PayDay Mulls Sale Amid Management Crisis

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A cutting-edge German-Nigerian financial technology (fintech) firm, BFREE, plans to put down $40 million to acquire some distressed loan portfolios in Union Bank of Nigeria. A statement from the Nigerian lender said both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Berlin on November 21, 2023, at the German-Nigerian Business Forum. It was disclosed that BFREE would partner with its international financing partners to refinance bad loans from Union Bank, particularly those delayed in repayment or already written off. Union Bank expressed its optimism that this strategic partnership with BFREE would not only bolster the bank’s financial

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian bank, Union Bank, alongside energy company, Riverside LNG of Nigeria, have signed different agreements that involve a $500 million renewable energy pact and gas export between Nigerian and German entities. Union Bank and DWS Group signed a pact on cooperation in renewable energy while Riverside LNG of Nigeria and Johannes Schuetze Energy Import AG of Germany on the gas export partnership. President Bola Tinubu witnessed the signing of the two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in Berlin, Germany, at the 10th German-Nigerian Business Forum, according to Mr Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A total of N7 million has been won by 70 customers of Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited in season three of the lender’s Reward4Saving promo. The winners were given N100,000 each in the October draw held recently, with their corresponding cheques presented to them on Friday, November 10, 2023, at the headquarters of the company in Lagos. The third season of the promo started in September 2023 and 140 people have been rewarded so far with N100,000 each. There are 10 draws left until the end of season three and 700 new and existing customers from our seven

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Head of Partnerships at Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Ms Omolara Osunsoko, has posited that any economy that intends to flourish must do everything possible to support business owners, especially those in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector. The banker said this at a webinar organised to inform participants of a seamless payment experience for business owners through the enhanced Enterprise Online (EOL) payment platform. At the event themed Simplifying Payments for Businesses, the company unveiled EOL 2.0, an upgraded solution created to facilitate a smooth payment experience and improve human resources (HR) services for business

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The House of Representatives has taken a step to investigate the alleged trillions of Naira trapped in commercial banks because owners of the funds have failed to link their bank accounts with the Bank Verification Number (BVN). In February 2014, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced the BVN and gave bank customers till June 2015 to link their accounts with the BVN. The scheme was introduced to check and combat money laundering, illicit financing and duplications in the ownership of bank accounts used for fraud. But almost eight years after the policy was introduced by the

By Adedapo Adesanya MTN Nigeria has recorded a  28.1 per cent rise in profit after tax (PAT) to N181.6 billion in the first half of the year, with profit before tax (PBT) up by 24.9 per cent to N268.6 billion and earnings per share (EPS) rising by 28.1 per cent to N8.92. According to the company in its unaudited results for the half-year ended June 30, 2022, the capital expenditure (Capex) rose by 67.1 per cent to N311.6 billion (up 78.6 per cent to N204.5 billion, excluding the right of use assets. The financial statements also showed that there were

By Dipo Olowookere All seems not to be well with Ardova Plc as its financial statements for the year ended December 2021 showed that the energy firm recorded N3.9 billion loss. This came amid a 10.7 per cent improvement in the revenue generated in the period under consideration. It was observed that despite the higher turnover posted in the fiscal year, the organisation closed the year with a lower gross profit as a result of a spike in the cost of sales and some expenses, which caused the loss for the year. Analysis of the financial results by Business Post

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nigerians have been urged to stop cutting trees and the earth will suffer from it if it is not stopped. This appeal was made by the Oyo State government in commemoration of the 2022 World Ranger Day. In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Wasiu Olatubosun, the government also saluted the bravery of park rangers at the Old Oyo National Park. World Ranger Day, which is marked annually on July 31, pays tribute to those who have fallen in the fight to save forests, wild animals and trees, as well as

By Modupe Gbadeyanka ***Proposes Deeper Diversification, Better Policies An analysis conducted by the World Bank has advocated for better economic policies and deeper diversification for African countries. The World Bank noted in the report that countries of Sub-Saharan Africa present a diversified landscape of economic growth. The bi-annual analysis of the state of African economies named Africa’s Pulse pointed out that while economic growth across the continent is projected to fall to 1.6% this year, the lowest level in over two decades, the GDP growth is showing resilience in about a quarter of countries. Some of the best performers—Ethiopia, Rwanda,

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed on a negative note by 0.14 percent on Wednesday following the return of bears to the market caused by losses recorded by Seplat and 16 other stocks. Seplat, which topped the losers’ chart during the midweek trading session, went down by N2 to finish at N638 per share. It was followed by Lafarge, which declined by N1.70k to close at N15.70k per share, and Presco, which lost N1.25k to end at N64.50k per share. Dangote Sugar depreciated by 45 kobo to settle at N13 per share, while GTBank fell by 25

By Modupe Gbadeyanka An ultimatum telling Nigeria’s Igbo minority in the north of the country to flee their homes is of “grave concern”, a group of United Nations human rights experts has warned. The experts also deplored a hate song and audio message being circulated on the internet and on social media. The Hausa-language audio message urges northern Nigerians to destroy the property of Igbo people and kill anyone who refuses to leave by 1 October, the same date given in the ultimatum. “We are gravely concerned about this proliferation of hate messages and incitement to violence against the Igbo