Banking
Heritage Bank, Prinsult Give Wealth Creation Secrets to 150 Women
By Dipo Olowookere
No fewer than 150 women have been empowered with the knowledge of how to balance the challenges posed by their health condition and efforts towards wealth creation.
At a training programme put together by Heritage Bank and Prinsult Global Consulting Limited last Thursday in Lagos, the lucky women were reminded that health is wealth.
The seminar with the theme Building Your Health and Wealth as a Woman was attended by top management staff of both organisations.
Speaking at the occasion, Mrs Betty Eriyo, Cluster Head, Lagos Mainland 1, Heritage Bank, said her management believed that health is wealth. She said at Heritage Bank, “we believe in creating, preserving and transferring wealth,” adding that this maxim has always been the guide in Heritage Bank in its operations.
Mrs Eriyo advised participants to always ensure that what adults went through during childhood the younger generations do not go through them.
In view of this, she explained, Heritage Bank has usually supported several institutions that could make life more meaningful to the people by making funds available for seamless services.
According to her, “based on our belief that health is wealth, we have equipped several hospitals in Nigeria with the requisite funds needed for technologies and other facilities necessary for effective medical services.”
She therefore advised participants “not neglect your health; exercise more; know your body type; eat well and eat right, because timeless wealth is timeless health.”
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Novo Health Africa, Mrs Dorothy Jeff-Nnamani, acknowledged that the ability of participants to perform was solely tied to their physical vitality. She explained that women have unique health condition compared to men.
She stated that menstruation and menopause are no diseases and are peculiar to only women. “Even those health issues shared with men normally affect women differently. STD can be more dangerous to women than men. Women are more likely to have more urinary tract problems”, she stated.
As a result of this, Mrs Jeff-Nnamani said women health issues now attract international attention.
She therefore advised participants to exercise more because it increases energy, enhances self-efficacy and enhances physical performance.
Other remedies she prescribed were: women should eat well and eat right; reduce stress as chronic stress is dangerous to health; read books and other literature to build their mental health; interact socially and do regular medical check-ups.
In her welcome remarks earlier, Mrs Raliat Oyetunde, convener of the occasion; charged participants to pay rapt attention to the issues raised during the seminar. She said doing that would complement the motive behind the gathering.
According to her, women play vital role in the process of nation building anywhere in the world. She said their responsibilities in different homes and in corporate world could not be underemphasized. Meanwhile, she stated there is need to balance the stress required by their corporate responsibility and their health condition. She expressed optimism that at the end of the one-day event their orientation would have changed considerably as a result of the lessons they would have learnt.
Banking
Entries Open for Second CBN Regulatory Sandbox
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Eligible innovators, financial institutions, Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), financial technology (fintech) companies, and technology firms have been invited to apply for the second cohort of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Regulatory Sandbox Programme.
A statement signed by the acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Department of the apex bank, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed that entries opened on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, and will close on Monday, August 31, 2026.
Cohort 2 of the initiative introduces two dedicated testing tracks to support emerging technologies with the potential to strengthen Nigeria’s financial system while upholding high standards of consumer protection, financial stability, and market integrity.
According to the central bank, the two tracks are VASP and Data-Enabled Financial Services (Non-VASP).
VASP track is to support innovative virtual asset, stablecoin, payment, settlement, custody, wallet, and related financial infrastructure solutions that require supervised live testing, while the non-VASP track supports innovations that leverage secure digital infrastructure and permission-based data sharing to improve financial inclusion, payments, credit, risk management, operational efficiency, and consumer outcomes.
The CBN Regulatory Sandbox provides a controlled environment in which eligible participants may test innovative financial products, services, business models, and enabling technologies under the supervision of the CBN.
The programme enables the CBN and innovators to engage constructively throughout the testing process, supporting regulatory learning while encouraging responsible innovation that benefits consumers and the wider financial system.
Eligible organisations whose proposed innovations fall within the programme’s scope are encouraged to apply.
Applications will be assessed based on the level of innovation, readiness for controlled live testing, potential consumer or market benefit, governance arrangements, risk management capability, and the suitability of the proposed testing plan.
Successful participants will undertake supervised testing within clearly defined parameters agreed with the CBN, including appropriate safeguards for consumer protection, operational resilience, cybersecurity, and regulatory reporting.
The central bank emphasised that participation in the scheme does not constitute a licence, authorisation, or approval to operate outside the approved testing parameters.
It noted that the Sandbox is intended to facilitate responsible experimentation, strengthen regulatory engagement, and support evidence-based policy development in line with the CBN’s statutory mandate.
Banking
Offshore Spending Limit on GTBank Naira Card Now $40,000 As FX Liquidity Improves
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The international spending limit on the GTBank Naira card has been increased by the financial institution to $40,000.
This information was revealed by the lender in an email to customers on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.
The banking subsidiary of GTCO Plc disclosed that the new offshore spending limit is for a quarter.
This development comes as the Nigerian foreign exchange (FX) market is witnessing stability against the United States Dollar.
The forex volatility experienced a few years ago has eased, allowing companies and others to plan within a reasonable exchange rate band.
“The Dollar limit on your GTBank Naira Card is now $40,000 quarterly,” the tier-1 commercial bank said in the message sighted by Business Post.
Improvement in forex liquidity in the domestic FX ecosystem has allowed Nigerians to use their local cards to complete financial transactions on foreign platforms, which was not possible a few years ago because of Dollar scarcity and arbitrage.
At the official market on Tuesday, the exchange rate closed at N1,364/$1. It was exchanged at N1,367/$1 at the GTBank FX desk and N1,395/$1 at the parallel market.
Banking
NDPC Probes Lotus Bank, UNILAG, Hackerbella for Students’ Data Breach
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) is investigating the University of Lagos, Lotus Bank, and Hackerbella Limited over alleged violations of data protection laws.
The probe followed public complaints alleging that students’ personal data was used to open bank accounts without a lawful basis.
The NDPC disclosed this in a statement signed by its Head of Legal, Enforcement and Regulations, Mr Babatunde Bamigboye, on behalf of the commission.
According to the commission, its chief executive, Mr Vincent Olatunji, directed the investigation team to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the circumstances surrounding the collection, use and disclosure of the affected students’ personal data.
The investigation will also determine the roles and responsibilities of the university, the bank, and the information technology solutions firm in the alleged data processing activities.
The NDPC said the probe would assess the compliance obligations of the three organisations under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, as well as the potential risks posed to the rights and freedoms of the affected students.
The commission said the investigation would cover several areas, including Data Protection Impact Assessments, the lawfulness and transparency of credit scoring or profiling activities, automated decision-making systems, privacy notices and data-sharing arrangements.
It will also examine the lawful bases for processing the students’ information, data minimisation, purpose limitation, retention policies and the adequacy of technical and organisational safeguards for protecting data subjects’ rights.
The commission stressed that institutions handling the personal information of students, staff and other members of their communities have a greater responsibility to ensure such data is properly protected.
“Institutions entrusted with the personal data of students, staff and other members of their communities have a heightened responsibility to ensure that such data is processed lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely,” the NDPC said.
The commission also warned educational institutions that have yet to comply with its existing data protection directives to take immediate steps to meet the required standards.
“Accordingly, the NDPC warns educational institutions that are yet to comply with its existing data protection compliance directives to do so immediately,” the statement added.



