The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • NCSB approves FSDH Merchant Bank as Custom Duty collecting bank

    By Collins Nweze

     

    The Nigeria Customs Service Board (NCSB) has approved request by FSDH Merchant Bank to collect Custom duty for the Federal Government.

    As early as 2018, FSDH Merchant Bank began talks with the NCSB to obtain a license to operate as a Custom Duty Collecting Bank and in May 2019. The request was granted by the NCSB.

    On October 2, 2019, after a series of testing phases, FSDH Merchant Bank officially begun operations as the pioneer Custom Duty Collecting Bank in Nigeria, and has since then paved the way for other Merchant Banks across the country to be afforded the same opportunity.

    On its list of firsts, the Merchant Bank is also the first in Nigeria to re-structure into a Holding Company, and in November 2012 became the First Discount House to become a Merchant Bank in Nigeria.

    With services ranging from corporate banking, to investment banking, and prestige banking, FSDH Merchant Bank has over the years become a financial supermarket that delivers expert financial services within Nigeria and to select clientele, in order to create long term sustainable wealth.

    Taking into account the bank’s sustained record over the past year; of good capitalization, good liquidity, good profitability, and an experienced management team, FSDH Merchant Bank has been rated A and A- for the year 2019 by prestigious agencies like Agusto & Co. Limited, and Global Credit Ratings Co. (GCR).

    FSDH Merchant bank maintains the status quo as being an innovative industry leader.

    As another decade slowly comes to an end, we celebrate FSDH Merchant Bank for constantly championing and paving the way for innovation in the financial services industry across Nigeria.

  • Emefiele, Sterling Bank, Coscharis CEOs, others for FMDA conference

    By Collins Nweze

     

    The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, Group Managing Director/CEO, Coscharis Group Limited, Josiah Samuel, Managing Director/CEO Sterling Bank PLc, Abubakar Suleiman, Small & Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) Director General, Radda Dikko, among other dignitaries have confirmed their attendance at the second Financial Markets Conference of the Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA).

    In a statement, FMDA said the  event scheduled for Friday, December 6, at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, will focus on the theme: “The Nigerian Financial Market – An Agent for Growth and Development” with a welcome address by FMDA President, Mrs. Adetoun Dosunmu.

    The  Honourable Speaker, Federal House of Representative, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, will make the opening remarks while the CBN Governor, Emefiele will be the keynote speaker.  On the theme: “The Nigerian Financial Market – An Agent for Growth and Development”.

    Read Also: $60b forex cash kept naira stable for 29 months, says Emefiele

    According to FMDA,  the programme which begins at 2pm is an opportunity for the nation’s financial market operators, regulators, investors, corporates and other stakeholders to discuss ways of using financial market to facilitate economic development.

    The conference sub-themes include:  “Unlocking Real Sector Development: SMEs as an Agent of Growth and Development” to be discussed by Managing Director/CEO Sterling Bank Plc, Abubakar Suleiman, Executive Secretary/CEO Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission,  Ms. Yewande Sadiku, Director General, The Economic Thinktank Centre Ltd, Emmanuel M. Abolo  and SMEDAN Director General Dikko.

    Chief Risk Officer at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Dr Ladin Oyefuga will be the guest speaker and will be speaking on the theme: “Risk Management as a Developmental Tool”.

    The FMDA is an association of licensed Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) operating within the Nigeria financial market, emphasizing on regulatory policy engagement, advocacy and professional ethics in the financial markets.

  • Firm seeks govt backing on data expansion

    Collins Nweze

     

    CO-FOUNDER and Chief Operations Officer, Terragon Group, Ayodeji Balogun  has urged government to partner with the private sector in order to develop 21st century curriculum that would prepare Nigerian students to fit into the emerging fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, among others.

    He stated this at the 2019 Data Science Nigeria (DSN) Summit & Bootcamp held in Lagos.

