Banking
GTBank Grows Deposits from Customers to N4.0trn in One Year
By Dipo Olowookere
Tier-one banking institution in Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc, has continued to grow stronger, maintaining its position as one of the most formidable financial organisations in the country.
Over the week, the company released its audited financial statements for the year 2021 and from the analysis, most people rely on the firm for their financial transactions.
Business Post observed that GTCO increased its deposits from customers by 14.3 per cent in the period under review to N4.0 trillion from N3.5 trillion in the 2020 fiscal year, while the loan book jumped to N1.8 trillion from N1.7 trillion.
However, the bottom-line of the results was not impressive as the profit before tax dipped by 7.0 per cent to N221.5 billion from N238.1 billion, while the profit after tax went down by 13.2 per cent to N174.8 billion from N201.4 billion.
As for the top-line, it was a similar situation as the interest income dropped to N251.5 billion from N288.3 billion achieved a year earlier and with an interest expense of N46.3 billion versus N47.1 billion in 2020, GTCO closed December 31, 2021, with a net interest income of N220.6 billion as against N253.7 billion it posted in the corresponding year.
It was observed that with the support of account maintenance charges, e-business income and others, the lender was able to raise revenue from fee and commission to N74.1 billion from N53.2 billion in the same period of 2020, while the fee and commission expenses rose to N8.5 billion from N6.3 billion mainly due to bank charges and loan recovery costs.
Personnel costs, however, were pruned to N33.4 billion from N37.6 billion, while other operating expenses increased to N93.5 billion from N78.7 billion.
In the results filed to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very strong, closing at 23.8 per cent while asset quality was sustained with a non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of 6.0 per cent based on IFRS (6.92 per cent based on CBN Prudential Guidelines), representing a marginal improvement over IFRS 6.4 per cent impaired ratio and a slight increase over FY 2020 6.86 per cent CBN Prudential Guideline NPL ratio, with the Cost of Risk improving to 0.5 per cent from 1.2 per cent during the same period.
In terms of significant performance metrics, the group maintained a decent showing with post-tax Return on Equity (ROAE) of 20.6 per cent, post-tax Return on Assets (ROAA) of 3.4 per cent and Cost to Income Ratio (CIR) of 42.3 per cent.
Speaking on the results, the Group Chief Executive Officer of GTCO, Mr Segun Agbaje, said: “Our performance reflects the strength of our franchise and underscores our ability to deliver long-term value for our stakeholders in spite of the challenges in the business environment and shifting economic conditions. As a Group, we have continued to explore newer ways to connect with our customers and better our communities by offering greater and more rewarding experiences.”
He further added, “2021 presented a crucial opportunity as we took strategic steps to reorganize our business and advance our position as a leading financial services company.
“With the recent addition of Pension Fund and Wealth Management businesses to the Group, we are well on our way to rapidly scale our operations and strengthen our foothold in these key industry segments.
“Our goal is to consolidate our place at the top of Africa’s financial services value chain by leveraging technology to provide end-to-end financial solutions to more people and businesses across Africa.”
GTCO Plc is a fully-fledged financial services group with banking operations across West and East Africa and the United Kingdom as well as non-banking businesses in several key industry segments including Payment, Funds Management and Pension Fund Management.
With over 25 million customers and more than 10,000 employees, the Group remains one of the most profitable and best managed financial services companies out of Nigeria.
Its leadership in the banking industry and efforts at empowering people and communities has earned it many prestigious awards over the years including Africa’s Best Bank and the Best Bank in Nigeria at the 2021 Euromoney Awards for Excellence. It also retained its position as Africa’s Most Admired Financial Services Brand in the 2021 ranking of The Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands.
Banking
Visa Invests $10m in Moniepoint to Deepen Financial Inclusion
By Adedapo Adesanya
Global financial payments giant, Visa, has made a strategic investment of $10 million in Nigerian fintech unicorn, Moniepoint, to expand its services and deepen financial inclusion on the African continent.
This development comes three months after Moniepoint raised $110 million in a Series C funding round that made the company a unicorn.
With the new play, Visa joins other investors, including Development Partners International, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod Capital, Lightrock, QED Investors, Novastar Ventures, British International Investment (BII), FMO (the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank), Global Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst as equity partners.
This partnership will combine Moniepoint’s local expertise and innovative business model with Visa’s global resources and capabilities to offer payment solutions to businesses and entities.
Moniepoint provides banking and payment services to small and medium businesses and retail banking. It is one of the market leaders in Nigeria’s agent banking space, with over 300,000 POS agents and has processed billions of transactions since it was founded in 2015.
The new Visa’s investment will further help Moniepoint expand its services and deepen financial inclusion on a continent that still has a comparatively low rate of financial services adoption.
Moniepoint will leverage Visa’s Cybersource system to gain better visibility into transactions. Additionally, it plans to integrate with Visa Direct for remittances and money transfers as it looks to expand into markets within and outside Africa.
Speaking on the move, Mr Tosin Eniolorunda, Founder and Group CEO of Moniepoint said, “Visa’s backing is a strong endorsement of our vision to digitize and support African businesses at scale.
“We aim to deepen financial inclusion, enabling SMEs to access the tools and resources they need to thrive in an increasingly digital economy.”
On his part, Mr Andrew Torre, Regional President, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at Visa, noted that, “Moniepoint has built an impressive platform that directly addresses the needs of Africa’s SMEs, a critical segment in enabling economic development.
”By making financial services and digital payments more accessible and efficient, Moniepoint is helping transform how businesses operate in Nigeria and beyond.
“We are excited to support their next phase of growth and innovation,” he added.
Banking
Bankit MFB Engages Partners to Expand Loan, Gaming Services
By Dipo Olowookere
Efforts are being made by the management of a rapidly growing financial technology (fintech) company,
Bankit Microfinance Bank (MFB), to grow its loan and gaming services.
The firm said this is one of its targets for 2025 to solidify its position as a leading platform for comprehensive, simplified banking activities after it recorded remarkable growth in 2024 with different milestones as a result of its competitive edge and cutting-edge technology.
The digital financial services provider said it was already talking to its various partners on how to ensure customers get more access to credit facilities for different needs.
It said nothing would be spared to revolutionise digital banking in Nigeria, especially with a focus on innovation, customer protection, and financial inclusion.
Last year, Bankit MFB, within its first few weeks of operations, successfully registered over 50,000 users on its platform, a testament to its innovative simple banking approach to digital banking.
This year, the small lender has an ambitious plan to increase this by 900 per cent to a record 500,000 businesses in 2025.
Business Post gathered that in 2024, the financial institution recorded impressive transaction values, exceeding N100 million, with an impressive 90 per cent transaction success rate.
Since joining the business, it has introduced web banking and other innovative banking products, with more in development.
With the financial services sector not immune to fraud, Bankit MFB said it prioritises the protection of customers’ funds, expressing its commitment to diversifying its digital services to enhance customer experience.
Bankit MFB is a financial institution licenced to operate in the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which is dedicated to providing innovative, customer-centric financial solutions to individuals and others.
Banking
CBN to Unveil FX Code January 28 to Boost Market Integrity
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, launch a foreign exchange (FX) code designed to boost the integrity of the market.
A statement from the banking sector regulator on Wednesday said the FX code would be unveiled at its headquarters in Abuja next week.
It explained the forex code will serve as a guideline for the ethical conduct of FX dealers in the Nigerian forex landscape.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the release of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Code as a guideline to the banking industry to promote the ethical conduct of Authorised Dealers in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.
“The bank will formally launch the code at the CBN Head Office Auditorium, Abuja, on Tuesday, January 28, 2025,” the statement read.
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