Banking

Luxembourg Stock Exchange Lists Access Bank’s N15bn Green Bond

Published

6 years ago

21/03/2020

By Osigbemhe Apeaye

The Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) has successfully listed the N15 billion green bond issued by Access Bank Plc after it was initially admitted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The listing of the eco-friendly bond represents a major milestone in the development of sustainable financing in Nigeria.

The cross-listing of this 15.50 percent fixed rate green bond with five-year maturity has enjoyed many firsts including the first-ever climate bonds standard certified corporate green bond to be issued in Africa; the first to be listed on the NSE in 2019; and now, the first successful cross-listing of a bond born out of the partnership between NSE and LuxSE.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report, the top 5 risks in the world today closely related to climate change issues.

There is, therefore, an increased urgency to reverse recent environmental trends such as ravaging bushfires, extremes of temperatures, floods, cyclones and season disruptions that have made the effects of climate change even more real.

These developments have thrust the concept of sustainable financing into the limelight, allowing products like Green Bonds to gain increasing significance.

It is, therefore, no surprise that the green bond market has witnessed tremendous growth globally with a total of $181 billion raised from global investors in 2019, representing a 14-fold increase from the $13 billion raised in 2013.

On the demand side, there has been heightened consideration of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) factors in the demand for profitable investment products.

Looking at the Nigerian market, notable milestones have been achieved through the collaboration of public and private stakeholders. In 2016, NSE boldly reached out to the Ministry of Environment with a proposal for the issuance of a green bond which was embraced and championed by former Minister of Environment and now Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Mrs Amina Mohammed. This move led to a series of partnerships and innovations that have delivered gradual uptake in this market segment.

Among these were the first ever green bonds conference which held at the Stock Exchange House, Lagos and was headlined by Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo;

Also, is the issuance of the first 5-year N10.69 billion sovereign and certified green bond from the Nigerian government under its Ministry of Environment and the Debt Management Office (DMO).

There is further the subsequent issuance of a 7-year, N15 billion sovereign green bond which was well received by investors with an over-subscription of 220 percent.

In addition, there was the listing of Access Bank Plc’s N15 billion green bond and North South Power Company Limited’s N8.5 billion Corporate Infrastructure Green Bond.

Lastly, there was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the NSE and the LuxSE to promote cross listing of bonds and foster the growth of sustainable finance in Nigeria.

The green bonds market presents great opportunities to reap value if it continues to enjoy the unwavering commitment of key capital market stakeholders.

Access Bank has pledged its support to the global climate change mitigation and adaptation agenda which seeks to promote responsible green lending globally.

Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Mr Herbert Wigwe, affirmed that, “The cross-listing of the bond will make a material contribution to address climate change and provide institutional investors with access to a deep pool of green capital domestically and internationally.”

On its part, the NSE has expressed its resolute commitment to the development of a sustainable capital market in Nigeria.

The Chief Executive Officer of NSE, Mr Oscar Onyema, has been reported to have said, “We will continue to maintain a dedicated sustainable market segment which provides issuers, asset managers and investors, access to green, social, sustainable, or ESG-focused securities.

“Asides Green Bonds, this segment will also promote the development of green labelled Fixed Income Products, Indices and Exchange Traded Products (ETFs) that help direct funding of green projects and environmentally aligned issuers as well as the green transition that ensures market resilience to the economic impacts of climate change.”

Banking

Secure IT, StockMed, 18 Others Make Wema Bank Hackaholics 6.0 Top 20 List

Published

1 day ago

18/12/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

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

Published

1 day ago

18/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

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

Published

1 day ago

18/12/2025

Aduragbemi Omiyale

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.