Category: Money

FairMoney Microfinance Bank has in the last four years of operation disbursed N117 billion loans to its customers.

Laurin Hainy speaking during am media briefing held at the weekend in Lagos, Co-Founder/CEO, FairMoney, Laurin Hainy, said the digital bank is positioned to support its customers across their various financial service needs even as we work to maintain our current position as the leading digital bank in Nigeria.

Hainy said: “Our goal ultimately is to use technology to bank the 60 million Nigerians currently excluded from the financial ecosystem. We have also introduced secure and innovative technology processes to improve our lending operations, as well as a strong privacy protection policy, and a comprehensive loan collection policy which has been successfully deployed in the last four years,” Laurin added.

Speaking at the Media Parley, Nengi Akinola – Head Marketing & Branding reiterated FairMoney’s commitment to supporting Nigerians, said: “To us at FairMoney, the goal is to see a world where everyone has equal financial opportunities and support to reach their financial goals, however great or wide it may be. We will continue to build on our offerings, so that we can continue to meet the growing needs of the average Nigeria customers” she said. “We can’t wait to share all the interesting new features we’re bringing to the FairMoney app in the new year” Nengi added.

Stemmed from a burning desire to bridge the lag between developing African countries – Nigeria inclusive, and the new age of banking enjoyed in developed countries, FairMoney was founded with an overarching vision to be the leading digital bank driving financial inclusion for the average Nigerian.

With a strategy premised on catering to the majority, FairMoney was birthed to cater to the predominant needs of the Nigerian market – small & medium scale enterprises, through quick & seamless loans. Following this strategy over the past four years of operation, FairMoney MfB has grown its customer base to over five million users, and two million bank accounts by relentlessly positioning as the New Bank for the masses.

First Bank of Nigeria Limited has in the spirit of providing enabling opportunities for families of its customers and other stakeholders to come together to celebrate, live better and achieve their dreams inaugurated its yearly DecemberIssaVybe campaign.

The 2021 calendar is focused the arts and entertainment industry. The campaign which started in 2018 has been making waves across cities with Nigerians across ages excited at the programme.

The 30-day activity loaded event include musical shows and concerts, comedies, fashion, arts and food fairs and are specifically supported to evoke joyful moods as everyone gears up for the celebrations of the end of the year, especially the yuletide.

Showcasing an array of the hottest and coolest entertainment platforms, and superstars, FirstBank DecemberIssaVybe campaign offers free massive gifts and ticket giveaways to premium events aimed at creating fascinating and memorable experience for stakeholders in the Yuletide season as they bond with family and friends, whilst connecting with their favourite superstars, music, plays.

FirstBank DecemberIssaVybe was designed to inspire kindness in all stakeholders. December is a season for giving and given FirstBank’s culture of showing kindness through initiatives such as SPARK (Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness), DecemberIssaVybe campaign integrates kindness and spreads its message of transforming lives.

Excited about the 2021 DecemberIssaVybe, the Group Head of Marketing & Corporate Communications, FirstBank, Ms Folake Ani-Mumuney said “we are delighted to be back with DecemberIssaVybe. The 2021 edition is enriched with loads of impactful and celebratory activities to build the excitement of witnessing the year-end as we celebrate into 2022. As a Bank woven into the fabric of society, we have ensured that the events are spread across the country and there is an event for everyone, irrespective of age.

Access Bank Plc has deepened its commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with the donation of 150 set of chairs, tables, two sick beds and fully equipped first aid box St Peter’s Nursery & Primary School, Costain in Ebute-Metta, Lagos.

The CSR project was meant to promote public interest through social investment in community development as a way of giving back to the society.

Speaking at the event, Group Chief CSR, Access Bank Plc, Pattison Boleigha, said the bank had within three years, shown commitment on improving the quality of education in Lagos state.

He said that the educational system of Nigeria is witnessing several challenges such as inadequate critical infrastructure like classroom, modern teaching aids, libraries and laboratories.

