Category: Equities

Nigeria’s pioneer non-interest bank, Jaiz Bank Plc recorded double-digit growths in incomes and profitability in the first quarter, pulling up its profit beyond the N1 billion mark within the three-month period.

Key extracts of the interim report and accounts of Jaiz Bank for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 showed that gross income rose by 20.5 per cent from N5.991 billion in first quarter 2021 to N7.222 billion in first quarter 2022. Profit before tax leapt to N1.09 billion in first quarter 2022 as against N979.17 million in comparable period of 2021. After taxes, net profit grew by 25.1 per cent to N1.041 billion in first quarter 2022 compared with N832.3 million in first quarter 2021. Earnings per share thus improved from 2.82 kobo to 3.01 kobo.

Jaiz Bank had during the quarter marked its 10 years of operations and growth, with a reassurance to sustain growth and impact more positively on all stakeholders.

Jaiz Bank commenced operations on January 6, 2012 with three branches in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano.

Managing Director, Jaiz Bank Plc, Hassan Usman said that despite paying the huge costs associated with pioneering, the bank was able to break even within the first three years of operation, which was unprecedented at the time.

According to him, from a modest balance sheet size of N12 billion in 2012, the bank closed 2020 financial year at N278 billion and grew all other key performance indices exponentially over the years.

He pointed out that through its unique value proposition, Jaiz Bank has, within a decade, made remarkable impact in empowering women, driving financial inclusion and supporting various strata of businesses in the real sector of the economy, agriculture, real estate, construction, oil and gas and general commerce, among others.

He added that within the 10-year period, the bank was rated by the Islamic International Rating Agency (IIRA), assigning it an investment grade rating of BBB and most recently, the bank also got an upgrade from both Agusto and GCR to BBB and BBB- respectively with stable outlook. Besides, Fitch also did its first rating of the bank and came out at the same impressive level.

He said it was, therefore, not surprising that the bank gained international recognition as it won the Most Improved Islamic Bank award for 2020 and last year consecutively from the Global Islamic Finance Awards (GIFA), among other accolades.

“The journey was much like a roller coaster – you experience some degree of fear at the onset, but subsequently excitement takes over when the carriage takes off and you feel that euphoria of defying the odds of gravity. After the take-off, momentum is gradually gathered and stopping the coaster becomes not an option, the wisest thing to do is making every jerk and movement worthwhile and impactful. That was what we did, we lived every moment, learning from each mistake, supporting our customers through thick and thin while pressing on – despite the absence of essential non-interest banking enablers – to pioneer a nascent sub-sector that is now bourgeoning with players and accolades.

“We are happy to pioneer an industry that was not there; creating confidence for other people to come in; and we believe that we’ve done that very well. The year 2022 is special to us as it marks a decade of progress in our Islamic banking journey and I am extremely fulfilled for the opportunity of leading the team for a larger part of the journey. From a very humble beginning in 2012, the bank has successfully developed a remarkable brand that is iconic both locally and internationally,” Usman said.

He gave glory to Allaah and commended the regulators, customers, board, management, staff and other stakeholders for their tremendous support.

He assured that the bank is poised to leverage on its’ market acceptance and continue to innovate in order to consistently deliver superior customer experience in the dynamic business environment, hence maintaining its clear leadership in the non-interest banking space.

“We remain true to our vision by building the second largest non-interest bank in Sub-Saharan Africa in just 10 years,” Usman said.

In 2021, analysts at Nairametrics adjudged the bank as the fastest growing among the listed banks in Nigeria as well as the 4th most efficient based on return on equity.  The international annual ranking by “The Asian Banker”-a Singapore-based leading provider of strategic intelligence on the financial services industry ranked Jaiz Bank 36th on the world’s strongest Islamic banks as at 2021.

 

Shareholders of Fidelity Bank Plc unanimously approved the payment of a cash dividend of 35 kobo per share to all shareholders whose names appear in the register of members at the close of business on April 22, 2022.