    According to him, “We think that in terms of curriculum in the educational system in our schools, government can work together with private sector to influence the curriculum and infuse more advanced topics around data science, machine learning so that students could get access and hands on experience at a very early stage, before they get out of school and get trained by their employers.”

    He also called on the government to provide adequate infrastructure that would enable players in the ecosystem perform their duties optimally.

    Read Also: EFCC recovers N228m unpaid taxes from oil firm

    “The biggest problems we have in Nigeria as far as is poor access to data and infrastructure. In other countries,  the government provides access to some sample data sets that engineers can work with to train their models, you do not have to think about looking for data sets, here in Nigeria, there’s nothing like that, so we think that government can support a lot in that area”.

    “In a continent of about 1.2 billion people across a landscape that may be larger than many other continents put together, it is often quite difficult to identify and reach people in Africa.

    At Terragon, our goal is to use data and technology to simplify this process of connecting brands to the African consumer through intelligent connections at scale on the mobile device.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Group backs CBN on border closure

    Our Reporter

     

    THE Social Integrity Network (SINET) has lauded the Godwin Emefiele-led Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for supporting the sustenance of the ongoing land border closure meant to reposition the economy.

    SINET National Coordinator, Ibrahim Issa, said the Federal Government should sustain the land border closure in order to fully achieve the desired benefits.

    Issa faulted proponents of border re-opening insisting that “the unity, growth and development of Nigeria remained sacrosanct beyond any individual gains aimed at subjecting us to slavery and perpetually underdeveloped.”

    SINET noted “that the gains of the policy are numerous to mention but specifically, its impact on the socio-economic and security is unprecedented and Manufacturers are now able to sell  goods in their warehouses.

    Read Also: Drop in foreign reserves ‘no cause for alarm’ – Emefiele

    “As a group representing over 700,000 Nigerians who are majorly employees in the public and private sectors respectively, Emefiele’s position will help tackle smuggling and importation of substandard commodities.

    “We are in total support of the position of all the stakeholders/investors who want the border closure to continue. They have demonstrated high degree of trust and love for Nigeria as a nation and by extension to the entire citizenry who are victims of the insurgency especially in the northeast. Also, more jobs would be created, collapsed industries are in the revival process while many new industries would spring up.”

    The group further added that, “As the giant of Africa, it is an absurd for developed nations to build warehouses in our neighboring countries and paying them heavily for goods to be dumped therein and smuggled into our country with little or no returns to our nation.

     

  • Eland shareholders approve £382m takeover by Seplat

     Emeka Ugwuanyi

     

    Shareholders of Eland Oil & Gas Plc have given overwhelming backing to the £382 million takeover of the company by indigenous oil & gas producer, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc.

    At two meetings of shareholders on Wednesday 20 November, resolutions in favour of the proposed takeover of Nigeria-focused Eland were approved by 99.9 per cent of votes cast. Subject to court approval, the takeover is expected to become effective on 17 December 2019.

    The cash takeover announced in October provided recognition of Eland’s achievement in building a successful exploration, development and production business in Nigeria. Seplat has the financial and technical capacity to develop Eland’s assets and will deliver long-term benefits for employees, partners, host communities, and Nigeria as a whole. As a leading indigenous operator, Seplat understands the critical role it must play to drive a positive socio-economic impact among its communities. With their knowledge of Eland’s producing assets and operations, Seplat’s management team will efficiently integrate them into Seplat’s existing portfolio.

    On announcement of the deal Seplat acknowledged the importance and value of the skills and experience of existing Eland employees who built the company’s success, stating that the combination of the two businesses will result in a wider range of capabilities, as well as underpin Seplat’s ambition to be the leading independent exploration and production E&P in Nigeria.

    “We are glad to have contributed immensely to the growth of the Nigerian oil and gas industry,” commented George Maxwell, CEO of Eland. “Eland has, in a period which has seen a significant cyclical downturn in our industry, outperformed most of its peers and the London AIM Oil & Gas Index. We are proud to say that Eland has contributed greatly to helping the Federal Government achieve its mission of growing local participation in the sector.”