“We took the initiative to address some of these social welfare issues by adopting St Peter Nursery & Primary School for renovation and upgrade,” he said.

Chairman, Conduct and Compliance Group CSR Project Committee, Access Bank, Babatunde Aro, said: “We spent N26 million on the project which is a three year programme split into three phases. Today, we celebrate the last phase of the project by furnishing the classrooms,” he stated.

He added that Access Bank has improved the lifestyle of everyone in the area , leading to increase the number of enrollment in the school. “That means there were were children who wanted to be in the school but because of the limited facilities in the school but with the facilities, more students will be accommodated,” he said.

“The project means a lot to the bank and its aspirations to be the world most respected African bank. We want to be a reference bank for anything that is good and this is one of the things that is good that Access Bank through the CSR has done for the society and improving education in Nigeria is a core value to the bank.”

Also speaking the school Head Master, Mrs. Bardi Onuwa, thanked the bank, for for the facilities and support for the school. She said that before the project was completed, the school lacked the required facilities to ensure conducive learning for the students.

SystemSpecs, has lauded the efforts of Nigeria fintechs as intermediaries in financial transactions using cutting-edge innovations and consumer-oriented solutions.

Speaking on Fintechs and Changes in Financial Intermediation, Demola Igbalajobi, an Executive Director of SystemSpecs, made the above assertion at the Information Technology (IT) and consulting webinar hosted by the Institute of Chattered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) recently.

A financial intermediary is an entity that acts as the middleman between two parties in a financial transaction. They are meant to serve as a bridge in complex financial transactions and take a fee as compensation for the risk involved.

Igbalajobi, who was represented by the SystemSpecs’ Head of Payments Technology and Infrastructure, Mujib Ishola, stated that fintechs have become an alternative in the financial intermediation process traditionally performed by banks and other licenced money handlers.

“Fintechs are making inroads due to a number of factors including their agility and speed to market, less risk-aversion, focus on service rather than regulation, and the current inefficiencies in the operations of traditional banks,” he said.

He added that the rapid growth of digital technology innovation has led to the rise of fintech platforms, facilitating solutions in several areas including mobile money, insurtech, agrictech, crypto transactions, and many others.

“Fintech can be operators that provide direct services to customers. They can provide platforms as a service, develop platforms for other financial entities, or serve as a support platform for ancillary services such as data referencing, data verification, and collection,” he said.

More so, fintechs are focussing on specific areas of customer needs, such as payment, lending, or verification, unlike traditional banks who provide different types of financial services from a single platform.

The Inclusion for All initiative, an advocacy programme that seeks to remove the barriers that prevent the financial and economic inclusion of Nigeria’s poorest and most vulnerable communities says women are less likely to have identity cards needed for financial services.

The research identified the specific communities and groups that are most likely to be excluded from Nigeria’s identity system by analysing data from the 2020 Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access to Finance Survey.

The group’s recent research findings through an open-source data visualisation platform shows that women are less likely to have identity cards than men.

The report says that women over the age of 39 are progressively less likely to own identity card than their male counterparts and the gender gap expands as respondents age increases.

This indicates that the older a woman is, the less likely she is to have and identity card.

The Inclusion for All platform allows interested stakeholders to navigate rich data-sets on inclusion that help the user understand the issues and challenges for themselves. The findings and platform, were launched recently.

Inclusion for All research has previously demonstrated that the poorer you are, the less likely you are to have identity card.

“The latest research sought to identify the specific communities and groups that are most likely to be excluded from Nigeria’s identity system, by analysing data from the 2020 Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access to Finance Survey. Some of the key findings are summarised below, and a wider selection of insights can be found by visiting the Inclusion for all website,” it said.

The President, Chartered institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Adesina  Adedayo, says the coming of the e-Naira present great opportunity for government to promote transparency in tax collection.