The shareholders who commended the bank’s sterling performance at the 34th annual general meeting (AGM) of the bank held in Lagos also among other things authorised the board of directors “to undertake as it deems appropriate and in accordance with applicable laws, any actions, business combinations or transactions, including but not limited to investment, acquisition, restructuring, capital rasing, expansion or business arrangement required to secure a competitive advantage for the company.”

Mustafa Chike-Obi, Chairman, Fidelity Bank, reassured shareholders that the board and management of the bank would maintain the high corporate governance standard synonymous with Fidelity Bank and also ensure the bank continued in its growth trajectory in the years ahead.

“We will continue to strengthen our enterprise risk management capabilities to ensure the sustainability of our business, while modeling our governance practices to align with international best practice”, said Chike-Obi.

Chike-Obi noted that the last fiscal year was a period of consolidation and growth in our Bank.

“Despite the challenges in the operating environment, we were resolute in the execution of our strategy. We paid particular attention to optimizing our balance sheet and strengthening our risk management structures. We aggressively pursued an automation framework to increase digital footprints and migrate more customers to electronic platforms.

“These initiatives drove the achievement of our performance objectives. PBT increased by 35.7% from N28.05 Billion in the 2020 Financial year to N38.07 Billion in the review period. Deposits grew by 19.2% to close at N2.02 Trillion. Risk Assets rose by 25.1 per cent to close at N1.66 Trillion and Total Assets by 19.3 per cent to N3.29 Trillion. It is important to note that this is the best set of results in our corporate history,” he said.

“Going forward, our business will be driven by technology and innovation. We will optimize current processes through digitization and automation to allow for improved service quality. We will deploy predictive tools to enhance customer experience. In recent times, there has been significant increase in migration of skilled manpower from Nigeria to more developed economies. Consequently, we will institutionalise remote working protocols to enable us attract and retain the best talents.

“In a technology-driven environment, Risk Management is critical. We will continue to strengthen our Enterprise Risk Management capabilities to ensure the sustainability of our business. We will also continue to pay close attention to corporate governance and capital preservation,” he stated further.

Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, Fidelity Bank CEO noted that the digital banking products gained traction during the year driven by new initiatives in the retail lending segment and increased cross-selling of our digital banking products.

“We now have 56 per cent of our customers enrolled on the mobile/internet banking products from 52.8 per cent in 2020, while 90.0 percent of all customer-induced transactions are now done on digital platforms, with 27.5 per cent of fee-based income coming from electronic banking products. In addition, the total value of our Nigerian Inter-bank Payment (NIP) transactions grew by 71.7 per cent, with our market share improving to 5.0 per cent.

“Today, Fidelity Bank is one of the best managed commercial banks in the country and is currently ranked the 6th largest bank in the Nigerian banking industry with a market share of above 5.0 percent across key indices. Our aspiration is to grow your bank’s market share to at least 7.5 per cent across key indices as it evolves into a global financial services brand by driving expansion in new business segments within and beyond the shores of Nigeria,” she said.

Shareholders who spoke at the meeting including Sir Sunny Nwosu, Mr. Nonah Awoh, Mrs. Bisi Bakare, Chief Timothy Adesiyan and Mr. Gbenga Idowu were unanimous in their commendation of the board and management of Fidelity Bank, for the impressive financial performance which have translated to higher dividends for them (shareholders).

The Nasarawa State government is wooing equity investors to takeover joint venture companies and projects it started to jumpstart the state’s economy.

It’s looking to cede controlling shares in projects in agro-processing, real estate and mining industries to make them profitable and help prop revenue, according to an official of the state investment development agency.

The projects include the development and management of Gudi Industrial and Logistics Hub, a real estate on 1,000 hectares, providing a dry port as well as mineral processing and manufacturing facilities to producers. The other is Nasarawa Mining Company or MinCo, established to partner private investors to explore solid minerals including limestone, iron ore, barite, gold, gypsum, kaolin, marble and lead.