    On 23 October 2019 the condition requiring a joint notification made by Seplat and Eland to the Nigerian Department of Petroleum Resources, notifying the Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources of the Acquisition and the acquisition of interests by Seplat in Eland, was deemed satisfied.

    The condition requiring a joint notification made by Seplat and Eland to the Nigerian Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, notifying the Nigerian Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission of the Acquisition, was deemed satisfied on 12 November 2019.

     

     

  • Concept Nova introduces theft solution

    Collins Nweze

     

    CONCEPT Nova has introduced CargoSafe, a tamper-proof solution meant to reduce cost of operation and  raise Return on Investment (RoI) for companies.

    The tool,  an intelligent tamper-proof solution to prevent theft of goods and valuables for organizations and individuals was built to protect goods and valuables across the nation.

    Concept Nova Managing Director, Chukwuma Ochonogor reiterated the need for businesses and individuals to adopt proper security measures to keep their goods and valuables protected all year round, particularly during the end of year season.

    “All year long, many businesses and individuals constantly fall prey to theft and vandalism of their goods and valuables because they are unprepared to handle these prevalent issues. With the upcoming Christmas activities and traffic gridlock expected to surface during the ‘Ember season’, it is exceedingly important that businesses and individuals are equipped with effective ways of preventing their goods and valuables from being stolen or vandalized.

    This next-generation protection solution offers these benefits by providing access to detailed audit and reports on the security of your valuables, remote lock and unlock access restricted to authorized personnel, as well as real-time alerts and notifications via email, SMS and the App to every relevant stakeholder on all lock/unlock/suspicious activities,” Ochonogor said.

  • N5tr debt: AMCON mulls bankruptcy tag on debtors

    Collins Nweze

     

    THE Asset Management corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) may declare recalcitrant debtors bankrupt based on advice from Senior Partner, Olaniwun Ajayi -LP, Muyiwa Balogun to the agency.

    The legal consultant had challenged AMCON and Judges of the Federal High Court of Nigeria (FHC) to leverage the 2019 Amended AMCON Act and declare AMCON obligors who are holding public office bankrupt.

    The new 2019 Amended AMCON Act, which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari  provided AMCON with sweeping powers, which is intended to help AMCON recover a huge debt of over N5 trillion owed the corporation by obligors as a result of AMCON intervention in the banking sector. AMCON was created in 2010 as a result of the global economic crises of 2008/2009, which nearly cripples the financial sector of Nigeria.

    Speaking  at a one-day Seminar for Judges of the FHC in Abuja he argued that the only alternative to the recovery challenge was for the judges of the FHC to take the matter as a national assignment and explore all the powers of the new amendment.

    In attendance at the seminar were the Acting Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, officials of the National Judicial Institute (NJI), the management of AMCON and officials of Legal Academy. Balogun said the Judges of the FHC, which incidentally is AMCON’s court of first instance should as a matter of fact support the corporation to explore the bankruptcy proceedings as provided by the amendment, which he said will at least make it possible for AMCON to rubbish its debtors that are holding public office as persons of no integrity and so cannot hold such office.

    According to him, “Once you are declared bankrupt, you cannot hold public office. Today, we have AMCON debtors making laws for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. AMCON with your support, needs to go to court and declare such individuals bankrupt. Given the sunset period of AMCON and the fact that the debt we are talking about is the commonwealth of Nigeria, it would not be out of place to take the full advantage of the bankruptcy power among other special powers in the new amendment.”

    AMCON’s Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru, said even though obligors of AMCON have been working hard to stretch AMCON to the sunset period, the corporation, under his leadership is determined to achieve its mandate within the limited time available and within the law. The amendment, he stated can only be as effective as the judiciary pronounces on its provisions within the interpretative powers vested by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.

     

     

  • Access Bank donates facility to Police

    Collins Nweze

     

    Access Bank Plc on Tuesday commissioned an interrogation room donated to the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) at Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos.  The project is part of the bank’s plan to ensure the protection of lives and property around Ikoyi and environs.

