Banking
Quality of Our Past Decisions Strategically Positioned us to Thrive—GTBank
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The chief executive of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc, Mr Segun Agbaje, has attributed the strong performance of the lender in the first half of the year to the quality of the past decisions made by the board and management of the company.
He said this while commenting on the audited financial statements of GTBank released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) last week.
In the period, the bank further strengthened its position as one of the best managed financial institutions in Africa as it closed the half-year ended June 2020 with total assets of N4.511 trillion and shareholders’ funds of N720.9 billion.
The loan book grew by 8.1 per cent from N1.502 trillion recorded as at December 2019 to N1.624 trillion in June 2020 and customer deposits increased by 18.5 per cent to N3.001 trillion from N2.533 trillion in December 2019.
However, the profit before tax reduced by 5.2 per cent to N109.7 billion from N115.8 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2019.
In terms of asset quality, NPL ratio and Cost of Risk closed at 6.8 per cent and 0.4 per cent in June 2020 from 6.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent in December 2019 respectively.
Overall, asset quality remains stable with adequate coverage of 118.1 per cent, while capital remains strong with CAR of 22.9 per cent.
On the backdrop of this result, Return on Equity (ROAE) and Return on Assets (ROAA) stood at 26.8 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively.
The bank proposed an interim dividend of 30 kobo per ordinary share of 50 kobo each for the period ended June 30, 2020.
“These are undoubtedly tough and trying times for people, businesses and economies the world over. Our financial performance in the first half of the year reflects the quality of our past decisions which have broadened our earnings and strategically positioned us to thrive, thus far, through the current global health and economic crises.
“Underpinning this financial performance is our commitment to being there for our customers and the communities we serve, and over the past six months we have lent the full weight of our franchise to safeguarding the lives and livelihoods of our staff and customers by leading from the front in the fight to curtail the COVID-19 outbreak and offering grace periods on loans to our small business customers,” Mr Agbaje said on the results.
He further stated that, “Going forward, our focus is not just to survive this pandemic, but to thrive beyond it. That is why we are going ahead with our plans to reimagine how we create value for all our stakeholders.
“We know that making financial services work for customers goes beyond banking, and in line with our long-term strategy, we will seek to create and drive innovative financial solutions that go beyond banking.”
GTBank has continued to report the best financial ratios for a financial institution in the industry with a Return on Equity (ROE) of 26.8 per cent and cost to income ratio of 43.2 per cent.
Renowned for its forward-thinking approach to financial services and customer engagement, GTBank was recently ranked Africa’s Most Admired Finance Brand in the 10th-anniversary rankings of Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands, the pre-eminent survey and ranking of the Top 100 admired brands in Africa.
The bank was also awarded the Best Bank in Nigeria by Euromoney Magazine for a record-extending tenth time and the Euromoney Excellence in Leadership Africa Award for its swift reaction in responding to the COVID-19 crisis and for addressing the impact of the pandemic on its customers and communities.
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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