Banking
Wema Bank to Begin Rights Issue in Q3, As HY Earnings Jump 49%
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Wema Bank Plc has confirmed that it will begin the process of raising fresh funds through the rights issue in the third quarter of 2023.
A rights issue is the process of sourcing capital from existing shareholders by offering them the opportunity to acquire additional shares of the company at a specified price.
The Managing Director of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, while commenting on the financial performance of the lender in the first half of this year, said the company was confident about raising funds from the beginning of next month, especially because of improved stability in the operating environment.
In the period under review, Wema Bank showcased strong performance as it doubled its profitability and gross earnings.
In the results, the commercial bank improved its gross earnings on a year-on-year basis by 49 per cent to N89.09 billion from N59.59 billion in the first half of last year.
It was observed that the interest income was up by 53 per cent to N76.11 billion from N49.75 billion in the same period of 2022, as the non-interest income grew by 32 per cent to N12.98 billion from N9.85 billion.
As for the bottom line of the results, the profit before tax was up by 97 per cent to N12.05 billion from N6.13 billion, as the post-tax profit went up by 97 per cent to N10.48 billion from N5.30 billion.
Business Post reports that the bank grew its deposit year to date by 19 per cent as of H1 2023 to N1.393 trillion from the N1.166 trillion reported in FY 2022, as loans and advances grew by 20 per cent to N627.01 billion in H1 2023 from N521.43 billion in FY, 2022.
“Our H1 2023 results saw significant upsides with profit before and after tax growing strongly by about 97 per cent.
“The management team at Wema Bank is focused on driving the execution of our current corporate strategy.
“Our embrace of technology is helping us deliver seamless best-in-class services while offering compelling value propositions to customers. Hence, we are seeing record-breaking returns across the board.
“Finally, we continue to see improvements in our corporate, commercial, and retail businesses as evidenced by our strong loan growth,” Mr Oseni said.
“It has been a good half-year performance for Wema Bank, with gross earnings growing by 49% year on year and earnings per share at 163.0 kobo.
“In addition, our cost-to-income ratio at 72.71 per cent has witnessed significant improvement from the previous period.
”We have also succeeded in making Wema Bank an integral part of the Fintech ecosystem in Nigeria with our ubiquitous fintech infrastructure support play,” he added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An initiative known as Nigeria Lightning Rounds, designed to expand funding opportunities for Nigerian startups and small businesses by connecting founders with local and international investors, has been launched by ProvidusUnity Bank, in partnership with US-based global venture firm and accelerator, gener8tor.
Scheduled to be held on July 15, 2026, Nigeria Lightning Rounds will feature carefully selected startups engaging with targeted investors who have expressed interest in supporting Nigerian innovation.
Participating founders will have the opportunity to pitch their businesses through focused 15-minute virtual sessions facilitated by gener8tor and ProvidusUnity Bank’s networks.
The program will focus on high-growth sectors including fintech, healthtech, manufacturing, sustainability, and AI, but welcomes SMEs from all industries, with intending participants urged to apply via https://www.gener8tor.com/lightning-rounds/nigeria.
“We recognise that access to capital remains one of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Through our partnership with gener8tor, we are creating a platform that connects promising Nigerian founders with investors who can provide the support required to scale their businesses,” the Head of Business Development at ProvidusUnity Bank, Mr Ernest Elue, stated.
“The partnership reinforces ProvidusUnity Bank’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by supporting innovation, enabling access to opportunities, and creating pathways for businesses with high-growth potential,” he added.
Also commenting, the Director of Lightning Rounds at gener8tor, Ms Elizabeth Larios, said, “gener8tor is thrilled to partner with ProvidusUnity Bank to extend the Lightning Rounds model into Nigeria.
“This collaboration reflects our commitment to building equitable ecosystems and driving capital to the most promising and underrepresented entrepreneurs.”
Lightning Rounds are a signature initiative of gener8tor’s investment platform, which has facilitated thousands of investor-startup meetings globally. The format is optimised to eliminate friction, reduce bias in early-stage fundraising, and help founders secure capital from investors aligned with their mission and stage. gener8tor’s previous Lightning Rounds for Nigerian Founders in 2025 featured 18 participating Investors and led to 50 investment meetings facilitated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The verification of the depositors of the 46 microfinance banks, whose operating licenses were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over a week ago, has commenced.
The exercise, aimed at refunding those whose funds were trapped in the small lenders, is being conducted by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
In a statement on Thursday, the agency said its staff members have been positioned at the offices of the affected banks across the country to attend to depositors.
It was disclosed that depositors of the defunct banks, who had their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) linked to their accounts in the failed banks, will be paid through their alternative accounts in existing banks.
However, depositors whose BVNs were not linked to their accounts in the failed banks have been encouraged to visit the affected banks’ offices with proof of account ownership, a passport photograph, verifiable means of identification (Driver’s Licence, Permanent Voter’s Card, International Passport or National ID Card) and BVN.
NDIC also stated that depositors can alternatively file their claims online through its website: www.ndic.gov.ng, to complete the Pre-Verification Claims Form by clicking on the Search Bar, and typing Pre-Verification Claims Form; opening the Form and filling in their details. They can also do so by clicking the link: https://ndic.gov.ng/ndic-pre-verification-claims-form/ or by visiting any of the NDIC offices closest to them to file their claims.
For further enquiries, the corporation can be reached on any of the following lines: 09037273810, 09038197064, 08104220807, 09064657140.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s Bank Verification Number (BVN) enrolment has slowed significantly in 2026 following the introduction of a stricter regulatory framework by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the latest data from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) showing that registrations are on course to fall well below last year’s record.
The BVN database stood at 69.55 million as of July 5, 2026, up from 69.32 million in June, indicating that only 228,947 new registrations were recorded over the period. Since the end of 2025, when the database stood at 67.8 million, total enrolments have increased by 1.75 million.
At the current pace, however, BVN registrations are unlikely to match the 4.3 million new enrolments recorded in 2025, suggesting a sharp deceleration in growth this year.
The slowdown comes after the CBN introduced a revised BVN regulatory framework in March, with the new rules taking effect on May 1, 2026. The framework tightened controls around enrolment, identity verification and fraud monitoring as part of efforts to strengthen the integrity of the banking system.
Among the key changes was the introduction of a minimum enrolment age of 18 years, effectively preventing minors from registering for a BVN.
The new framework also limits customers to a one-time change of the phone number linked to their BVN and requires financial institutions to place BVNs linked to suspected fraudulent transactions on a temporary watch-list for up to 24 hours while investigations are carried out.
The stricter rules contrast with last year’s surge in registrations, which was largely driven by the introduction of the Non-Resident Bank Verification Number (NRBVN) initiative that enabled Nigerians in the diaspora to complete BVN enrolment remotely, removing physical barriers and expanding access to the financial system.
Launched on February 14, 2014, the BVN scheme was introduced by the CBN in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee, NIBSS and German technology firm Dermalog to assign every bank customer a unique biometric identity that can be verified across Nigeria’s banking industry.
