The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • Fidelity Bank renovates school in Lagos

    Fidelity Bank renovates school in Lagos

    Fidelity Bank Plc has handed over a renovated, fully equipped block of classrooms to Ibafon Primary School, Ibafon, Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area, Apapa, Lagos.

    The lender said the education sector remains critical to driving socio-economic development. The school project was initiated and implemented by the staff of Apapa Region of Fidelity Bank Plc., under the auspices of the Fidelity Helping Hands Program (FHHP).

    Speaking at the occasion, Managing Director/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nnamdi Okonkwo said that the project is  part of the banks efforts aimed at improving the education sector in the country.

    Okonkwo said Nigeria’s  quest to be among the leading global economies  will be a mirage without a formidable workforce, a spin -off  of a sound education sector . He explained that  the FHHP is the Bank’s approach to giving back to the society.

    Okonkwo, who was represented by Obaro Odeghe, Head, Apapa Regional Bank, enjoined other private organisations to partner with the government in its efforts to revive Nigeria’s ailing educational system and bring back its lost glory. Odeghe promised that the Bank will return next year to renovate the other blocks of classrooms and equip them with state-of-the-art furniture and equipment.

    In his remarks, the Local Government Education Secretary, Solomon Aboluwodi commended Fidelity Bank Plc., for undertaking such a monumental project in the local government,. He noted that the  financial institution is already trailing the blaze in the CSR space and called on other corporate bodies to emulate Fidelity Bank. According to him, “if we have up to five organisations like Fidelity Bank in our different communities, the society will be a better place”.

  • ‘Infrastructure financing beyond banks’

    ‘Infrastructure financing beyond banks’

    The Managing Director FBN Capital Limited, Kayode Akinkugbe, has said the commercial banking community alone cannot meet the requirements for Nigeria’s infrastructure financing.

    He spoke at a discussion panel on ‘The Nigerian Capital Market: A Catalyst for Change,’ during the 2015 Business Luncheon of the Capital Market Solicitors Association (CMSA) held in Lagos.

    Akinkugbe said Nigeria is at a point in its development where the issue of infrastructure has become extremely critical.

    “Our infrastructure deficit requires us to invest around 30 billion dollars a year for the next decade to catch up. The financing requirements are far much more than what the commercial banks can cope with. There is therefore a clear gap, and the right segment of the financial market to fill the gap is the capital market,” he said.

    He explained however that strengthening liquidity in the capital market is very crucial, especially for confidence. “If we have counter parties that have strong capital, there will be much more activity in the capital market. Currently, we really don’t have a lot of well capitalized institutions. Being well capitalized means you can make investments in distribution,” he said.

    He submitted that to make the investments that are required, properly capitalized institutions are needed.

    Head Legal and Regulations, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Ms Tinu Awe, expressed that there are three paradigm adjustments that needs to be made within the Capital Market industry. Firstly, operators need to collaborate together to challenge the status quo of the financial market.

  • Firm promotes investment in eCurrency technology

    Omidyar Network has announced a for-profit investment in eCurrency Mint (eCM), a Dublin-based company that has pioneered a new technology enabling central banks to issue digital fiat currency, called eCurrency.

    The investment is part of Omidyar Network’s Financial Inclusion initiative, which focuses on supporting innovative technologies to massively increase reach and scale impact of affordable, convenient, and flexible financial services to consumers and small businesses globally.

    Funds raised during this Series C round of investments led by Omidyar Network will make eCM’s path-breaking technology available to central banks around the world, enabling them to efficiently and securely evolve their national currencies to keep pace with today’s digital world.

    Partner at Omidyar, Tilman Ehrbeck, said: “Paper-based money is becoming an antiquated tool in an increasingly digital economy. It often causes those who rely heavily on cash to conduct their financial lives to be locked out of the formal financial system and the opportunities it presents. eCurrency can help accelerate financial inclusion by turning today’s digital value systems into sovereign-backed national currencies, increasing trust, and addressing key issues hindering their adoption today, such as interoperability.”

