Planned Sale: Polaris Bank Assures Depositors of Safety of Funds

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Access Bank Plc has expressed its determination to support initiatives that promote knowledge, integrity, and the enduring legacy of excellence in the legal profession. The chief executive of Access Holdings, the parent firm of the lender, Mr Herbert Wigwe, while speaking at the launch of a book to honour Justice Amina Adamu Augie on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, said the financial institution has a strong affinity for the preservation and advancement of country’s judicial heritage. “We are proud to support the launch of Wisdom and Integrity: The Legacy of Honourable Justice Amina Adamu Augie JSC CON Through

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

Sterling Bank Limited’s cutting-edge investment platform, Doubble, has been upgraded with new features aimed at improving investment returns for existing and new customers. With various flexible naira and dollar investment options, including money market offerings with returns higher than your bank’s returns on savings. The digital savings and investment platform provides a seamless avenue for individuals to build wealth. Users are provided with a guaranteed income stream and fixed growth over a set period, as well as a hedge against market volatility, the ability to secure loans against account balances, and the convenience of transferring the annuity to a spouse

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 Aduragbemi Omiyale Those who applied to be given licence to operate in the country as a Bureaux De Change (BDC) operator but now have their applications cancelled can now come forward to reclaim their capital deposits and licencing fees. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in a circular issued on Wednesday, disclosed that promoters of these BDCs should write a letter requesting to receive the refund. On Tuesday, the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, had announced that the apex bank would no longer issue new licences to BDC operators, noting that those who have already applied would be rejected.

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has said it was doing everything within its power to implement the World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade facilitation agreement by 2025. This was disclosed by Mr Niyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, who also said Nigeria was well-prepared to do this with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as policies and initiatives are being implemented by the central government. Mr Adebayo made this known at the Second Pakistan-Africa Trade Development Conference and Single Country Exhibition on Tuesday in Lagos. He further said the implementation of the AfCFTA would redefine trade relations

Call vetting firm, Truecaller, has announced the global launch of its Truecaller SDK solution exclusively for the mobile web platform. With this, Truecaller SDK now supports all the key mobile platforms across Android, iOS, React and now mobile web including Progressive Web App support. Developers can access the mWeb SDK from Truecaller’s global developer portal. Across emerging markets like India and Africa, mobile web based experiences on smart phones are proving to be the first point of discovery for users trying to access products and services online. One of the key challenges in these markets has been to on-board users

**Gets N100bn from CBN By Adedapo Adesanya The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has supported projects undertaken by Nigerian and Africa’s richest person, Mr Alike Dangote, with N100 billion. The Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, disclosed this on Saturday when he inspected the sites of Dangote Refinery, Petrochemicals Complex Fertiliser Plant and Subsea Gas Pipeline at Ibeju Lekki, Lagos. He explained that the intervention was to support Nigerian business. He further said that the first shipment of Urea from the Dangote Fertiliser Plant would begin in March to help boost agriculture in the country. In addition, the nation’s

By Michael Onuorah With a population of over 200 million people, Nigeria is undoubtedly one of the most populous countries in the world, accounting for half of the population of West Africa. While the country has the largest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, with agriculture being the largest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), access to electricity is faced with a myriad of challenges, including infrastructure constraints, insufficient end-user tariffs, unstable supply, among others. In a bid to tackle these challenges and promote efficiency in the area of operations in the power industry, the Nigerian government unbundled the Power Holding

By Dipo Olowookere Leading Nigerian indigenous oil and gas company listed on both the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), Seplat Petroleum Development Company (Seplat) Plc, has announced the successful pricing of its $350 million senior notes due for 2023 offered at 9.25 percent. The firm, in a statement issued yesterday, explained that the “notes will be issued by the company and guaranteed by certa in of its subsidiaries. In the statement signed by its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mr Roger Brown, the gross proceeds of the notes would be “used to repay and cancel existing

By Adedapo Adesanya The United Kingdom government has reiterated promises to boost investment in sustainable industries in Nigeria and other African countries, with such plans to support the Nigerian e-mobility platform and electric vehicle assembler, MAX Nigeria. This was the point of call as the UK Foreign Secretary, Mr James Cleverly, visited the company, which has gained support from the UK government-funded Manufacturing Africa programme. MAX has raised $31 million to ramp up the assembly of electric two- and three-wheelers, and with the visit, the e-mobility firm is now gearing up for a third capital raise to fund its expansion

By Dipo Olowookere Treasury bills yields depreciated at the secondary market on Tuesday in the absence of the sale of the debt instrument by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) via the Open Market Operations (OMO). It was observed that the market was relatively bullish yesterday amid buoyant liquidity in the system as market players await the mopping up of the excess cash through the usual OMO auction. The market also finished in the day as a result of a renewed demand in the secondary treasury bills market. At the close of transactions, the yields fell across the four tenors