“The government is seeking private sector partners to take up controlling equity in all joint ventures” Ibrahim Abdullahi, Managing Director, Nasarawa Investment and Development Agency said in an interview. “We are looking for both domestic and foreign investors that are competent,“ Abdullahi said.

Nasarawa State is joining some other subnationals such as Lagos to tap the private sector to grow local industries to boost internally generated revenue and cushion a shortfall in receipts from the   federal government. “The state is looking to increase internally generated revenue by a half very soon from N20 billion in 2021,” Abdullahi said.

The State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, a former managing director of Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, is hosting an investment summit on May 11 and 12 at the capital, Lafia to present bankable investment opportunities that are market-ready to local and foreign investors.

The summit will feature a “deal room,” or a “matchmaking platform” where investors will access all projects and negotiate their participation with state government officials, Sule said at another forum.

A study has shown that technology-driven remote jobs might be overtaken onsite jobs in remuneration and job satisfaction.

The new study, the latest edition of Global Tech Talent Trends, was conducted by Landing.Jobs and it uncovered  information for tech professionals and companies.

The results were presented yesterday in an all-exclusive and full virtual launch event. The tech startup will also be releasing throughout the rest of the year additional reports focused on specific geographies.

The study counted on more than 6,000 answers worldwide and it delved into topics such as salary, remote work, relocation, most coveted work-from-home countries, career drivers, job perks, programming languages and frameworks.

The study report highlighted that top career drivers were salary and benefits and work-life balance, while the most sought out perks were health benefits and annual bonus. Almost 90 per cent of professionals work full or hybrid remote and around 20 per cent work remotely for a company overseas.

As for salary, not surprisingly tech management roles earn, on average, 1.4 times more than developers, and full office jobs were the most poorly paid at 1.9 times less than full remote jobs. About 51.2 per cent of women had a salary raise in the last year, against 62.6 per cent of men, showing some unchanging disparity.

“As for the actual results within the report, we can see that the tech industry has drastically changed and become global. The world has become almost borderless when it comes to looking for a new tech jobs, and what tech pros value has clearly suffered a shift to accommodate new needs and worries,”  Marketing Specialist, Landing.Jobs, Kemi Vaughan stated.

Landing.Jobs stated that its  mission is to reshape the future of work as it aims at  improving the journey of tech professionals—from landing a job, learning and getting paid, to deciding where to go and when to begin.

“We’re talent-centric career enablers, providing empowering opportunities for our tech talent community while unlocking bureaucracies and networking. We are proud to say we count on a community of more than 200,000 tech professionals and have changed more than 4,000 lives,” the startup stated.

Investors appear to have stronger appetite for corporate bonds as new issuers make successful debuts, raising more than their initial targets.

As against the lull in the initial public offering (IPO) segment of the primary equities market, debt issues by governments and companies have seen recurring success at the capital market.

In a major achievement for the housing sector and new issue segment of the capital market, FSDH Capital Limited, the investment banking and securities trading subsidiary of FSDH Group, demonstrated its capital raising credentials by leading the successful financial close of the N46 billion or $110.7 million Series 1 Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Bond Issuance for Shelter Afrique, a first-time issuer.

The N46 billion maiden issuance is part of N200 billion or $481.3 million bond issuance programme by Shelter Afrique, a pan-African development finance institution  dedicated to providing affordable and adequate housing finance across Africa.

The success of the first issuance is expected to encourage Shelter Afrique to speedily implement the remaining fund raising programme, a pattern already seen with many maiden issuers.

The dual tranche bond issuance was 60.7 per cent oversubscribed with the order book peaking at N64.3 billion or $154.6 million, enabling Shelter Afrique to exercise the ‘green shoe’ option and raise an additional N6 billion or $14.4 million more than the original N40 billion or $96.3 million plan.

FDSH Capital acted as the lead issuing house and played a critical role in ensuring that the transaction achieved successful financial close while ARM Securities Limited, FCMB Capital Markets Limited and United Capital PLC acted as joint issuing houses to the bond issuance.

Managing Director, FSDH Capital Limited, Mr. Tolu Osinibi, said it was pleasant to have advised Shelter Afrique on its successful debut bond issuance in Nigeria’s capital market.