    According to Jonathan Dharmapalan, Founder and CEO of eCM: “As technological advancements have connected people globally, the payments industry has provided them with better, digital ways to transact. If we think of digital transaction platforms as a system of pipes, then mobile has added the last miles of these pipes, and the internet is reaching people at the farthest corners of the world.”

  • Skye Bank trains women entrepreneurs

    Skye Bank trains women entrepreneurs

    Twenty women entrepreneurs have been trained by Skye Bank Plc under the aegis of the Skye Pearl programme to assist them run their businesses efficiently, profitably and professionally.

    The beneficiaries are the first set of entrepreneurs to be trained under the advisory and training support services for female entrepreneurs, a component package of the Skye Pearl programme which is specifically developed to cater to the funding and capacity building needs of female entrepreneurs, stay-at-home mothers, among others.

    Declaring the training programme open, the Regional Director, Greater Ikeja Region, Skye Bank Plc, Mr. Ndubuisi Osakwe, said the training programme was to help build capacity for women in business and equip them with the necessary skills to succeed in business.

    Osakwe said studies have shown that with the necessary basic training in business management, women would excel as well as create value thereby contributing to the development of the nation.

    He further said women in business have low record of credit default, adding that with the necessary training and business advisory, they would not only excel but become employers of labour.

    In her remarks, Head, Small Business Group, Skye Bank Plc, Mrs. Ayodele Olojede, said the bank would partner with the female entrepreneurs to improve the business climate and remove obstacles to their success

    Olojede noted that the training programme was in line with the unique value proposition of Skye Pearl initiative to address the knowledge and skill gap among female entrepreneurs and position them for competitive participation in business.

    Some of the beneficiaries who spoke after the training programme lauded Skye Bank for its strategic partnership with female entrepreneurs in the areas of financial and advisory services.

  • VISA rewards winners of free fuel promo

    VISA rewards winners of free fuel promo

    VISA, in partnership with Total Nigeria, has rewarded winners who took part in its free fuel promotion meant to improve e-payment card usage in the country.

    Eight lucky customers out of 1,100 who participated in the grand raffle draw by sending SMS to a short-code, were rewarded with free fuel at any Total service station for a year, with customised Visa card worth N260, 000 and billed to expire in four years given to them.

    Also, 3,500 customers participated in the instant winning of N1,000 worth free fuel available daily to 10 Visa card users who buy petrol worth N3000 and above from any of the seven designated Total service stations in Lagos.

    Country manager, VISA West Africa, Mr. Ade Ashaye at the presentation to the winners, said it is a thing of joy to see the number of Nigerians who participated in the promotion to promote and educate consumers and businesses on the convenience of making payments for fuel and other commodities through e-payment.

    He said the objective is to drive the cashless policy in Nigeria through e-commerce and they understand that card payments are more secure than cash payments for both buyers and sellers, as the challenge is that most people used their card to redraw cash and not to purchase items which is what they aiming to change.

    “It is a pilot scheme and we take the learning’s from it to make the promo better for future events. and even Total operative said he uses the promotion to train his staff  on how to accept card for purchases made as fewer cash transactions but card transactions is the key focus for the promotion”, he added.

    The Network Development Manager, Total Nigeria, Maxence Bourgoing said: “We are happy to work with Visa on this project. Total has invested a lot in ensuring that our service stations are up to international standards and this partnership is certainly a step in the right direction.”

    Bourgoing said globally, there is a drive towards e-commerce and card payments and “we are happy to be at the forefront of this initiative in Nigeria. TOTAL service stations are a key interaction point with our customers and so we promise to continuously offer innovative payment solutions that make purchases as seamless as possible.”

  • NIRSAL gets MD

    Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin I. Emefiele, has approved the appointment of Aliyu Abbati Abdulhameed as substantive Managing Director and Babajide Arowosafe as Executive Director (Technical) of the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).

