6, 2018, the shares of FCMB were sold on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for N2.35k per share.
Speaking on how the firm plans to make a possible impact this year, Mr Balogun said the tier-two lender expects its non-performing loans to rise in the course of the year but would be within a regulatory target of five percent.
In 2017, the financial institution recorded non-performing loans (NPL) to total loans ratio of 4.9 percent.
Also last year, FCMB booked a 50 percent impairment of N2.3 billion on loans to debt-laden 9mobile, which is in talks with investors to take over the telecoms firm.
This year, the bank expects loan growth to be flat, down from last year’s 5.4 percent rise, as oil companies pay down debt.
“We expect to see large repayments in the oil and gas sector this year. We agree that the (economy) will be improving but largely because of chunky paydowns, we don’t think we would be able to replace those quickly,” Mr Balogun stated.
The bank chief disclosed that FCMB would focus on retail banking with a higher margin this year to make up for a drop in government bond yields as the lender may not be able to write large loans quickly enough to counter-balance repayments by oil firms.
He said the economy was improving after Nigeria experienced its worst recession in a quarter of a century in 2016, which should boost consumers.
“We are pushing more in the area of retail banking,” he said.
According to him, the lender was seeking to convert its wholesale banking unit in Britain, FCMB UK, into a retail bank, as part of its push to grow its balance sheet and tap into non-institutional customers in Britain.
He said the impact of the British strategy would not be immediate but would enable the lender to achieve incremental growth.
Mr Balogun disclosed that the earnings contribution in Naira terms from the British unit will be around N500 million for 2018. FCMB UK grew pre-tax profit by 250 percent to N300 million last year.
“We’ve decided to slow down right now on asset growth and focus more on changing the mix of the asset and getting out some of the low margin upstream oil and gas business,” he said.
In its 2017 earnigns, FCMB achieved a gross revenue of N169.9 billion, a 4 percent decrease from N176.3 billion in 2016.
The decrease was primarily driven by the exceptional FX revaluation income in 2016.
The lender also posted a non-interest income of N32.0 billion for the full-year ended December 2017, a decrease of 33 percent Year-on-Year (YoY) from N47.7 billion for the same period prior year.
In addition, the net impairment on loans reduced by 33 percent YoY to N21.3 billion for the twelve-months ended December 2017, from N31.8 billion for the same period prior year, while the operating expenses increased by 5 percent to N68.7 billion for the full-year ended December
2017, due to contingent expenses.
During the year under review, the bank posted a profit before tax (PBT) of N11.5 billion, declined by 30 percent from N16.2 billion for the twelve-months 2016.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says it has paid the insured deposits of about 700,000 customers of the defunct Heritage Bank and has commenced the reimbursement of depositors of 46 microfinance banks (MFBs) whose operating licences were recently revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The chief executive of NDIC, Mr Oludare Sunday, made this known on Wednesday during a retreat for members of the House of Representatives Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters in Lagos.
He said the corporation immediately began settling the insured deposits of customers after the CBN revoked the licences of the 46 microfinance banks and appointed the NDIC as their provisional liquidator.
“We are working on those. The CBN revoked the licences, and we were appointed as the provisional liquidator. We have started paying depositors of those banks, and gradually we intend to cover all the insured depositors,” he said.
Mr Sunday explained that the NDIC’s responsibility extends beyond paying insured deposits to recovering outstanding loans owed to the failed institutions and disposing of their assets to generate funds for the settlement of uninsured depositors.
“Our function as liquidator involves the payment of guaranteed sums. Thereafter, we go after those who owe the institutions and have not paid. We also ensure that we sell the available assets and realise their investments towards paying the uninsured portion of the deposits. So, we have started paying the guaranteed deposits. What we are doing now is also realising the assets of those institutions,” he stated.
Although he declined to disclose the exact number of depositors of the failed microfinance banks who had been reimbursed, Sunday said the Corporation was working with the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) to identify depositors through their Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) to ensure seamless payments.
“So, the more accounts we discover, the more payments we make,” he added.
Providing an update on the liquidation of Heritage Bank, the NDIC chief said about 700,000 depositors had already received their insured deposits, while efforts were ongoing to trace other customers whose identities could not be verified from available records.
He attributed the challenge to legacy accounts created before the introduction of the BVN system, as well as incomplete customer records inherited from banks that were later merged into Heritage Bank.
“If you know Heritage Bank, you know it is an amalgamation of several banks, including the acquisition of Enterprise Bank in 2014. So, if you think of banks like Guardian Express and Spring Bank, they are all part of Heritage Bank.
“There are depositors we have not been able to trace, and this is an opportunity for them to come forward. I am sure many of us did the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and may have left some money in an account, but there was no BVN then.
“Even the addresses we had were sometimes things like ‘opposite filling station.’ How do you trace such a person? Once they come forward, and for those we have been able to identify from the institution’s database, we have been paying them,” he explained.