    In addition to the fully equipped facility, the bank also donated a 250 KVA generator to the Force to help improve their working conditions and that of neighbouring communities.

    Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, who was represented at the commissioning by the Group Head, Enterprise Business Resources, Mac Atom, spoke on the bank’s motive and commitment to corporate social responsibility.

    “Partnerships and social investment remains a critical part of Access Bank’s sustainability drive. In our bid to offer more than banking and create value for various government agencies, we have donated state of the art interrogation and observation rooms to select divisions of the Nigerian Police Force across the country, starting with Lagos.

    Read Also: Access Bank, Flutterwave back TEXA 2020 forum

    “We thank the NPF for all they do, especially for seeing to it that all our customers remain protected and secure,” he said.

    Speaking on behalf of the NPF, the Assistant Inspector General in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex, Alagbon, Ikoyi, Murtala Mani, expressed gratitude for the donation and urged other private organisations to follow Access Bank’s blueprint in offering support to the Force.

    Over the years, the Bank’s sustainability focus areas and community investment include education, health, gender equality, arts, and sports – demonstrating its commitment to channelling noteworthy resources and funds into impacting citizens positively and responsibly.

     

     

  • Connecting the world, families with mobile banking

    Gone are the days when banking was boring and simple transactions took almost a day to complete. Today, with digital banking, commercial banks are finding new ways to ensure they provide efficient services to their customers. The impact of digital banking was seen at the sixth All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) 2019 in Lagos, where bank customers from across the world used the platforms   to carry out their transactions and stay connected to their families, writes COLLINS NWEZE

     

    Banking is getting more interesting by the day. It is  no longer where you are, but what you do. Thanks to digital banking, the new route the world is travelling to achieve better results for customers anywhere and anytime across the world.

    Banks with eyes on the future are taking strategic steps to ensure they take advantage of the new information technology that is defining the sector’s successes and reach.

    Ecobank Nigeria, FirstBank, Access Bank, First City Monument Bank, GTBank, United Bank for Africa, among others are tapping into the opportunity created by digital banking to provide seamless services to their customers.

    Also, a large number of Nigerians, especially the youth who are becoming more technology savvy, have continued to adopt and prefer electronic banking (e-banking) and payment (e-payment) offerings, as their information technology knowledge and its value-addition grow.

    Ecobank Nigeria believes that the advent of information technology, as exemplified by computers, mobile phones and other communication devices has significantly revolutionalised the financial system globally.

    For instance, Ecobankmobile *326# was a star attraction at the sixth All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) 2019 held in Lagos. Stars, both local and foreign and a wide range of guests, both Nigerians and non-Nigerians, attested to the unique features of the mobile banking code available in 33 countries. The Lagos Awards had as its theme: “Feel Africa”.

    The *326# sing-along jingle was warm and alluring as guests were ushered into the awards venue. Ecobankmobile *326# enables them to instantly open accounts, make transfers, pay bills and buy airtime even at the colourful venue – Eko Hotel and Suites.

    “For us coming from Cameroun, the Ecobank app makes it looks like home here. It is what we are used to. So, seeing it at this venue was not a surprise to me. The *326# is a familiar code”, said Joaddan Abdou, an artist’s aide visiting Nigeria for the first time.

    Also, for her colleague Nudine Aboya, the Ecobankmobile supports everyday living. “I need not open an account, as I have already done so with the code in Cameroun. I am able to transact with my account even now that I am here in Nigeria”. When asked the process of opening the account, she said: “I simply dialed *326# and followed the steps outlined and within five minutes, I opened the account”.

    The Pan African bank had announced that Ecobankmobile *326# was partnering the AFRIMA events to support the growth of the creative and music industry which is a key driver of Africa’s history and rich culture and most significantly youth engagement and empowerment.