    Abdulhameed holds a B.Sc. in Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and a Masters Degree in Public Administration with specialization in Public Policy. He also holds an Executive Masters Certificate in Project Management from the Project Management College (UK). He has over 22 years experience in Corporate Agribusiness and in the field of Agricultural Finance and Risk management. Mr. Abdulhameed is currently an Executive Team Member of NIRSAL PLC.

    Arowosafe has a first degree in Agriculture and a Masters in Agricultural Policy and Administration. He has wide-ranging experience in agriculture and micro-enterprises having worked in these fields for both the World Bank and the United Nations. Most recently, Mr. Arowosafe was the Commissioner for Agriculture& Natural Resources in Ekiti State.

  • Access Bank chair to speak at business forum

    Access Bank chair to speak at business forum

    Professionals and entrepreneurs will meet next Wednesday at Oriental Hotel to discuss  ways to improve the economy through business opportunities and networking.

    MoveBackToNigeria (MBTN) and Young African MBAs (YAM) are organizing the event that will afford young entrepreneurs within the country and from the Diaspora an opportunity to meet investors and business development professionals, with the aim of improving businesses.

    Chairman, Access Bank, Mrs Mosun Belo-Olusoga,  will deliver a keynote address at the business forum, after which there would be a panel discussion featuring successful entrepreneurs, including the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Agrolay Ventures, Ada Osakwe, CEO of Okadabooks.com, Okechukwu Ofili, Managing Director of Hotels.ng, Mark Essien, and CEO of TalentMine, Dr. Femi Kuti.

    The event, which is billed to start at 5:30pm, would also feature an award ceremony to honour personalities who featured in MBTN weekly interviews.

    According to the organisers, the gathering would enable participants and guests to network and interact on business ideas.

  •  Diaspora remittances hit $20.8billion

     Diaspora remittances hit $20.8billion

    The World Bank Migration and Remittances Factbook 2016 released yesterday showed that Nigerians living abroad sent home $20.8 billion in 2015. The figure, it said, is by far the largest volume of remittances to any country in Africa and the sixth largest in the world.

    “The United States is the biggest remittance sending country to Nigeria, followed by the United Kingdom. Nigerians  received $5.7 billion in remittances sent from friends and family members in the US and $3.7 billion from the UK in 2015. Nigeria is also the third largest destination country for migrants from other African nations,” it said.

    It said a quarter of a billion people around the world are migrants, and over $600 billion in remittances are sent annually.

    The global lender said international remittances to developing countries reached over $441 billion in 2015, more than Foreign Direct Investment and trice more than official aid flows, adding that 34 per cent of all international remittances are sent between developing countries.

    It disclosed that remittances constitute more than 10 per cent of Gross Domestic Product for 25 countries, pointing out that international remittances have been growing steadily and remain stable even during episodes of financial volatility.

    “In 2015, the number of international migrants surpassed 250 million, a quarter of a billion people, globally. International migrants now represent more than 3.4 per cent of the world’s population. South-South migration is now larger than South-North migration. Over 38 per cent of international migrants have migrated from developing countries to other developing countries. 14.4 per cent of international migrants are refugees,” it said.

    Speaking on the development, Senior Mobile Analyst at WorldRemit, Alix Murphy,  says the World Bank’s latest report shows that countries have now hit two significant milestones – quarter of a billion migrants globally and $600 billion of remittances sent annually.

    “More than ever, we live in world of mobile and connected people whose financial ties extend across the planet. At WorldRemit we see the technological infrastructure evolving to meet these changing demands – in particular the convergence of mobile connectivity, instant messaging and international money transfers,” she said.

    She believes that despite being the biggest economy in Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria’s financial system is still deeply fragmented, making sending and receiving money very challenging for ordinary Nigerians. According to her, 56 per cent of Nigerians are unbanked, so offering a variety of pay-out options, including direct to bank account and instant cash pick-up, is extremely important for reaching everyone in society.