Mr Sunday added that the Corporation would continue to recover outstanding loans and dispose of Heritage Bank’s assets to generate funds for the payment of liquidation dividends to depositors whose balances exceeded the insured limit.
Earlier in his remarks, he described the NDIC as a critical pillar of Nigeria’s financial safety net, stressing the need for stronger collaboration between regulators and the National Assembly as the banking sector responds to recapitalisation efforts and rapid financial technology developments.
According to him, while the ongoing banking recapitalisation programme has strengthened the resilience of financial institutions, it must be complemented by sound corporate governance, effective risk management, strict regulatory compliance and robust supervision to safeguard long-term financial system stability.
He also disclosed that more than 98 per cent of depositors, representing over 281 million accounts across insured financial institutions, are fully protected under the NDIC’s deposit insurance scheme.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Zenith Bank Plc is investigating an incident involving unauthorised access to customers’ data, noting that the breach does not involve financial information and has not compromised its banking services or digital channels.
In an email sent to customers on Wednesday, the bank stated that the incident was part of a broader global cyberattack affecting multiple international organisations across various sectors.
The lender stated that it immediately activated its incident response protocols and intensified its cybersecurity and remediation efforts upon discovering the incident.
“This incident is part of a broader, global cyber-attack targeting multiple international organisations across various sectors. Upon discovery, we promptly activated our incident response protocols, cybersecurity actions and remediation efforts,” the bank said.
The bank reassured customers that its banking services and digital channels remain secure and fully operational.
As a precautionary measure, Zenith Bank advised customers to remain alert to potential phishing attempts and other forms of social engineering.
“As a precaution, we encourage our customers to remain vigilant against phishing emails, text messages, or phone calls, and never to disclose their password, PIN, One-Time Password (OTP), or other security credentials to anyone,” the bank said.
The incident is the latest in a series of cybersecurity challenges facing Nigerian financial institutions, with banks in recent months suspending their social media operations over impersonation and other fraudulent activities.
Earlier in April, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) said it was investigating alleged data breaches involving Sterling Bank, Remita and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Nigerian banks have long been prime targets for cybercriminals because of the vast amounts of customer data and financial transactions they handle every day.
While many attacks have traditionally sought to steal funds, cybercriminals are increasingly targeting personal information, which can be used for identity theft, phishing schemes, account takeovers and other forms of financial fraud.
Cybersecurity threats have increasingly targeted Nigerian banks in recent years. In 2025, Union Bank of Nigeria warned customers about fraudulent websites and phishing campaigns designed to steal login credentials and personal information by impersonating the bank.
In August 2024, Guaranty Trust Bank experienced a domain-related security incident that temporarily disrupted access to its official website, although the lender assured customers that their deposits and banking services remained secure while it resolved the issue.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The chairman of First HoldCo Plc, Mr Femi Otedola, has affirmed plans to increase his 26 per cent holding in the organisation to 51 per cent, confirming a planned takeover of Nigeria’s oldest banking institution.
Mr Otedola spoke in an exclusive interview with Nairametrics published on Monday, giving a rare direction following recent speculations about the financial institution.
The milestone followed a series of share acquisitions, as Mr Otedola sought to tighten his grip as the company’s largest shareholder following the recent acquisition of additional shares worth N222.21 billion.
In the interview, the mogul said he has invested more than N600 billion of his personal wealth in First HoldCo, describing the move as a “long-term generational commitment” rather than another turnaround investment he would eventually exit.
Responding to speculation that he intends to consolidate his position in the group, Mr Otedola hinted that his investment journey is far from over.
“My investment threshold is always over and above 51 per cent,” he said. “One of my key investment principles is that firm shareholder control, with due regard for minority interest, is a key ingredient to executing reforms and restructuring to deliver value to all stakeholders.”
The businessman said the same strategy had guided his investments in African Petroleum Plc, later renamed Forte Oil Plc, where he gradually increased his shareholding from 28 per cent to 75 per cent before exiting the company in 2019.
He said he also increased his stake in Geregu Power Plc from 51 per cent to 95 per cent before reducing it to 77 per cent after the company’s public listing.
“I am on the same trajectory with First HoldCo Plc,” Mr Otedola said.
“To date, I have invested over N600 billion of my personal wealth in First HoldCo Plc — a figure that speaks not to speculation, but to unflinching confidence in the institution’s future, fundamentals and an unwavering personal commitment to its success.”
Mr Otedola said his decision to invest in First HoldCo came at a time when the institution was facing one of the most challenging periods in its history.
The billionaire steadily increased his investment in the group, accelerating his share purchases in 2026. His stake grew from 6.68 billion shares (15.95 per cent) in June 2025 to 8.06 billion shares by March 2026, then to 9.28 billion shares by June after acquiring about 1.22 billion shares in one quarter. A further purchase through Calvados Global Services last month lifted his holdings above 10 billion shares for the first time.
