Financial Literacy: Stanbic IBTC Empowers Youth

By Adedapo Adesanya One of Africa’s biggest financial institutions, Access Bank, is close to finalizing a regulatory process to launch its first full banking service in Asia in the first quarter of 2024. This was disclosed by the chief executive of its holding company, Mr Herbert Wigwe, on the sidelines of the Africa Financial Industry Summit in Lomé, Togo, as per Semafor. The Nigerian lender’s plan to enter the Asian market is part of a wider global expansion target which includes a strategy to expand more deeply into Francophone Africa, build closer ties with North Africa, and across Europe where

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A cutting-edge German-Nigerian financial technology (fintech) firm, BFREE, plans to put down $40 million to acquire some distressed loan portfolios in Union Bank of Nigeria. A statement from the Nigerian lender said both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Berlin on November 21, 2023, at the German-Nigerian Business Forum. It was disclosed that BFREE would partner with its international financing partners to refinance bad loans from Union Bank, particularly those delayed in repayment or already written off. Union Bank expressed its optimism that this strategic partnership with BFREE would not only bolster the bank’s financial

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of Coronation Merchant Bank (CMB) has been downgraded by Fitch Ratings to ‘CC’ from ‘B-‘, with its Viability Rating (VR) also lowered to ‘cc’ from ‘b-‘. In a note released on Monday, the rating agency said it also demoted the bank’s National Long-Term Rating to ‘B+(nga)’ from ‘BBB-(nga)’, raising some red flags that prompted its latest decision. According to Fitch, CMB was moved down in the pecking order due to a “significantly weakened capital position”, which if not quickly addressed, “could lead to a material capital shortfall.” Already, the financial institution

By Dipo Olowookere A renowned tech journalist, Mr Omobayo Azeez, has called on stakeholders in the telecommunications sector to urgently take actions that will reduce the reliance on foreign inputs in the industry. Speaking in Lagos last Thursday at the third edition of the Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo), Mr Azeez said this was putting more pressure on the Naira in the foreign exchange (FX) market. Though he said the telecoms sector has unarguably become one indispensable economic enabler for the country and its people, efforts must be made to use this channel to boost local production and stop the

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The government of Akwa Ibom State is planning to obtain a loan of N4.7 billion from Zenith Bank Plc for the establishment of Mimshac Automobile Assembly Plant. The auto plant is to be located in Ikot Ukap, Itu Local Government Area of the state. Governor Udom Emmanuel, a former director at Zenith Bank, approached the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly for approval of the credit facility. Mr Emmanuel, in a message forwarded to the Speaker of the House, Mr Aniekan Bassey, and read by the Clerk, Mrs Mandu Umoren, at plenary on Tuesday, explained that the

By Dipo Olowookere A school located in Ohanku Aba, Abia State, Best Intellectuals Model School, is in the race to get a share of the $250,000 for the World’s Best School Prizes put together by T4 Education in partnership with Templeton World Charity Foundation, Accenture and American Express. The Nigerian school was named in the top 10 shortlists in the Overcoming Adversity category and will hope to make it to the top 3 alongside other institutions in the other categories like Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, and Supporting Healthy Lives later in the year. After a public advisory vote, the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Heeding several calls by the Federal Government, Nigerians and experts in the financial institutions in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has extended the Bank Verification Number (BVN) exercise to microfinance banks. This was disclosed in a circular dated April 21 with reference number OFI/DIR/CIR/GEN/17/139 and signed by the CBN Director in charge of Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, Mrs Tokunbo Martins. The apex bank gave July 31, 2017 as deadline for this exercise, warning that any account not linked with the BVN “shall not be allowed to make withdrawals.” In the circular titled ‘Letter

By Dipo Olowookere An inter-brokerage services firm, Parthian Partners Limited, has developed a mobile application to make investment in treasury bills seamless. The new app is called I-invest, and it allows users purchase the government instrument directly from their smartphones. Apart from that, the app eliminates entry barriers such as lack of education and information to make smart investment decisions and the ability to get a broker and/or time required to visit banks to fill forms for treasury bills. Furthermore, with the app, which is available for download, new investors can trade like a professional because they have equal opportunities

By Ezrel Tabiowo Before he ventured to contest the Senate Presidency, Senator Ahmad Lawan, had a clear-cut vision in his legislative agenda which some at the time considered a rather tall order. One of the most ambitious of them was his bid to restore the nation’s deformed budget cycle to the January to December timeline. The country for 20 years between 1999 and 2019 had operated an irregular budget cycle from the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo all through to the first tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government. Determined to correct the anomaly which for long had weighed down the Nigerian

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel In response to the recent directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that all Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) should make necessary arrangements to sell foreign currencies to retail customers, various commercial banks have swung into action and have set up teller points across their branches nationwide. These dedicated teller points are to meet the legitimate foreign exchange (FX) demands of retail customers, following the CBN stoppage of FX sales to Bureaux De Change (BDCs). Customers who want to buy Personal Travel Allowance (PTA), Business Travel Allowance (BTA), pay international school fees, foreign medical bills, make SME

By Ebitonye Akpodigha President Muhammadu Buhari has promised that his administration will continue to invest pension funds into various development schemes in the country in order to enhance economic growth. Mr Buhari made this known in his keynote address at the opening ceremony of the World Pension Summit ‘Africa Special’, held in Abuja recently, with the theme: ‘Pension Innovation: The African Perspective’. The President noted that, “Globally, pension occupies an important place in the economy as a vehicle for nation building. This administration therefore, will continue to invest pension funds into various development schemes in the country to enhance economic