Banking
Moody’s Fears First Bank Financial Health Could be at Risk
By Dipo Olowookere
There is every possibility that the financial health (solvency) of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, the flagship subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, could be at risk, Moody’s Investors Service has feared.
The rating agency in a report on Wednesday also said the management team of the bank could find it difficult to focus on implementing the company’s strategic plan.
First Bank has been in the news recently following the botched boardroom coup that initially ousted its Managing Director, Mr Adesola Adeduntan.
The Veterinary Doctor turned banker was removed from office by the board of the organisation formerly led by Mrs Ibukun Awosika and was replaced by his deputy, Mr Gbenga Shobo.
However, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the primary regulatory agency for the banking sector in the country, restored him and sacked the board as well as that of its parent company led by renowned businessman, Mr Oba Otudeko.
The apex bank revealed that it took the action to protect the interest of depositors, minority shareholders and others, revealing that it had been supporting the lender with funds in the past so as not to allow it to crash.
It was alleged that First Bank had been granting loans to its directors, especially to Mr Otudeko and one of his companies, Honeywell Flour Mills, without clears ways of recovering them, though this was denied.
As a result of the board crisis shaking the banking institution, Moody’s said it has placed all long-term ratings and assessments of First Bank on review for downgrade.
The agency said the action of the CBN on the bank clearly showed “corporate governance shortcomings and weaknesses in board oversight.”
Moody’s noted that though the management team has been restored, the crisis “could distract management’s focus on implementing the bank’s strategic plan and the road to recovery,” pointing out that the development was also likely to sway “investor confidence.”
“In addition, the rating agency notes First Bank’s relatively low proportion of provisions to its NPLs (non-performing loans), at just about 40 per cent, which puts its solvency at some risk in case higher loan-losses materialise than previously expected.”
The management team led by Mr Adeduntan worked tirelessly to reduce the NPL ratio of the financial institution from 25.9 per cent in 2018 to 7.7 per cent at year-end 2020 and this has been commended by several observers and analysts.
But the rating firm noted that First Bank “needs to implement regulatory directives concerning the resolutions of loans to and shareholding in non-banking related parties, which reportedly had not been executed in the recent past.”
It said the review for downgrade of First Bank rating will focus on its “ability to address the shortcomings highlighted by the regulator as concerns its governance and risk procedures, among others, the management of its loan portfolio to related parties.”
Moody’s stated in the statement sighted by Business Post that it would “monitor any further corrective actions that the regulator may require.”
“Moody’s will also assess the likely impact of these changes on the bank’s risk governance, its solvency level and its on-going efforts to reduce the bank’s stock of NPLs,” it added.
It disclosed that, “The bank’s long-term deposit ratings could be downgraded if deficiencies in the governance structures of the bank persist and if there is any further sanctioning of the bank by the CBN, including but not limited to requirements to take corrective measures of any weaknesses that could be uncovered. Weaker financial performance than expected could also lead to a downgrade of the ratings.”
“There is limited likelihood that First Bank’s ratings could be upgraded given the review for downgrade and the negative outlook on the government of Nigeria, its support provider in case of need,” adding that “stronger solvency improvements than what is currently captured in the ratings, together with a stabilisation of the sovereign outlook, could lead to stabilisation of the outlook.”
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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