    Ecobank Nigeria Managing Director, Patrick Akinwuntan, said: “As the Pan-African bank, Ecobank is proud to partner with Africa’s most renowned music awards, which is a symbol of our support to building the family and lifestyle of Africans. Ecobankmobile *326# is joining AFRIMA to ensure that the Lagos show is a success.“

    For him, Ecobankmobile *326#, Ecobankpay, Ecobankmobile App, Ecobank Xpress Account are bringing easy, affordable and convenient financial services to the youth, entrepreneurs and businesses, both local and foreign which are expected at the events. ”Our products interact with the lifestyle of Africans.  Ecobankmobile *326# makes it easy to open an instant account, make transfers, pay Bill’s and buy airtime. Our integrated Ecobankmobile App works seamlessly across all 33 countries where Ecobank operates in Africa.”

    Akinwuntan, said the bank uses digital offerings to support lifestyle, culture and the entertainment industry in general. “For us it’s not just about banking but also about the pride of the African. We know that unless we project ourselves, the world won’t project us. It is normal for us to look for great institutions promoting our culture with world-class standard. So, when we had the opportunity of looking at what is being done here, it came naturally to us that we should work as partners to improve the quality of lifestyles of Nigerians. Our products interact with the lifestyle of Nigerian,” he said.

    He said the partnership is one of the several initiatives by the Pan African Bank to boost tourism, culture and the entertainment industry in Africa. He said it is also in line with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s initiative for banks to support the growth of the creative industry in the county.

    According to him, Ecobankmobile *326# is pleased to support the growth of the creative and music industry which is a key driver of Africa’s history and rich culture and most significantly youth engagement and empowerment.  ”As the Pan-African bank, Ecobank is proud to partner with Africa’s most renowned music awards, which is a symbol of our support to building the family and lifestyle of Africans. Ecobankmobile *326# is joining AFRIMA to ensure that  the Lagos show is a success.” he stated.

    He said Ecobankmobile *326#, Ecobankpay, Ecobankmobile App, Ecobankxpress Account are bringing easy, affordable and convenient financial services to the youth, entrepreneurs and businesses, both local and foreign which are expected at the events.

    Also speaking, President and Executive Producer, AFRIMA, Mike Dada said: “The AFRIMA-Ecobank partnership for the 6th All Africa Music Awards brings together deep skills in financial and culture industries strategy, product ideation, technology development and deployment and organisational change management to help support African communities for successful socio-economic transformations.”

    Also, EcobankPay, the lifestyle digital payments and collections service of Ecobank Nigeria has formally unveiled its partnership with Terra Kulture following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Terra Kulture Theatre in Lagos.

    The ceremony also featured the exclusive screening of “Queen Moremi: The Musical” which was supported by Ecobank Nigeria.

    Read Also: Mobile banking: UBA unveils *919# magic banking

     

    Speaking on the collaboration, Akinwuntan stated that Ecobank is a pan African Bank, which always seeks to promote the African culture and heritage. This, he said, informed the relationship with Terra Kulture, an initiative that will support the promotion of Nigeria’s cultural heritage on the global stage.

    “For us it’s not just about banking but also about the pride of the African. We know that unless we project ourselves, the world won’t project us. It is normal for us to look for great institutions like Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions promoting our culture with world-class standard. So when we had the opportunity of looking at what is being done here, it came naturally to us that we should work as partners to improve the quality of lifestyles of Nigerians. Our products interact with the lifestyle of Nigerians and we have picked EcobankPay as the flagship product for this collaboration.

    Chief Executive Officer, Terra Kulture, Bolanle Austin-Peters explained that the partnership is a delight for the cultural brand which has suffered lack of corporate sponsorship since inception.

    In her words: “This is exciting for us because what we do here is to promote Nigerian art and culture. We’ve done this as private initiative since 2004 and it has been like a lonely existence. In the past, people didn’t believe in what we do. Foreign culture dominated the scene. But things are beginning to shift. People are now appreciating our arts and culture.”