He noted that Shelter Afrique continues to play a pivotal role in housing development across Africa and the success of the bond issuance would encourage other supranational financial institutions to tap Nigeria’s debt capital market for their naira funding needs.

“We thank the investor community for their support on the bond issuance. We also thank the board and management of Shelter Afrique for trusting us with this milestone transaction, and their commitment and dedication throughout the process,” Osinibi said.

He pointed out that the issuance by Shelter Afrique was  the first naira-denominated bond issuance by a supranational organisation in over nine years and the over-subscription clearly reflected strong investor appetite in the Nigeria’s capital market.

Acting Managing Director, Shelter Afrique, Kingsley Muwowo said it was the first time Shelter Afrique was tapping the Nigerian debt capital market and the positive market reception was a clear indication of investor confidence in the organisation’s long-term value proposition for the housing market. “We would like to assure our investors that we shall put the proceeds of the bond issue into good use that will ensure that more value is created for them,” Muwowo said.

He noted that the issuance of the naira-denominated bonds reflects the organisation’s desire to focus on tailor-made, long-term funding solutions for the provision of affordable and adequate housing in Nigeria and across Africa.

The five-year Tranche A bonds priced at 13 per cent and the seven-year Tranche B bonds priced at 13.25 per cent. On the back of an AA rating from GCR Ratings and an A+ rating from Agusto & Co, the bond issuance attracted participation from a diverse range of institutional investors, including pension funds, banks, and insurance companies.

Muwowo said the tenors of the bonds aligned with the institution’s housing finance strategy and long-term plans in Nigeria adding that Shelter Afrique would use the bond proceeds to fund mass housing development by tier 1 real estate developers, and to provide lines of credit.

Other professional parties include Aluko & Oyebode and Banwo & Ighodalo who acted as Solicitors to the Issue/Issuer and Solicitors to the Trustee respectively, United Capital Trustees Limited and CardinalStone Registrars Limited acted as the Trustee and Registrar respectively. The Receiving Banks include FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, Stanbic IBTC PLC and United Bank for Africa PLC.

Shelter Afrique was established by African governments to address the need for a sustainable housing delivery system and related infrastructure projects in Africa. Its shareholders include 44 African countries, the African Development Bank, the African Re-Insurance Corporation, and Fonds de Solidarité Africain (FSA).

 

 

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) yesterday launched its exchange traded derivatives (ETD) market with the listing of two  equity index futures contracts.

The launch of the ETD market saw the listing of two equity index futures contracts, NGX 30 Index Futures and NGX Pension Index Futures, with more securities to be added in the future.

To promote clearing efficiency, stability, and confidence, the Exchange has collaborated with a central counterparty (CCP) in Nigeria, NG Clearing Limited, to provide the clearing infrastructure for NGX derivatives market and its clearing members – Access Bank and Zenith Bank.

The ETDs market will commence with trading activities by the first three stockbrokers – Cardinal Stone Securities Limited, Meristem Securities Limited and APT Securities and Funds Limited – which have been cleared by NGX Regulation Limited to facilitate transactions on behalf of investors on NGX derivatives market.

Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Mr. Temi Popoola, said the launch of the new market segment was  consistent with the Exchange’s commitment to develop the Nigerian capital market by providing a market that thrives on innovation and responds to the needs of stakeholders in accessing and using capital.

He commended the efforts of stakeholders who have successfully driven the completion of the derivatives market since 2014.

“NGX remains committed to building an exchange that can cater to the increasingly sophisticated needs of domestic and foreign investors. A strong pillar in our strategy is to enhance liquidity and expand market capitalisation to the end that we create value for stakeholders, and the introduction of ETDs is a critical step in the right direction. The platform will play an essential role in broadening and deepening the market, adding new impetus to NGX’s leading position as Africa’s preferred exchange hub.

“Our partnership with best in class Central Counterparty, NG Clearing Limited, further engenders confidence in the ETDs market segment amongst market participants, as the clearing infrastructure is capable of reducing systemic risk and enhancing market transparency,” Popoola said.

