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By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of Coronation Merchant Bank (CMB) has been downgraded by Fitch Ratings to ‘CC’ from ‘B-‘, with its Viability Rating (VR) also lowered to ‘cc’ from ‘b-‘. In a note released on Monday, the rating agency said it also demoted the bank’s National Long-Term Rating to ‘B+(nga)’ from ‘BBB-(nga)’, raising some red flags that prompted its latest decision. According to Fitch, CMB was moved down in the pecking order due to a “significantly weakened capital position”, which if not quickly addressed, “could lead to a material capital shortfall.” Already, the financial institution

By Bliss Okperan A digital investment platform known as AltInvest has been introduced by a new kid in the banking industry in Nigeria, Alternative Bank. According to the non-interest lender, which commenced operations in October 2023, the new product empowers individuals to navigate seamlessly the investment world, blending ethical and digital features for increased accessibility. At the unveiling of the innovative financial solution at the 44th Kano International Trade Fair, the company also launched another produced AltBiz, which it said caters to the financial needs of businesses, offering a comprehensive suite of services to fuel growth, innovation, and sustainability. “These

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Like a golden fish, which has no hiding place, Stanbic IBTC Capital, the investment banking subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, was the cynosure of all eyes at the recently concluded Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN) Investment Banking Dinner and Awards ceremony. At the event held in Lagos, the company went home with five awards, named as the Best Investment Bank in Nigeria, the Equity Deal of 2022, the Best Equity House of 2022, the Best Corporate Bond House 2022 and the M&A Deal of the Year 2022. The recognitions spread across Stanbic IBTC Capital’s Advisory,

By Adedapo Adesanya A total of 382 movies was produced by the Nigerian film industry, otherwise known as Nollywood, in the last quarter of  2021, up from 375 in the third quarter, indicating a 1.9 per cent growth quarter-on-quarter. This was disclosed by the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) in a statement signed by Mr Adedayo Thomas, Executive Director/CEO of the board. According to him, the figure was made available by the Department of Film Censorship and Classification of the board in its fourth-quarter report for the year, which captured all films submitted to the board from across

By Adedapo Adesanya Ikeja Electric Plc has said some areas under its operational network will experience blackout for a period of eight weeks to enable the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to re-conduct its 132KV lines. This was disclosed by Mr Olajide Kumapayi, Chief Technical Officer, Ikeja Electric on Monday in Ikeja, Lagos. Mr Kumapayi said the project, which would begin next Monday (October 11), was aimed at increasing the capacity of the transmission lines to wheel more power from the generation companies. He noted that some of the 132Kv lines installed over 50 years ago had become obsolete and

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil market analysts have forecast that the price of the commodity could reach $200 per barrel as a result of the ongoing Russia and Ukraine war. British multinational bank, Barclays; Norweigian consultancy firm, Rystad Energy; and United States bank, Goldman Sachs all hiked their forecast as the market continues to face the continued one of the greatest shocks in recent times. Barclays said disrupting most of the Russian seaborne crude supplies in its worst-case scenario could push prices above $200, although it did not revise its 2022 Brent forecast saying “the situation remains highly fluid. Rystad Energy

Global climate change affects countries differently. The negative consequences such as flooding are usually more pronounced in developing countries. Poor urban planning, population growth and poor regional cooperation in the use of natural resources such as rivers and lakes are also factors that contribute to incidences of flooding, for instance, in Nigeria. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in 2018 earmarked 12 states as frontline states to be affected by flooding in that year and by September 2018, a national disaster had been declared in the four worst affected states while the others were flagged under red alert. In one

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The visit of the Managing Director of Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr Ahmed Kuru, to the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is already causing apprehension. Mr Kuru was reportedly grilled by the anti-graft agency on Wednesday after he was invited by the organisation for questioning. Already, it is being speculated that his ordeal with the EFCC may be connected with the plans by AMCON to name and shame chronic debtors, who took loans from commercial banks but refused to repay as promised. Yesterday, the AMCON MD was grilled by the agency

By Dipo Olowookere Leading digital lifestyle company, Tigo Tanzania, has entered into an exceptional partnership with technology company, Uber. The deal is offering customers of Tigo the opportunity to use the Uber app for free from today onward. The first of its kind partnership will be beneficial to existing Uber riders and driver-partners and encourage more riders to use the Uber app. “Tigo is a robust brand in the Tanzanian market and we have a vested stake in introducing more efficient ways for customers to engage with the world around them. “Uber is a strong addition to the growing range

By Adedapo Adesanya MTN Nigeria has released further details about its ongoing legal battle with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) over the $47.8 million it was mandated to pay the agency by the Tax Appeal Tribunal. Last month, the telco was asked to pay the sum of $47.8 million in tax defaults from 2007 to 2017 to the revenue agency. The Tax Appeal Tribunal absolved MTN from paying the sum of $21,039,807 as penalties and interest on the principal sum, FIRS would wish to receive the money. The company in a statement titled, MTN’s Tax Matter: Unveiling the Issues

By Dipo Olowookere The gross earnings of Fidelity Bank in the first half of 2020 rose to N10.5.8 billion from N103.7 billion in the same period of 2019. This was as the interest income rose to N87.1 billion from N84.3 billion, while the interest expense reduced to N39.3 billion from N48.9 billion, leaving the net interest income at N48.3 billion in H1 2020 as against N36.9 billion in H2 2019. In the results released on Thursday, the fee and commission income decreased to N9.5 billion from N13.1 billion, while the fee and commission expense increased to N2.8 billion from N2.4