Banking
GTBank Foresees Banks Struggling With 15% CAR
**Expects Tighter System Liquidity, Rise in Interest Rates in 2021
By Dipo Olowookere
One of the leading financial institutions in the country, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc, is projecting a further increase in interest rates.
In its Nigeria Macro Economic and Banking Sector Outlook for 2021 obtained by Business Post, the lender said the spike in the interest rates would be triggered by “the additional borrowings by the government as well as relatively lower OMO maturities into the system.”
GTBank disclosed in the report that it also foresees the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sustaining its “policy stance going into 2021 driven largely by the need to improve credit flow to spur economic growth.”
Recall that recently, in a move to attract portfolio flows and reduce the consistent exit of investors, the CBN increased yields of fixed income securities, causing investors to abandon the equity market, which has so far lost 4.03 per cent this year.
Liquidity expectation
Commenting on the liquidity outlook for the year, GTBank said it expects it to be tighter, noting that, “For one, only N4.3 trillion in OMO securities will be maturing this year, with over 50 per cent of that maturing within the first quarter of the year which implies about N2.5 trillion of liquidity injection into the system in Q1, with attendant CRR implications assuming that the CBN maintains its trend of reissuing a portion of the maturing securities.”
The lender noted that, “This could result in the outflow of more funds from the market in form of CRR,” adding that from Q2 2021, however, “we expect a shift in the liquidity situation of the market, based on the significantly reduced OMO maturities of N1.7 trillion.”
According to the bank, “In the absence of other liquidity injection sources, market liquidity is expected to tighten significantly with a resultant decline in special CRR debits.”
“As a result of the tightening of liquidity conditions expected in the market from Q2 2021, we anticipate a rise in volatilities within the money market and fixed income space.
“We also anticipate a renewed scramble for deposits by banks and other financial institutions to meet demands on them for funds.
“Money market rates, should on average, rise steadily across the period with a resultant pull on deposit and lending rates.
“In view of the above, the CBN might have to consider the possibility of releasing some of the CRR sterilised by it,” the report further said.
Banking sector capitalisation
In terms of the capitalisation of the banking sector, GTBank said it foresees some players struggling with the regulatory minimum capital adequacy ratio (CAR) of 15 per cent as a result of the devaluation of Naira.
“Consequently, we expect banks with shortfalls in their capital positions to retain more of [their] earnings to shore up their capital and keep themselves within touching distance of the minimum regulatory capital requirement.
“It is also not unlikely that the apex bank will offer some form of regulatory forbearance to banks that fall short of the minimum regulatory capital,” the report noted.
Over a decade ago, the banking sector in Nigeria went through a major transformation, with mergers and acquisitions to meet up with the minimum capital base of N25 billion. Some observers have called for a revisit of this amount because of the devaluation of the local currency since then.
Banks and Fintech competition
GTBank said in its report that it projects a level playing field for traditional banks and their non-bank competitors, which are mainly the financial technology (fintech) companies.
It explained this is expected because the CBN, with an expanded role in the new Banking and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, would likely increase the operational and regulatory costs of fintechs, which would stifle their drive in the long to medium term.
FX Outlook
In the report, the lender projected a tightening of the gap between the parallel market rate and the official rate due to a marginal adjustment of the currency in 2021.
“Our expectation of the appreciation of parallel market rates is predicated on increased supply to that market, however, it should be noted that a devaluation in the official market usually triggers an immediate devaluation in the parallel market even if short-lived.
“Notably, a further devaluation to levels closer to the general consensus of the true value of the Naira is expected to trigger increased foreign portfolio flows into the country,” it stated.
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.
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.
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.
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