Chief Executive Officer,  NG Clearing, Mr Tapas Das, said the launch of the derivatives market in Nigeria was a testament to the maturity of the market, a sign that the market has come of age and was ready for transition into a new era.

He said the risks that come with the derivatives market will be managed through NG Clearings’ robust technology-enabled clearing and settlement, collateral management, and risk management offerings as a critical central counter party (CCP) financial market infrastructure (FMI).

NG Clearing reported that the first transactions were traded by APT Securities and Funds Limited and CardinalStone Securities Limited and Meristem Stockbrokers Limited, in their capacity as pioneer trading members with Access Bank and Zenith Bank as the pioneer clearing members. The contracts traded yesterday were the NGX30 Futures for June 2022, NGX Pension for September 2022. Other listed contracts available for trading are NGX 30 Futures for September 2022, NGX Pension for June 2022.

Das noted that the commencement of exchange traded derivatives in the Nigerian capital market came after many years of anticipation by stakeholders and was a remarkable step towards the actualisation of the Nigerian Capital Market Masterplan.

He pointed out that this coming at a time when economies are trying to grow after the setback of COVID-19 pandemic, creates an opportunity for market liquidity and capital flows, potentially contributing to Nigeria’s post-COVID recovery.

According to him, derivatives usher in a new asset class that will offer local and foreign investors new opportunities to hedge against market risks in Nigeria.

“NG Clearing’s purpose is to ensure that Nigeria’s derivatives market is safe and stable. We have put in place the infrastructure to achieve this. NG Clearing as a CCP is designed to provide clearing services across multiple asset classes and trading venues. The initial trading venue NG Clearing will be serving is the Nigerian Exchange. While we have started with equity index futures, we will subsequently introduce single stock futures, stock options as well as other asset classes, including commodities,” Das said.

ETDs are standardised, highly regulated, and transparent financial contracts listed and traded on a securities exchange, and guaranteed against default through the clearing house of the derivatives exchange. NGX ETDs market will complement existing asset classes, provide investors and other market players with the necessary tools for tactical asset allocation, as well as improve risk and cost management for effective portfolio management. It will further enhance the participation of domestic and international investors in Nigeria’s financial markets, which will positively impact the performance of the economy.

FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited (FMDQ Exchange) has listed Prima Corporation Limited’s N7.02 billion Series 2 Commercial Paper (CP). The CP was issued under Prima Corporation’s N30 billion CP programme on its platform.

Prima Corporation is a leading manufacturer of preforms and caps in West Africa, supplying a host of international and local brands.

FMDQ Exchange stated that the timely admission of the CP like all other securities on the Exchange, was reflective of the potential of the Nigerian debt capital market and the commendable level of confidence demonstrated by both issuers and investors in the market.

“This CP which is sponsored by United Capital PLC – a Registration Member (Quotations) of FMDQ Exchange, shall be availed the benefits of the value-driven quotation service on the Exchange, including global visibility through its website and systems, transparency through its inclusion in the FMDQ Daily Quotations List, credible price formation and continuous information disclosure through FMDQ’s Quoted Commercial Paper Status Report, to protect investor interest.

“The Exchange will continue to work closely with its stakeholders to provide access to capital for issuers seeking to raise debt finance by providing an enabling platform that promotes requisite secondary market liquidity, among other benefits,” FMDQ Exchange stated.

FMDQ Group noted that it is Africa’s first vertically integrated financial market infrastructure (FMI) group, strategically positioned to provide registration, listing, quotation and noting services; integrated trading, clearing  and central counterparty, settlement, and risk management for financial market transactions; depository of securities, as well as data and information services, across various segments of the markets.

FMDQ Group includes four  wholly owned subsidiaries – FMDQ Exchange, FMDQ Clear Limited, FMDQ Depository Limited and FMDQ Private Markets Limited. As a sustainability-focused FMI group, FMDQ Group, through FMDQ Exchange, operates Africa’s premier Green Exchange – FMDQ Green Exchange – positioned to lead the transition towards a sustainable future.

Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc recorded modest growth in the top-line in 2021, showing steady revenue growth and strong business momentum driven by non-interest income.

Key extracts of the audited report and accounts of UBN for the year ended December 31, 2021 released yesterday at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) showed that the bank continued grow its top-line despite macroeconomic headwinds.

Gross earnings rose by 8.9 per cent to N175 billion in 2021 as against N160.7 billion recorded in 2020. The top-line growth was driven by strong non-interest income, which rose by 26.7 per cent from N44 billion in 2020 to N55.7 billion in 2021. The growth in non-interest income was also driven by significant increases in debt recoveries. Net operating income after impairments slipped by 3.6 per cent to N99.7 billion as against N103.4 billion.       Profit before tax followed the downtrend with a drop of 19.3 per cent from N25.4 billion in 2020 to N20.5 billion in 2021.

Further analysis showed that operating expenses grew marginally by 1.5 per cent to N79.1 billion in 2021 as against N78 billion in 2020, reflecting tight cost control despite inflationary pressures. Gross loans rose by 22 per cent to N899.1 billion in 2021 as against N736.7 billion in 2020, underlining the expansion of lending to key economic sectors of opportunity. Customer deposits also grew by 20.4 per cent from N1.1 trillion to N1.4 trillion, reflecting the improvement in the bank’s product base and digital channels.

Chief Executive Officer, Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc, Emeka Okonkwo said the bank has sustained steady performance as a result of increased customer engagement from an enhanced operating and go-to-market model and gains derived from its digital penetration strategy.

According to him, following an enhancement to its operating and go-to-market model to deliver better performance and efficiency leveraging network across the regions, the bank is increasing its customer engagement and product penetration which is translating into higher customer revenues across geographies.

He said the bank has continued to record headline growth by diversifying its income streams and accelerating its recoveries programme.

He outlined that the bank continued its strong growth in non-interest income through a combination of aggressive recoveries, which grew 119 per cent in the period, from N7.2 billion to N15.9 billion and further growth in fee and commission income by 33 per cent and e-business by 26 per cent.

He noted that the growths were delivered on the back of sustained multi-channel growth in users, volume and value across the bank’s digital and agent channels. Total active UnionMobile users now stands at 3.3 million, up 20 per cent while Union360 customer base grew by 22 per cent to 26,400.

“In 2022, the bank will continue to focus on broadening and deepening the strong foundations we have built, while enhancing our digital delivery platforms and service propositions to customers. We remain deeply thankful to our erstwhile core investors, Union Global Partners and Atlas Mara who have been instrumental to our journey since 2012. Their invaluable support and expertise helped steer the Bank through turbulent waters and into an era of growth and stability.

“As we turn a new chapter for our Bank with a new core investor expected to come on board, we are proud of the solid foundation built over the last ten years and look forward to a seamless transition and continued successes in the future, “ Okonkwo said.

Management report indicated that active users across mobile and digital platforms grew by 23 per cent as the bank delivered a range of upgrades across its channels including account opening and account blocking as well as features like QR payments and HMO payments.

In retail and digital offerings the bank’s expanded retail and digital portfolio enabled growth across its business segments with the retail deposit and loan books growing by 10 per cent respectively while SME loan book grew by 233 per cent, a trend expected to continue across all business segments.

“We introduced new group loans and asset financing solutions for small businesses making it easier for collectives to access credit and simplified loan products and payment solutions for retail customers.

“ We launched the ‘’Save & Win Palli Promo,” a nationwide campaign to generate low cost deposits while rewarding new and existing customers for higher savings as well as deposits in current accounts. The success of the promo was key to the 20 per cent incremental growth in customer deposits in 2021.

“Agent banking network, we grew UnionDirect, our agent banking network, by 123 per cent to nearly 32,000 agents delivering transaction volumes and value increases of 170 per cent and 142 per cent respectively as we continue to push the expansion of our retail business across the regions.

