UBA to Facilitate Trade, Investment Between America, Africa

By Adedapo Adesanya One of Africa’s biggest financial institutions, Access Bank, is close to finalizing a regulatory process to launch its first full banking service in Asia in the first quarter of 2024. This was disclosed by the chief executive of its holding company, Mr Herbert Wigwe, on the sidelines of the Africa Financial Industry Summit in Lomé, Togo, as per Semafor. The Nigerian lender’s plan to enter the Asian market is part of a wider global expansion target which includes a strategy to expand more deeply into Francophone Africa, build closer ties with North Africa, and across Europe where

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A partnership for the deployment of a patronage reward product has been entered into between Unity Bank Plc and Cashtoken, a cash reward-as-a-service company that operates a loyalty programme designed to power customer engagement and improve customer satisfaction. This collaboration will see the bank’s customers winning millions of Naira in cash rewards and guaranteed instant cashback. A statement issued by Unity Bank said this scheme provides an opportunity to migrate old and new customers to a platform that will continually create exciting rewards and appreciation for loyalty. It said this initiative would not only reward existing customers

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 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   Social media marketing is expected to weather the impending downturn just as economists around the world are warning that a recession is looming. According to marketing expert and CEO of the AMD Consulting group, Mr Assil Dayri, as the world moves toward more significant economic uncertainty, influencer marketing will remain a key differentiator for brands. The latest social trends reports predict that social media will top marketing budgets in 2023 as marketers turn to new strategies like a TikTok marketing strategy. Business plans already consider the imminent recession, and the marketing and social media sectors would

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria will maintain its position as one of Africa’s leading crude oil producers as well as one of the continent’s top three gas suppliers between 2022 and 2025, according to the Q1 2022 Outlook of the African Energy Chamber (AEC). It also said this will provide an opportunity for the West African country to leverage its energy resources for economic growth while addressing global energy demand. Nigeria represents one of Africa’s heavyweights when it comes to hydrocarbon exploration and production with over 36 billion barrels of oil and 200 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the country

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Friday, with stocks likely to add to the gains posted in the previous session. Continued strength in the financial sector may push the markets higher after most of the nation?s largest banks passed the Federal Reserve?s annual stress test. Financial giants such as Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C), and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) have subsequently announced billions of dollars in stock buybacks and raised their quarterly dividends. Strength in the overseas markets may also generate early buying interest on Wall Street despite lingering trade concerns. After

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Nedbank has reduced its stake in the sub-Saharan financial institution, Ecobank from 4 billion rand ($308 million) from 7.8 billion rand, the South African lender said in a statement issued on Tuesday. Ecobank Transnational Inc’s operations in central and west Africa are exposed to some economies that have been pressured by the commodity price slide and unfavourable currency swings since Nedbank bought a 20 percent stake for $500 million in 2014. The South African firm booked a $293 million writedown on the value of its stake in Ecobank on Tuesday and reported its slowest growth in annual

By Adedapo Adesanya A day after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) quietly devalued the Nigerian Naira at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market, the local currency traded flat on Friday. On Thursday, the domestic currency was devalued to N435.00/$1 from the preceding session’s value of N415.00/$1, indicating a change by N20 or 4.82 per cent against the United States Dollar. At the investors’ window yesterday, which was the last trading session of the year, the Naira traded flat against the American currency at N435.00/$1. During the session, the value of transactions depreciated by

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, has disclosed that the state-oil firm has embarked on properly and professional exploration of all inland basins in the country including the Sokoto basin. According to him, the NNPC has already procured aeromagnetic data on the Sokoto basin from the Nigerian Geophysical Survey as well as awarded contract for the mapping and procurement of apt samples to further the understanding of the area. Dr Baru informed that the NNPC has contracted its subsidiary, Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL), to carry out various geochemistry investigations