Speaking during the the Institute’s 2021 Business Luncheon, with theme: Digital Currency Technology and e-Naira, he said the tax authority could use the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), also known as e-Naira, to track both Personal Income Tax (PIT) and Company Income Tax (CIT).

He said the objective of the program is to to review government policy decisions and its potential impact on the economy and the tax system; provide a feedback mechanism for policy makers and government; provide an opportunity to interact with corporate business leaders, policy makers, members of the organized private sector and professionals and bring to the fore issues in tax administration that impact on the ease of paying taxes and doing business.

The programme presented  opportunity for citizens to highlight their expectation from government and its agencies in terms of service delivery and gauge and reappraise the expectations of stakeholders.

He said that taxes are the key source of revenue for the government and regulators can track both individuals and corporate bodies’ incomes using the CBDC.

“When you look at income, which is the most important thing, if I have an e-Naira transaction with you, for instance, you sent something to me and I use my  e-Naira to make the payment. Technically, you have made an income from me. So, when you make income from me, you are going to find yourself, either in Personal Income Tax (PIT) area  or  in Company Income Tax (CIT),” he stated.

He explained that the implementation of the e-Naira would reduce tax evasion and transparency in tax collection enhanced.

He said that CITN remains  a knowledge-based institute, he said the essence of the programme was to continually enlighten and educating the public and stakeholders via activities geared towards contributing to national development, and to update its members on emerging tax policy and related issues.

According to him, the functionality of the e-Naira, a digital currency issued and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria, delivers speedy, safe, simple trading and transactional opportunities to customers and end-users.

Coronation Merchant Bank has highlighted investment opportunities in the economy and how they can be tapped by local and foreign investors.

The third edition of its Interactive Session Series was themed: “Nigeria moving beyond Covid-19 – Opportunities for Investors”.

The event which held virtually, featured expert speakers such as  the Director General of the Debt Management Office, Ms. Patience Oniha; Senior Vice President, FMDQ Group, Emmanuel Etaderhi; Managing Director at Comercio Partners Capital Ltd, Stephen Osho; Chief Economist of Coronation Merchant Bank, Chinwe Egwim and Treasurer and Head of Global Markets at Coronation Merchant Bank, Iyobosa Sorae, among others.

Delivering the keynote address, Oniha said, “The Nigerian economy remains resilient despite economic and social headwinds elicited by the Covid-19 pandemic. The composition and diversification of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and revenue base makes for more stable growth going forward.”

“The Nigerian government has introduced several reforms which are being implemented to attract more investments, grow and further diversify the country’s GDP and revenue. Nigeria remains open to investment opportunities which exist in securities (in the domestic and international markets) and direct investments in various key projects across the country. The government also encourages public private partnerships.”

Speaking during the panel discussion, Emmanuel Etaderhi representing Bola Onadele, Koko, Chief Executive Officer, FMDQ Group, said, “Countries borrow for very valid reasons, mostly to put them in a stronger position in terms of their economic strength. However, borrowing beyond the ability to pay, makes debt unsustainable. This has impact on investments, whether external or local, because the pricing of the instruments within the financial markets will be affected, as well as the ability to earn externally.

“It is very important to maintain a sustainable debt level and more importantly, to use the debt for productive purposes which can have multiplier effect on the economy and generate more revenue. The government can refinance debt by looking at lower interest borrowing instruments in the capital markets. It can also use the instrumentality of the financial markets to stimulate economic activities that will enable the revenue base expand exponentially.”

In his welcome remarks, Banjo Adegbohungbe, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Coronation Merchant Bank, stated that “Since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, the global economy has been impacted adversely and this has resulted in escalating the challenges in raising debt for more developing and emerging economies. Nigeria has not been left out of these complexities. Even though we have successfully raised debt this year, it is obvious that the challenges we face are substantial and have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

He further stated that, “Nevertheless, opportunities still exist. Our economy has recovered from recession and is on a trajectory of positive growth across a number of sectors with demonstration of positive business sentiment and increased market activity. Today’s discourse will guide all of you and provide insights into navigating the debt market in the coming year and identifying possibilities beneficial for growth and expansion.”

