Banking
Wema Bank Grows Gross Earnings By 16.36% In Q3 2016
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Despite the harsh operating environment and economic situation in Nigeria, Wema Bank has continued to record a quantum growth. This has made it one of the most trusted financial institutions in the country.
Some have attributed this to the leadership style of its Managing Director, Mr Segun Oloketuyi, who since assuming office, has repositioned the bank into a dependable brand. No wonder the Bank of Uganda was in Nigeria to learn from Wema Bank few weeks ago.
In its unaudited financial results for the nine months ended September 30, 2016, Wema Bank’s gross earnings grew by 16.36 percent to N37.89 billion from N32.57 billion it recorded in the same period last year.
In the results obtained by Business Post, the bank showed a modest improvement in operating indices.
This is despite the domestic environment remaining largely strained.
Nigeria’s August 2016 manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMI data showed underperformance(s) at 42.1 index points and 43.7 index points respectively.
Also, inflation maintained an upward trend from 17.6% (August 2016) to 17.9% (September 2016), though at a slower pace (May – September 2016), as rising interest rate and foreign exchange illiquidity continue to impact prices.
But in all these, Wema Bank maintained its commitment to innovation, introducing *945# and other digital initiatives.
These efforts continue to engender confidence with the bank’s customers, leading to a growth in savings deposits by 18.10% from N35.58 billion as at December 2015 to N42.02 billion as at the end of the period.
The bank optimized its balance sheet, as loans to customers rose by 20.78% to N177.01 billion with interest income expanding by 20.12 percent to N31.93 billion compared to last year while fees and commission increased by 16.79 percent to N4.41 billion.
Explaining how the bank was able to record successes despite the odds, MD/CEO of Wema Bank, Mr Segun Oloketuyi, explained that, “the streamlining of our processes and the leverage on technology led to improving efficiencies and cost optimisation, with operating expense declining by 1.77% Y-o-Y from N17.49 billion in September 2015 to N17.18 billion in September 2016 compared to a general inflation level of 17.9%.”
Mr Oloketuyi noted that, “We will continue to seek opportunities to improve our cost-to-serve through alternative channels and continued strategic improvements of our business model without compromising our service quality.”
“Our prudent risk management model continues to enable us deal with the industry-wide spikes in loan defaults and attendant rise in Non-Performing Loans (NPL).
“The NPL ratio for the Bank stood at 2.99% as at Q3’16 which is below the regulatory threshold of 5%. The coverage ratio for the Bank remained adequate at 124.82%,” he added.
“Going into the final quarter of the year, we do not envisage any material improvement in the operating environment,” he submitted, noting that, “Rather, we expect the gains of the fiscal and monetary policies to impact between Q1 & Q2’ 2017.”
“However, we believe we would close the year with improved performance,” he expressed optimism.
Mr Oloketuyi also declared that, “We are pleased to announce that we just concluded a Tier II capital raise of N20 billion.”
“This will boost our Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), currently at 13.36% (pre-capital raise) and supporting our medium term growth plan. More information will be provided once we obtain final regulatory approval,” he explained.
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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