Economy
Ecobank Loses N52.6b in 2016 as Customer Deposits Drop 18%
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The year 2016 was really a challenging one for Ecobank Transnational Incorporate (ETI) going by its audited financial results released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today.
In the financial statements analysed by Business Post, it was observed that the N221.7 billion impairment charges dragged Ecobank to a loss after tax of N52 billion, as against a profit after tax of N21.25 billion in 2015.
Also, the firm’s loss before tax stood at N33.7 billion in 2016 compared with a profit before tax of N40.5 billion it achieved 12 months earlier.
However, Ecobank took a decision to completely clean its books of non-performing risk assets in its legacy loan portfolio, making a provision of N221.7 billion in its 2016 audited accounts.
The impairment charges, showed a jump of 110.7 percent compared with N105.2 billion recorded in 2015.
Ecobank said in the results that it recorded a growth of 22.3 percent in gross earnings to N665 billion in 2016, from N542.7 billion in 2015.
Net interest income similarly rose by 25.3 percent to N284 billion, from N226.6 billion in 2015. Profit before impairment charges stood at N188 billion, up from N146 billion.
The company said deposits from customers dragged down by 18 percent to $13.5 billion in the year under review, while its total assets depreciated by 13 percent to $20.5 billion.
Commenting on the results, the Group Chief Executive Officer of ETI, Mr Ade Ayeyemi said the firm’s revenues remained resilient despite a tough year of macro- economic headwinds including a weaker economic environment, particularly in Nigeria, and the “strengthening of our reporting currency, the US Dollar, against all African currencies particularly the Nigerian Naira where 40 percent of the Group’s revenues have historically been generated.”
He said further that, “Separately, our end of year bottom line performance has been impacted by our voluntary adoption of a full impairment charge regarding our legacy loan portfolio, for which a resolution vehicle was set up, the first private sector funded resolution vehicle of its kind in Nigeria, with the sole objective of ring-fencing the legacy loans from Nigeria’s core bank.
“This, among others, would allow management to focus on delivering results. Our business philosophy was founded on international best practice in terms of accounting and asset quality, so whilst the impairment charge has impacted our earnings, our accounting treatment has been for the right reasons and we are in better shape for the future as a result.”
While assuring that stakeholders that the group has strengthened its entire risk management architecture, he said the bank would also focus on bringing down impairment cost, improve the collection so that the bottom line would be robust going forward.
Mr Ayeyemi disclosed that the funds proposed $400 million convertible bond issue will be used sensibly and profitably, of which $200 million would be used to repay the short-term financing used in setting up the resolution vehicle.
“The remaining $200 million is for a conscious debt restructure of the maturity profile of the ETI Holdco balance sheet.
“We are delighted to have very high subscription levels to the issue from existing shareholders, in the region of $300 million. The conversion price of the offer is 6 USD cents compared to a current price of 3 USD cents with an interest rate of 6.46 per cent above LIBOR.
“Good businesses should always match operational expansion with cost control, and this is a fundamental belief of ours which we practise.
“We maintain our cautious stance on lending in this challenging period, but will continue to implement a number of exciting new customer initiatives such as our pan-African banking app and leveraging our blue-chip partnerships to benefit our customers across 40 countries.
“As the gateway to global trade finance in Africa, the role we are playing at the centre of the intra-Africa trade and cash management for governments, corporate clients, suppliers and distributors will benefit the economies in which we operate and consequently the income of Ecobank,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) says the rollout of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) will strengthen tax compliance, curb revenue leakages and improve transparency in tax administration as it moves to fully digitise the country’s tax system.
The Project Lead for the NRS e-Invoicing Project, Mr Mohammed Bawa, stated this at the DigiTax E-Invoicing Compliance Breakfast Session held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The event, organised by DigiTax, an NRS-accredited e-invoicing platform, formed part of efforts to support the agency’s ongoing education and sensitisation campaign on the e-invoicing mandate.
