Unity Bank Picks CBN Development Finance Award

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 Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian bank, Union Bank, alongside energy company, Riverside LNG of Nigeria, have signed different agreements that involve a $500 million renewable energy pact and gas export between Nigerian and German entities. Union Bank and DWS Group signed a pact on cooperation in renewable energy while Riverside LNG of Nigeria and Johannes Schuetze Energy Import AG of Germany on the gas export partnership. President Bola Tinubu witnessed the signing of the two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in Berlin, Germany, at the 10th German-Nigerian Business Forum, according to Mr Ajuri Ngelale, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Head of Partnerships at Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Ms Omolara Osunsoko, has posited that any economy that intends to flourish must do everything possible to support business owners, especially those in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector. The banker said this at a webinar organised to inform participants of a seamless payment experience for business owners through the enhanced Enterprise Online (EOL) payment platform. At the event themed Simplifying Payments for Businesses, the company unveiled EOL 2.0, an upgraded solution created to facilitate a smooth payment experience and improve human resources (HR) services for business

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira appreciated by 0.17 per cent or 67 kobo against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Thursday to close at the rate of N394/$1 in contrast to N394.67/$1 it was sold previously. The strengthening of the local currency was boosted by FX liquidity in the market as authorised dealers had enough to meet the rising FX needs of their customers. According to details of the transactions recorded at the window, the turnover for the rose by 9.6 per cent or $19.26 million as trades worth

By Dipo Olowookere President of The Africa Center in New York City, Halima Aliko Dangote, is organising a fundraising as part of her major responsibility of raising capital for the centre. The goal is to raise funds to complete the center building in New York. For this year, three fundraising events have been lined up to achieve this and one would be hosted in Nigeria by the Aliko Dangote Foundation on March 23 at the Eko Hotels & Suite, Victoria Island, Lagos. The Africa Center in New York City is a non-profit, multidisciplinary institution that provides a gateway for engagement

By Dipo Olowookere Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has signed an agreement with a leading rice-mill producer in the world based in Switzerland, Bühler AG, for the acquisition of a 32 tonnes per hour Rice Mill to be located in Imota, Ikorodu and requiring 32,000 hectares of land for cultivation of rice paddy. The deal was signed on Friday in Zurich, Switzerland, where the Governor led a team of the State Executive Committee members to. Mr Ambode, who spoke shortly after the signing ceremony, said the development was in furtherance of his vision of enhancing food security and creating

By Adedapo Adesanya After losing more than 3 per cent on Tuesday, the oil market extended losses in the midweek as prices fell further following fears that more aggressive US interest rate hikes would pressure economic growth. Brent crude futures were down 63 cents or 0.8 per cent to $82.66 per barrel, as US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped 92 cents or 1.2 per cent to $76.66 a barrel. Both oil benchmarks had dropped to their lowest in months on Tuesday after comments by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that the central bank would likely need to

If you’re familiar with forex dealing, you’ve also come across the word scalping. It is also known as scalp dealing. It’s a trading technique in which customers benefit from minor fluctuations in futures markets. Functional analysis, such as the MACD, and candlestick tables, are primarily used in its implementation.  This is now standard procedure for cryptocurrency traders. The aim of this approach is to make money fast, but the issue that keeps coming up is how it works for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. We’ll go into the specifics of how crypto scalping operates and how you can use it to your

By Modupe Gbadeyanka WorldRemit, to mark the 10th anniversary of ground-breaking mobile money service M-PESA, has released new data showing that the Kenyan diaspora is the biggest sender of digital remittances to mobile accounts. Transfers to mobile money accounts make up 93 percent of WorldRemit transactions to Kenya now – showing that Kenyans continue to be early adopters of innovative technology, even when abroad. Mobile money has played a key role in the growth of WorldRemit’s Kenyan customer base, attracted by the low price, speed and convenience of sending instant remittances from the app or website directly to a mobile

By Adedapo Adesanya The United Kingdom has announced that it will invest up to £20 million in the African Union’s new Africa anti-COVID 19 Fund to tackle coronavirus on the continent. The UK embassy, in a statement issued on Thursday, said that the fund would tackle the pandemic by recruiting African health experts and deploying them where they are needed most. The announcement brings the total UK aid contribution to fighting coronavirus to £764 million. The UK aid covers needs such as finding a vaccine, providing vital humanitarian relief, feeding the world’s poorest people, strengthening global healthcare systems and managing

By Dipo Olowookere No fewer that 10.2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in 2018 in north-eastern Nigeria. More than half are women and girls. Children make up 63 percent of those needing assistance. The most acute humanitarian needs are concentrated in Borno State, and areas bordering Borno in Adamawa and Yobe States, where the crisis shows no sign of abating, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has disclosed. WHO noted that to continue providing basic health services, while looking to rebuild north-eastern Nigeria’s health system, the health sector is seeking $109.5 million to help 5.1 million people in