Banking
Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank to Raise Fresh Capital
By Adedapo Adesanya
The management of Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank Plc (ITMB) has hinted that it could generate more funds for the company by offering its shares to interested investors.
This hint was dropped on Monday by Managing Director/CEO of Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank, Mr Onabanjo Obalaye, during the bank’s Facts Behind The Figures at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The company, which had the honour of beating the closing gong yesterday, was at the exchange to give explanation on its audited full year ended December 31, 2018, and the unaudited results for the seven months ended July 31, 2019.
Business Post reports that during the presentation, Mr Obalaye rolled out the bank’s expectations, results of operations, business prospects and opportunities considering the challenging operating environment, which he described as “very tough.”
According to Mr Obalaye, “Rising insurgency and terrorist activities in the North East and spreading South is affecting every business not only mortgage business.
“Concerns about safety and security of persons and goods is taking its toll on business operations.
“Also, lengthy court processes, absence of unified foreclosure law and government right to land.
“The policy initiative of government equally needs to be addressed if home ownership in Nigeria needs to be redeemed.”
Also looking at regulations, he noted that many regulators failed to understand the dynamics of the business environment leading to poor policy implementation.
Looking at the rising cost, Mr Obalaye said, “The drive of government to generate revenue without knowing if it kills businesses or not is equally adding to the cost of operating businesses in this environment.”
He, however, noted that despite the unfriendly factors, Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank has been able to move its total assets to N11 billion from was N7.39 billion in 2013 when it was listed on the exchange.
Mr Obalaye also disclosed that the Shareholders Funds has moved to N6 billion while its loans and advances is currently at N5.5 billion.
Looking at what the company has achieved when it became a public company in January 2013 to date, Mr Obalaye said, “We have moved our shareholders from 150 to 500 and we became a national mortgage bank.”
He said in recognition of the support of its shareholders, the bank has declared and paid dividends every year.
Analyzing the bank’s financials based on its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from 2013 to the full year of 2018 and inclusive of its seven months performance in 2019, the Managing Director said, ‘Total Assets in 2013 was N7.39 billion which moved to N10.35 billion in 2018 and is currently at N11.23 billion. Loan and Advances in its first year as a public company was at N1.31 billion which moved up to N3.8 billion in 2018 and is now at N5.05 billion so far, with investments rowing to N2 billion as at the period calculated in 2019.’
Speaking on the issued share capital, which has remained at N2.085 billion since 2013, Mr Obaleye said, “We are working on how we are going to increase this”, disclosing that the bank was working with its investment partners, Cordros Capital.
Remarking on the performance, Obalaye noted that the growth was due to strong brand presence, improved customer confidence, efficient corporate governance, public and private housing initiatives among other drivers.
Banking
Secure IT, StockMed, 18 Others Make Wema Bank Hackaholics 6.0 Top 20 List
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.
Banking
Customs to Penalise Banks for Delayed Revenue Remittance
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.
Banking
First Bank Deputy MD Sells Off 11.8m First Holdco Shares Worth N366.9m
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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