    Akinwuntan said: “We are embedding into the culture and lifestyles of our customers across Nigeria. And you know that, the creative industry is an industry of focus for banks, because we are promoting Nigerian talent in order to support them to become world class stars. We are going out there to export our talent and let people know that African culture is world class.”

    He said Ecobank is passionate about Africa and its cultural renaissance, and its partnership with Bolanle Austen-Peters, a renowned African culture promoter, sits perfectly with the Pan African brand. Further, he stated that the bank will continue to leverage its digital offerings to facilitate a more seamlessly connected Africa.

    As part of the partnership, Ecobank handed over the sum of N.5 million to the best dressed person jointly won by Daala Oruwari and Teni Oluwo at the premiere, being the climax of the ‘Eko for Show’ dress code for the event. Guests were encouraged to dress spectacularly to win cash prizes sponsored by EcobankPay.

    Akinwuntan disclosed that the bank is well positioned and prepared to participate actively in the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI) recently introduced by the CBN) in collaboration with the Banker’s committee. CIFI was introduced to improve access to long-term low-cost financing for entrepreneurs and investors in the Nigerian creative and information technology (IT) sub-sector, as part of efforts to develop the economy.

    Access Bank Plc has also made huge investment in technology, which has led to sustained growth in the bank. In 2018, Access Bank stood out among Nigeria’s top banks, taking home three awards, including Best Digital Bank, Best Mobile Banking App and Most Sustainable Bank at the World Finance’s Digital Banking Awards. Since its merger with Diamond Bank in April 2019, Access Bank has become the largest bank in Africa by customer base.

    Access Bank Group Managing Director/CEO Herbert Wigwe said the bank is transforming its operations to meeting new demands. As part of this, the bank has introduced several solutions, including WhatsApp banking and an AI-powered chatbot.

    Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Adesola Adeduntan, said that customer experience and innovation are key in our approach to satisfying our customers. “As a leading banking services solutions provider, FirstBank has continued to set the pace in the financial services industry, coming up with new initiatives to provide financial products and services with greater speed, accountability and efficiency,” he said at the FirstBank Fintech Summit held in Lagos.

    Adeduntan said that the third edition of the FirstBank Fintech Summit indicates the bank’s commitment to putting its customers first. According to him, FirstBank is keen at offering excellent financial services by devising new ways of effectively and efficiently meeting customers’ financial needs.

    Commenting on its electronic banking services, FCMB Managing Director, Adam Nuru, said the lender will continue to make banking more exciting and rewarding. He explained that the feat achieved so far was inspired by the bank’s quest to ensure that all segments of the population, especially the unbanked and the under-banked, embrace mainstream banking services.

     

  • Equities open negative as profit-taking sets in

    Taofik Salako Capital Market Editor

     

    NIGERIAN equities closed the first trading session in December with marginal decline as investors sought to monetise capital gains that had accrued over the past three weeks. Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated average decline of 0.04 per cent, equivalent to net capital depreciation of N6 billion.

    The decline depressed the average year-todate return to -14.13 per cent. The All Share Index (ASI)- the common value-based index that tracks share prices at the NSE, dropped from its opening index of 27,002.15 points to close at 26,990.59 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities also declined from its opening value of N13.033 trillion to close at N13.027 trillion.

    With 17 decliners to 12 advancers, the decline yesterday was largely due to profit-taking transactions across the sectors as investors sought to lock in values. Most sectoral indices closed negative, underlining the widespread profittaking sentiment.

    READ ALSO: Lagos-Ibadan rail to be ready April 2020, says Amaechi

    The NSE Industrial Goods Index dropped by 1.20 per cent.

    The NSE Banking Index dipped by 0.16 per cent while the NSE Oil and Gas Index slipped by 0.15 per cent. On the upside, the NSE Insurance Index appreciated by 1.02 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index rose by 0.71 per cent. Cement Company of Northern Nigeria led the decliners with a drop of N1 to close at N19. UAC of Nigeria followed with a loss of 70 kobo to close at N7.30 while GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria dropped by 25 kobo to close at N6.