Mr Bawa said the initiative aligns with global trends in tax digitisation and is expected to help improve Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains one of the lowest in Africa.
According to him, the system will provide the NRS with greater visibility into transactions across sectors, formalise activities within the informal economy and standardise invoice formats nationwide using globally recognised invoice schemas.
He added that e-invoicing would improve operational efficiency for both businesses and tax authorities while supporting the NRS’ transition from manual and electronic tax administration processes to a fully automated system-to-system interaction model.
Mr Bawa noted that the legal framework for implementation is backed by the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, which prescribes penalties for non-compliance.
He disclosed that the NRS has completed onboarding large taxpayers and is preparing to enforce compliance with defaulting entities.
According to him, medium taxpayers are expected to begin compliance in the third quarter of 2026, while onboarding of emerging taxpayers will commence in 2027, with full adoption targeted for all taxpayers by the end of 2028.
Mr Bawa urged taxpayers yet to be onboarded onto the platform to begin the process and work with accredited service providers to ensure compliance.
On his part, Country Director of DigiTax Nigeria, Mr Olumide Akinsola, urged businesses to look beyond their internal systems and assess the compliance status of suppliers and counterparties.
He warned that businesses whose suppliers fail to transmit invoices through the MBS platform risk losing eligibility to claim Value Added Tax (VAT) input credits on such transactions, describing the resulting supply chain exposure as a significant commercial risk that many organisations have yet to quantify.
Mr Akinsola also announced the launch of DigiTax’s white paper, The State of E-Invoicing Readiness in Nigeria, which examines compliance adoption trends and the readiness gap across different taxpayer segments.
He added that DigiTax operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), noting that experience from those markets shows businesses that integrate early are better positioned to avoid disruptions when enforcement begins.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The names of about 100,000 companies registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are about to be deleted for inactivity, especially for failing to file their annual tax returns, Business Post reports.
This information was disclosed by the CAC via a notice signed by its management on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
The list contains organisations like the Nigeria-Poland Chamber of Trade Invest Ltd, Alariwo of Afrika Ltd, Ovation Sports International, First Union Pension Fund Administrators, Investopedia Limited, Baptist High School Abuja Ltd, and Yobe Aluminium Manufacturing Industries Ltd, amongst others.
In the statement, the commission said its decision to strike off the names of the affected firms from the register aligns with the provisions of Section 692(3) (3) and (4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020.
However, the affected companies can still salvage the situation by filing all outstanding annual returns and regularising their records within 90 days.
“Please note that companies that fail to comply within the stipulated timeline shall be struck off the register without further notice,” it declared, expressing its continued commitment to providing prompt and efficient registration and regulatory services to the satisfaction of its valued customers.
See the full list below:
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange gained 1.75 per cent on Wednesday, July 15, pushing the NASD Security Index (NSI) up by 74.20 points to 4,316.51 points from 4,242.31 points, as the market capitalisation added N44.54 billion to finish at N2.590 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N2.546 trillion.
During the session, there was an 11.5 per cent rise in the value of transactions at midweek to N72.7 million from the preceding session’s N65.2 million, as there was a 3.7 per cent growth in the number of deals to 28 deals from the previous session’s 27 deals, while the volume of securities slumped by 64.5 per cent to 4.9 million units from 13.7 million units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended as the most active security by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, with the second spot occupied by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc after selling 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and the third position was taken by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which exchanged 74.3 million units for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with a turnover of 3.4 billion units traded for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units sold for N415.7 million.
Business Post reports that the market breadth index was negative yesterday, as there were two price gainers and three price losers.
11 Plc added N22.36 to its value to close at N250.00 per share versus N227.64 per share, and CSCS Plc improved by N7.95 to N90.35 per unit from N82.40 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N1.37 to end at N150.00 per share versus N151.37 per share, UBN Property Plc depreciated by 6 Kobo to N1.75 per unit from N1.81 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc dropped 1 Kobo to close at N2.49 per share versus N2.50 per share.