Egwim said, “Given the current global macroeconomic environment, fiscal balances have deteriorated, government debt across countries has increased and sovereign balance sheets have expanded. Although there are growing concerns around risk aversion and investors’ appetite, there are still attractive opportunities within Nigeria’s debt market for investors.  “This Coronation Interactive Session is an ongoing event that will continue to provide insightful nuggets that will help investors navigate better”.

The Group Head, Corporate Communications, Access Bank Plc, Amaechi Okobi,  has been recognised with the “COVID-19 Response Banker of the Year Award” at the 56th Annual Bankers Dinner, held in Lagos.

The award category sought to recognise and celebrate players in the industry who went beyond the call of duty to ensure business continuity and drive the protection of lives, property and business interests during the global pandemic.

Receiving the award, Okobi said, “Indeed, COVID-19 disrupted our lives and our business procedures. Before the pandemic, I, and many others in this room, could meet with teammates, visit favourite relaxation spots and move around freely. COVID-19 altered all of that. Being someone who takes relationships seriously, I was determined to do my part in restoring a form of normalcy to society while protecting lives and business interests.”

“However, all my bright ideas would not have come to life without the amazing team at Access Bank and extensively, CACOVID, who worked tirelessly to ensure we impacted lives through a truly testing time.”

Okobi, who has been steering Access Bank’s corporate public image for the past six years, has been pivotal to driving Access Bank’s sustainability communications which has led to several recognitions including the 2021 Karlsruhe Award for Outstanding Business Sustainability Achievement (fifth-time consecutive winner); World Finance Award for Most Sustainable Bank (tenth-time winner); Central Bank of Nigeria Award for Sustainable Bank of the Year (third-time consecutive winner), and the ‘Sustainability Team of The Year (Financial Services)’ award at the 2021 Brandcom Awards.  

In a bid to meet high demand amid poor production capacity of wheat, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has earmarked N41 billion, which is being disbursed by Heritage Bank Plc to farmers across multiple States for the expansion of wheat production project.

The disbursed fund is to consummate the expansion of Wheat Seed Multiplication Project, as part of the CBN’s Brown Revolution Initiative, an intervention programme to flag-off and support the commencement of dry season wheat farming across States in Nigeria.

Speaking on this laudable initiative, the Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele disclosed that this move was part of the apex bank’s intervention to address the challenges in Wheat value chain, thereby increasing the domestic production of wheat and closing the wide supply gap inherited in Nigeria agricultural space.

According to him, following the successes in the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), the apex bank decided to extend the gains recorded in rice and maize value chains to wheat production.

He said the programme would benefit over 150,000 farmers.

He also said the programme would be implemented in 15 states on about 180,000 hectares of land.

Emefiele said the apex bank sought to save $2 billion spent on importing five million metric tons of wheat annually through the intervention.

“Wheat is the third most widely consumed grain in Nigeria after maize and rice. It is estimated that the country only produces about one per cent (63,000 metric tons) of the 5-6 million metric tons of the commodity consumed annually in Nigeria,” he said.

In agreement with the CBN Governor’s view, Managing Director/CEO of Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo that the Brown Revolution Initiative would help reduce the nation’s food import bill by increasing wheat production, create market linkages between smallholders farmers and Anchors/Processors, create an ecosystem that drives value chain financing, improve access to credit by the smallholder farmers by developing credit history through the scheme and many more.

Narrating some of the feats achieved, Sekibo who was represented by the Divisional Head, Agribusiness, Natural Resources & Project Development, Heritage Bank, Olugbenga Awe said that as a bank it partnered with CBN to ensure wheat planting on wet and dry seasons.

What we want to achieve is to end importation of seeds and make Nigeria self-sufficient in wheat production.

