NSE to Review Diamond Bank, Stanbic IBTC Corporate Governance Standards

By Adedapo Adesanya The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to strengthen its banking supervision to prevent some crucial Nigerian banks from failing due to its planned recapitalisation. Last Friday, the Governor of CBN, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, said the CBN would be directing banks to increase their capital base to serve a $1 trillion economy to be achieved by 2030. In a statement signed by Mrs Chinyere Almona, the director general of LCCI, the chamber said, “On recapitalisation of banks, we commend the plan of the apex bank to review the

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 Bliss Okperan Users of neo banks like Opay, Carbon, Kuda, and PalmPay, among others, are worried over the new directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which intends to freeze bank accounts not linked to a Bank Verification Number (BVN) and a National Identity Number (NIN). Last week, the apex bank directed deposit money banks (DMBs) to place a “Post No Debit (PND)’ on any accounts with BVN and NIN from next year. For most neo banks, account numbers are opened with just users’ phone numbers without the BVN, unlike the traditional banks. However, they cannot make transactions

By Adedapo Adesanya Following the approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria’s lifestyle and payment service bank, 9PSB (Payment Service Bank), is set to commence operations in fostering financial inclusion drive in the Nigerian ecosystem. According to a statement from the bank, this move will allow customers to overcome some constraints such as regular long queues in the banking halls, consistent network failure, stringent documentation to assess credit facilities, frequent transaction/dispensing error, delay in transaction completion and process among others. Speaking on the vision of 9PSB’s entrant into the Nigerian financial sector, the CEO of 9mobile, Mr Alan

By Adedapo Adesanya The travel ban imposed on African countries because of the Omicron coronavirus variant is hard to justify and will injure Africa’s emergence from the negative impact of the pandemic, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, has warned. Dr Moeti made the remarks on Thursday as Africa reported a spike in new weekly infections. “With Omicron now present in nearly 60 countries globally, travel bans that mainly target African countries are hard to justify,” said Dr Moeti. “Through the diligent surveillance efforts of African scientists, the new variant of concern was first

The name Tunde Osinibosi might not ring a bell to some people, but Laface will surely do, especially for those conversant with the showbiz industry in Africa. This Ogun State-born man has contributed immensely to the growth of the entertainment industry in Africa and that is why he is highly respected. He was the bridge most artistes in Nigeria used to penetrate into the American music industry, which many believe is the world capital of the industry. The likes of 2Baba, Sound Sultan and many others can never forget the role this easygoing man called Laface played in their careers.

By Investors Hub Asian markets drifted lower on Friday, led by losses in technology stocks amid falling demand for smartphones and a downward revision in revenue target by the world’s largest contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor. Japanese stocks ended slightly lower, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index edging down by 28.94 points or 0.1 percent to 22,162.24. In economic news, overall consumer prices in Japan were up 1.1 percent year-over-year in March, data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed. That was in line with expectations and down from 1.5 percent in February. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The management of NASD Plc last week formally launched the NASD Enterprise Portal (NASDeP). The initiative is expected to improve the overall representativeness of capital flows in Nigeria, by promoting financial reporting, transparency, and corporate governance across board. It will also ease the often prolonged due diligence process of private equity investors. Business Post reports that the launch was well attended by key stakeholders from the Federal Government, Economy, Business and Capital Markets community. Addresses and remarks were received from the Representative of the Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Minister of Industry, Trade & Investments, Dr. Okechukwu

By Adedapo Adesanya The situation of the Naira worsened at the black market on Tuesday, June 15 as it depreciated against the Dollar by N3 to sell for N505/$1 in contrast to N502/$1. At the same unregulated segment of the foreign exchange market yesterday, the local currency also depreciated against the British Pound Sterling by N1 to close at N716/£1 compared to N715/£1 of the preceding trading session. In the same vein, the domestic currency went down by N1 against the Euro as it traded at N608/€1 in contrast to N607/€1 of the previous day. The situation was not different at

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The application filed by the suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mr Abba Kyari, to throw out the charges against him has been rejected by the Federal High Court in Abuja. The embattled cop had challenged the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the drug-related charges levelled against him by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). But Justice Emeka Nwite, in his ruling on Wednesday, dismissed Mr Kyari’s plea, stating that the court has the exclusive right and jurisdiction to hear the case. Recall that the NDLEA dragged the former head of the Intelligence Response Team of the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The dollar reserves of Nigeria have dropped to an all-time low of $24.21 billion, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed. This is coming when the apex bank is making frantic efforts to revive the country’s economy, which is deeply snoring in recession. In its latest report, the CBN said Nigeria’s foreign reserves lost $1 billion in four weeks, making it fall to $24.21 billion in October from $25.8 billion it recorded in September 2016. The country’s reserves had its worst fall within two weeks ending Friday October 16 2016, shedding more than $600 million within