“Our focus on exploring new frontiers in the digital space contributed to growth in our digital revenue from N6.9 billion to N7.4 billion. In 2021, we made strides in creating new revenue streams and scaling digital payments, platforms, and partnerships,” Okonkwo said.

He added that as part of the bank’s drive towards self-service and customer empowerment leveraging technology, it debuted its investment app M36 on the market giving customers the ability to invest in various instruments via the self-service platform. The bank expects to significantly scale access and investment options available on the app in a second phase of the launch in 2022.

He pointed out that with the growth in the global gig economy and COVID-19 significantly disrupting mode of work, especially for millennials, the bank introduced Kula, a platform that connects Nigerian freelancers with employers requiring short-term resources while Union Bank acts as a payment gateway. A full launch of Kula is expected this quarter.

“In 2021, we continued to expand the scope of our CSI initiatives, successfully impacting more than one million people nationwide, while deepening our focus on diversity and inclusion.

“Union Bank remains committed to supporting our communities, impacting more than 250,000 people through projects and initiatives in education, healthcare and welfare working with partners including Lagos Food Bank and FoodClique. As part of an industry response to the #EndSars riots, Union Bank donated N1.1 billion to the Nigeria Police Force to support the Police Equipment Fund.

“More than 4,500 students were impacted through our Financial Literacy Day and World Savings Day activities.  We also empowered 40 social innovators in partnership with LEAP Africa and trained 40 students on robotics and Artificial Intelligence in collaboration with our partner, Awarri.

“Over half of our branches across the network now employ clean energy technology, relying on solar power to run the branches and ATMs. The bank continued to demonstrate our support for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), marking World Environment Day, World Water Day and Employee Volunteer (EV) Day with projects impacting over 300,000 people.

“As a bank that is deeply committed to the empowerment of women and girls, we continuously implement business practices and initiatives that promote gender equality. Presently, women make up about 40 per cent of total employees and about 53 per cent of our training spend in 2021 went to deepening the capacity of female employees,” Okonkwo said.

He noted that the acquisition of the majority equity stake of 89.39 per cent in the bank by Titan Trust Bank (TTB) is in the process of final regulatory approvals.

Last December, Union Bank’s core investors – Union Global Partners Limited and Atlas Mara – had notified the board of directors of a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SSPA) reached with TTB for the proposed sale of 89.39 per cent of Union Bank’s issued share capital. The agreement comes a decade after the initial investment by the core investors in 2012 and will effectively transfer majority ownership of the Bank to TTB.

Consequently, the transaction also triggers the hive-out of Union Bank UK (UBUK) which was approved by shareholders in an extra-ordinary general meeting on March 29, 2022. This allows the bank transition from an international to a national focus, facilitating a more flexible and efficient deployment of capital towards strategic opportunities identified within sectors of the  economy.

Chief Financial Officer, Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc, Joe Mbulu said the bank maintained very strong cost controls during the year despite the inflationary pressures and the translation effect of currency depreciation on its cost base.

“Operating expenses increased marginally by 1.5 per cent with increasing regulatory, depreciation and amortisation costs. Customer deposits grew by 20 per cent while our loan book grew by 22 per cent from N736.7 billion to N899.1 billion, as we deepened support for key sectors in the economy.

“We have been remained proactive in the way we manage our growing risk assets, maintaining our asset quality during the year with our non-performing loan (NPL) ratio growing marginally from four per cent to 4.3 per cent,” Mbulu said.

 

 

The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc. (NBET), in the consultative forum with industry stakeholders, yesterday moved to secure additional 40MW of grid distributed electricity.

It made this known in a statement in Abuja.

According to the statement, the meeting had in attendance representatives of distribution companies (DISCOs) across the country, and the Sector Regulator (NERC), as well as the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

The meeting is a pre-cursor to the finalisation of its Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Mabon Hydro Power Plant for 40MW.

It explained that is part of the series of actions that the Bulk Trader will undertake prior to closing out the PPA with Mabon Hydro Power Plant.

