Banking
Tinubu’s Reforms Will ‘Favour’ Nigerian Banking Industry—Agusto
By Adedapo Adesanya
Pan-African credit rating agency, Agusto & Co. Limited, has said the Nigerian banking industry has continued to be resilient despite the raging macroeconomic and regulatory headwinds that have constrained performance in the last three years.
In its 2023 Nigerian Banking Industry Report seen by Business Post, the agency said the reforms being instituted by the administration of President Bola Tinubu would provide growth for the industry.
The 2023 edition of the annual report provides a comprehensive review of Nigeria’s banking industry and the near-term expectations and outlook for the Industry.
The firm said the new administration has implemented several reforms aimed at reversing prevailing macroeconomic imbalances and believes that the reforms, including the removal of the petrol subsidy, exchange rate harmonisation, tax reforms, and restoration of a methodological framework for calculating the cash reserve requirements (CRR) provide growth opportunities for the industry.
It said, “For instance, we believe many banks will take advantage of rising liquidity following the eradication of arbitrary CRR debits to grow the loan book, especially since the working capital needs of businesses continue to rise given the weakening domestic currency and other inflationary pressures.”
Agusto projected that the banking industry would benefit significantly from the Naira depreciation that followed the move to harmonise the various exchange windows, reporting significant foreign exchange gains.
“Agusto & Co. anticipates a 520 basis points increase in the return on equity to 26.8 per cent. However, the industry is not entirely insulated from the vagaries of the Nigerian economy, and we expect inflationary pressures to bloat operating expenses in the near term,” the agency stated.
Agusto noted that the bank’s loan book rose by 27 per cent in FY 2022, spurred by increased activities at the differentiated cash reserve requirement (D-CRR) window, higher deposit base, and Naira devaluation.
“Banks have backed this growth with additional investment in credit risk management and capital raising exercises,” it noted.
Agusto said it also expects that new loan disbursements will largely flow to traditional sectors, including manufacturing, oil and gas, and general commerce, amongst others, and resilient players given the volatile operating terrain. Nascent sectors such as renewable energy, health, and gender-based businesses will also continue to gain, the report said.
It noted that innovation carried out by banks, as reflected in the transition to the financial holding company structure and upscale of banking licenses by some players, have upheld the industry.
It called for more collaboration between traditional banks with financial technology companies (Fintechs) and domestic and international development finance institutions (DFIs), among other partnerships that have also supported the Nigerian banking industry.
However, some pressures in asset quality are expected, considering the lower consumer purchasing power and dwindling margins of some industries.
Despite this, Agusto & Co. expects the non-performing loan ratio to remain below 5 per cent by the end of 2023 as many banks leverage their past experiences from recessions and the pandemic to navigate this stressed cycle.
Agusto’s financial projection for the Nigerian banking industry is generally positive. However, it cautioned that “we recognise that the industry will face emerging risks from policy reforms, and the ability to respond swiftly will determine the winners and the losers.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.
The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.
The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.
They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.
They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.
The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.
In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.
The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.
After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.
“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.
“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.
“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.
“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.
“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.
This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.
“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”
Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.
He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.
“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.
“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.
A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.
It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.
The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.
Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.
He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.
Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.
He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.
He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.
At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.
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