Stanbic IBTC Annual Shareholders’ Gathering Holds May 27

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Zenith Bank Plc has taken a huge step to establish a subsidiary in France, and to make this a reality, it has sealed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the French government. The Chairman of the company, Mr Jim Ovia, confirmed that the lender may commence operations in the European nation next year, though it is working hard to secure a banking licence. This will add to other countries Zenith Bank has presence in, including Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and a Representative Office in China. Speaking at a signing ceremony on Friday, November 24, 2023, Mr

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A Nigerian lender, Fidelity Bank Plc, has agreed to adopt the single framework for a sustainable banking industry developed through collaboration between banks worldwide and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). Called the UN Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB), the initiative is a structure for ensuring that banks’ strategy and practices align with the vision society has set out for its future in the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. Banks which have signed the principles commit to being ambitious in their sustainability strategies, working to mainstream and embed sustainability into

By Adedapo Adesanya The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has alerted Nigerians of unauthorised bank withdrawals linked to Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card swap fraud. The commission issued the alert on Monday in a statement by the Head of Media and Publicity, Mr Dele Oyewale. According to the EFCC, fraudsters engaged in this activity typically keep a debit card from the same bank and, under the guise of assisting a confused bank customer at an ATM point, swiftly swap the card while memorising the PIN used with fake cards. “These cards get stuck in the machine due to a

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 Dipo Olowookere As part of its commitment to align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), a market leader in home solar systems in Nigeria, Lumos, has entered into a partnership with Hinckley Recycling for the recycling of its batteries. Lumos, which makes reliable and clean power accessible to many consumers, including low-income earners, said it took this step because of its importance to a sustainable battery supply chain. Batteries are vital for delivering clean, reliable energy access because they enable off-grid users to optimize the consumption of solar/wind energy; and support increased reliability of power for users

By Dipo Olowookere The chief executive officer of Loatsad Promo Media Limited, operators of the billboard at the Lekki Toll Plaza in Lagos, Mr Seyi Tinubu, has admitted that his company switched off the lights at the scene of the shooting of innocent and unarmed protesters by soldiers on Tuesday night. Yesterday, Nigerian forces shot at peaceful protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate demanding for a better police and governance in the country. It was believed that several persons were killed and many injured. According to reports, moments before the unfortunate incident, which has been condemned widely worldwide, some persons

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira further weakened against the US Dollar across the major sectors of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Thursday as the country continues to suffer from low forex earnings despite the prices of crude oil going higher at the global market. In the Investors and Exporters (I&E) arm of the forex market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 2.9 per cent or N21.28 against the greenback to sell at N780.00/$1 compared with the previous day’s N758.12/$1. The low FX supply to the spot market took its toll on the local currency as the value of trades surged by

By Dipo Olowookere Guidelines for the Anchors Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) have been released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The CBN’s ABP was established to assist Nigerian farmers as a way of achieving the present government’s diversification goal. Posting the guidelines on its website, the CBN said funding for the programme will be derived from the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF), adding that, “Interest rate under the ABP shall be guided by the rate on the N220 billion MSMEDF, which is currently at 9 percent per annum (all inclusive, pre and post disbursement).” It

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The recent free-fall in the foreign exchange (forex) reserves of Nigeria has continued to be a major source of worry for observers and analysts. Some would have thought that with the rising price of crude oil in the global market, Nigeria, which depends solely on the export of the commodity to earn forex, would have had its external reserves swelling especially with the over $20 it gains for every barrel of crude oil sold. In the 2018 budget, the Africa’s largest economy put its oil benchmark at $50.50 per barrel and the ‘black gold’ sells for over

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The sum of N994.8 million was generated in the month of October 2016 by the Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). During the period, the command also made 68 various seizures with a Duty Paid Value of N35 million. Public Relations officer of the command, Mr Taupyen Salechang, said in a statement on Wednesday that the revenue generated for the month of October exceeded the amount generated in the corresponding year with over N60.8 million. In the statement, Mr Salechang quoted Controller of the command, Mr Victor Dimka to have attributed this to the

By Adedapo Adesanya Vice-President Kashim Shettima has decorated the new Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr Adewale Adeniyi, who replaces Mr Hammed Ali. The VP described his appointment by President Bola Tinubu as a morale booster for officers in the service. The decoration comes a week after his appointment. Mr Tinubu approved the appointment of Mr Adewale as the Acting Comptroller General of Customs, as he removed all the service chiefs he inherited from former President Muhammadu Buhari. Mr Shettima, in a statement on Monday by the Director of Information, Office of the Vice President, Mr Olusola

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has been urged to urgently repair the Celestine Omehia Road in Port Harcourt, the state capital because it would make life meaningful to citizens plying the road. This appeal was made by a non-governmental and advocacy group known as Citizens Quest for Truth Initiative, which visited the place and had talks with some residents of the area. The group said the road, popularly known as SARS Road, is currently in a deplorable condition, affecting the economic activities of the area. In a statement, Citizens Quest said it decided to check the