NBET said this is timely and coming at a time when the country is in need of every available power it can generate and wheel out to the end users.

The statement noted that the 40MW electricity from Mabon Hydro Power Plant will contribute immensely to strengthening and balancing the National Grid, as the power plant is the only generating plant located in the North East Region of the country.

It reads in part: “Mabon Hydro Power Plant is strategically located in Dadin Kowa area of Gombe State.

” This is also a testament to the Federal Government’s (FGN) drive to commercialize small hydro plants and bring them upstream to ramp up power generation across the Country.

“It is also in line with Nigeria’s commitment to the UN COP 26 on accelerate action and support for Climate Change Framework, the Hydro Plant being a clean energy source propels Nigeria towards fulfilling its obligations.

“The President Muhammadu Buhari administration is committed to reducing carbon foot prints and supporting climate change initiatives.

“This additional power from Mabon will also contribute further towards reducing the current weighted average cost of power (WACP) within the NBET’s portfolio, as hydro power is relatively cheaper cost of power generation.

“The DisCos made significant contributions at the meeting, with a commitment to working collaboratively with other market participants towards improving the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) and enhancing power supply to Nigerians.”

A well-functioning capital markets can play a vital role in support of inclusive economic growth by channelling long term finance into infrastructure and other large-scale projects that create jobs and improve access to markets.

Chief Executive Office, Financial Sector Deepening Africa ( FSD Africa), Mr. Mike Napier, who spoke during a visit to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), underscored the importance of the capital market in economic development.

He expressed excitement that the SEC decided to embark on the various initiatives in a bid to have a stronger and better capital market regulator which translates into a well regulated market.

He added that strengthening regulatory capacity in capital markets is an essential pre-condition for building investor confidence.

He said: “We are very happy that you have taken these challenges to embark on these various initiatives to ensure that your processes are better which will ultimately lead to a better regulator for the capital market.

“In FSD Africa we are embracing innovation and that is why we are providing support for these various projects, it is a long journey but we know we will get there at the end of it all,” he stated.

‘SEC restated its commitment to ensuring that technology plays a major role in enabling the nation’s capital market attain its full potential.’’

Director-General, SEC, Mr. Lamido Yuguda  expressed the Commission’s delight with the support from FSD Africa in the areas of human resource transformation, information technology strategy as well as capital market master plan review.

‘“I cannot but express my support to FSD Africa for the various support they have given to the Commission in various areas. We are very excited about the human resource transformation exercise as the report will assist the Commission in profound ways that will lead to optimal productivity of staff.

“What you are doing is commendable, you are looking at African financial markets and trying to assist to ensure that productivity and development is enhanced. We therefore assure you that these investments are well placed and we will continue to work to earn the confidence that you have in us.”

He continued: “We are glad with all the assistance we have received, the Master plan review has been concluded by PWC and we hope that the implementation of the Capital Market Master Plan will deepen our market and improve the capital market’s contribution to our economic growth and national development. To this end, the review of the Capital Market Master Plan better positions the SEC to deliver on these objectives in these very challenging times. The FSD Africa and SEC Nigeria’s laudable partnership underscores our mutual goals to build financial markets that are robust, efficient and above all inclusive.”

The SEC DG disclosed that the current management is also looking at other sources of support so that the march towards that Commission that everyone wants to see in the future is very fast and very efficient.

“The Commission has also been doing a number of things to ensure that the aim of these support is not defeated. Since we came in we have prioritised the issue of human resource management, we want to leave behind a culture of excellence

“Thank you for the considerable assistance on IT. What we have done too is to explore domestic sources of funding for our IT infrastructure and thankfully, we are making tremendous progress in that regard,” Yuguda said.

Napier expressed satisfaction with the SEC for embracing innovation in a bid to becoming a progressive regulator stating that across Africa there are not many organisations that are able to do this especially given the issues of paucity of funds.

“The big one would be when the market players note the changes in the SEC and the transformations that have taken place. We are glad you are on that journey and we hope it will end well,”  Napier said.