“We are working with about 30 firms focusing only on seed production and also working with CBN to make sure we register all farmers. We believe working with LCFE will move Nigerian farmers from informal approach to a structured approach”, he said.

He further explained that whilst riding on the success of the wet season, “we decided to focus on the dry season which comes naturally to our people. As a bank, we are working on two things; one is to ensure the continuous multiplication of seeds and the other is to focus on the grains.

Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp Plc ) has posted a N13.467 billion Profit After Tax (PAT) for third-quarter 2021. The performance represents N11.721 billion growth, compared with N1.746 billion recorded in third quarter of 2020. It also showed a 672.1 per cent year-on-year change.

The group also said its profit before tax for third quarter of 2021 stood at N14.127 billion, a N12.107 billion increase from N2.020 billion recorded in the same quarter in 2020, with a 599.5 per cent Y-o-Y change.

The group’s gross earnings and gross profit stood at N85.588 billion and N39.366 billion, respectively, compared to N54.378 billion and N22.723 billion recorded as of September 30, 2020.

Speaking during its Tuesday’s group financial performance report- Transcorp Q3 2021 Analyst Presentation and Investor Call’, President/Group CEO, Transcorp Plc, Owen Omogiafo said: “Transcorp Plc remains a diversified conglomerate with commanding presence in the power, oil & gas and hospitality sectors.

“We also have strong financial performance with an aggressive growth agenda. We are deeply rooted values are the 3Es of execution, enterprise and excellence,” she said.

“Nigerian economy showing a sustained positive growth over the last four quarters since the recession witnessed in 2020 although below the lower than 5.01 per cent recorded in second quarter of 2021 by 0.98 per cent points,” she added.

Its 2021 cost-to-income ratio stood at 44 per cent, a 14 per cent decline in 58 per cent for 2020. Post-tax return on equity and post-tax return on assets for 2021 saw an increase from 1.57 per cent and 0.54 per cent recorded in 2020 to 11.16 per cent and 3.88 per cent, respectively.

With key investments in the hospitality, energy and power sectors, the group’s hospitality business recorded a 115 per cent increase in revenue from N6.791 billion in Q3, 2020 to N14.601 billion in Q3 2021. Its gross profit saw a 149 per cent increase from N4.342 billion recorded in Q3, 2020 to N10.829 billion recorded in 2021 for the same period.

For its hospitality business, the group proposes to construct Transcorp Hotels in Port Harcourt by 2024; build a 3,000 banquet-seating capacity event centre in Abuja in 2022; build a lifestyle center in Ikoyi; upgrade of Transcorp Hotels, Calabar and refurbishment of its key food and beverage outlets by 2022.

In its power segment review, Transcorp said for its Q4 2021 target, 575 MW average capacity was generated for its Transcorp Power Limited and 102 MW for its Trans Afam Power Limited as against the 677 MW and 166 MW average available capacity.

“The current available capacity for TPL and TAPL are 539MW and 120MW, respectively. Our plants are undergoing significant upgrades and repairs that will significantly increase the available capacity by December 2021.

“Given the gap in the sector and the increasing demand for electricity, the power sector remains an attractive investment choice,” the group said.

Haven done its preliminary assessment in 2021 as contained in its OPL 281 notional development plan, the group said the appraisal and field development strategy would take place between 2022 and 2023 while the completion of minimum work obligations and execution of plans would commence from 2024.

“At the core of our purpose of improving lives and transforming Nigeria is our corporate social commitment driven through our 3E social impact pillars: entrepreneurship and empowerment, education and environment,” the group said of its corporate social responsibility.

“To commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child which was held on the 11th of October 2021, Transcorp had representatives speak to young girls in various spectrum of the nation in line with our agenda to remain socially responsible.

“Representatives from Transafam visited the Transafam staff school in Okoloma-Ndoki Afam community to speak to them about the digital age and the role education plays in the advancement of gender equality across the globe while a representative from Transcorp Hilton was present at an empowerment programme for young girls to pursue their career ambitions.”