Banking
Moody’s Raises Alarm Over Survival of Nigerian Tier 2 Banks
**Banks May Lose Business to Fintech
In recent times, there have been concerns raised about the status of midsized banks operating in Nigeria.
Last month, Fitch Ratings disclosed that a number of Nigeria’s tier-2 banks (banks with total assets less than N2 trillion) will fall below the capital adequacy ratio of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should the Naira depreciate to N450 per Dollar.
Last Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its Nigeria country report, noting that banks’ tier 1 capital ratio had declined to 10.8 percent in September 2017 from 16.3 percent in December 2016 and 17.1 percent in 2013, and is now at its lowest level in the past five years.
Also last Tuesday, the CBN released its bank stress test results, which showed that the banking system’s capital vulnerability is driven by midsize banks’ weaker capital conditions.
According to Moody’s Investors Service, these trends are credit negative for Nigeria’s midsize banks because they limit their loss-absorption capacity against unexpected losses and will restrain their asset growth and revenue generation.
It further said lower capital also will constrain Nigeria’s midsize banks’ capacity to grow their business, harming their revenue and delaying capital recovery through profit retention.
In its recent Credit Outlook, Moody’s said Nigeria’s midsize banks face greater risk of losing business to financial technology (fintech) companies because they tend to provide retail banking and payment services to individuals and small and midsize enterprises, a key entry target market for upcoming Nigerian fintechs.
Nevertheless, the CBN issued a directive in January this year limiting the amount of dividend payout ratios for banks with nonperforming loans and capital ratios beyond certain thresholds.
“We expect most banks to retain a large portion of their profits this year and build up capital cushions, although we believe profits will be small.
“Also, the improving Nigerian economy (we expect economy to grow 3.3 percent this year), following a contraction in 2016 and a slower growth of 1.7 percent in 2017, will ease the formation of new nonperforming loans in the next 12-18 months,” the report said.
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.
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.
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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