  • Finance Houses: N100m recapitalisation deadline ends month-end

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) 21-month timeline for Finance Houses to meet the new N100 million capital base for the subsector will expire on December 31. The initial September 30, deadline was shifted to this month-end by the CBN.

    The Nation at the weekend, learnt that with tight liquidity in the market, many operators are yet to secure the needed fund to continue their business and this may lead to exit of several fringe players.

    An insider source from the Finance Houses Association of Nigeria (FHAN), an umbrella body for the sector, said many of the operators have not secured the needed fund for them to stay in business.

    “The N100 million minimum capital base looks small, but surprisingly, not many operators have been able to get it. I see many of them closing shop after the deadline elapses,” he said.

    CBN Director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, Ahmad Abdullahi had instructed that operators that fail to meet the deadline will be forced to stop operation, or to move into new business with lesser capital base.

    Abdullahi said the subsector also operates on a ratio of non-performing loans to total loans now pegged at maximum of 10 per cent. He said FCs shall consult at least two licensed credit bureaux to obtain credit information on borrowers.

    The CBN director said the finance companies sub-sector was envisioned to operate at the middle tier of the financial system, largely to cater for the financial needs of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). They are also expected to leverage on the resources from the banking system among other sources of funding.

    He explained that the CBN had in a bid to sanitise the sub-sector, revoked the licences of 208 finance companies and cancelled the approvals-in-principle of 462 others due to the distress in the sub-sector.

    By 2012, there were 116 FCs in the records of the CBN; 51 licences were revoked by the CBN in September, 2012 thus leaving a balance of 65 FCs with valid licences.

    “The idea is to have finance companies that are strong and virile to perform the functions they were set up to perform. The objective of shareholders in the operation of finance companies is to make profit, but for the CBN, it is to have stable and strong finance companies,” he said.

    Abdullahi said the CBN will continue to sanction finance companies that do not have the licences but be in operation as such would ensure that the subsector is run efficiently to the benefit of the economy.

    He advised finance companies to maintain a database of their customers and generate quarterly risk management reports to be submitted to the CBN. “Finance companies shall be permitted to participate in accessing and disbursing funds to SMEs via relevant vehicles/ intervention funds set up by the CBN, the Federal/State Governments and other relevant bodies. The CBN shall continue to provide support towards capacity building in the Finance Company sub-sector,” he said.

  • Diamond Bank, Total Nigeria partner on ATM use

    Diamond Bank, Total Nigeria partner on ATM use

    Diamond Bank Plc and Total Nigeria Plc have partnered to provide Automated Teller Machines (ATM) services at select Total Service stations across the country.

    Speaking at the product launch in Lagos,  the bank’s Director, Operations and Technology, Premier Oiwoh, who represented the MD/CEO, noted that the initiative was aimed at deepening customer satisfaction among customers of both organisations by providing them with convenient lifestyle solutions.

    He said: “We are pleased to flag off this partnership between Diamond Bank and Total Nigeria Plc, two notable, customer-centric brands, that have come together to provide secure and convenient lifestyle solutions to customers in Nigeria.

    “Diamond Bank ATMs are fitted with best-in-class security systems to ensure that users can confidently carry out their financial transactions no matter the area of deployment. Supported by Total Nigeria’s extensive service station network, we are providing our teeming  customers with safe, accessible and convenient centres where they can carry out all their regular ATM transactions using credit cards or Diamond Bank Magic Cash, a cardless alternative to using the ATM for customers who do not have their debit cards,” he added.

    The bank’s Divisional Head, Consumer and Privilege Banking, Aisha Ahmed, said: “As a full-fledged retail bank, Diamond Bank is always inventing new ways to reach our customers and make life easier for them. We believe that the partnership with Total Nigeria perfectly fits this goal as Total shares our core value of top quality service delivery.

    Jeff Nnamani, Executive Director Strategy, Total Nigeria, said: “As part of our continued efforts to provide top quality products and services to our customers, Total Nigeria PLC is glad to partner with Diamond Bank PLC in the deployment of ATM services in select Total Service Stations nationwide. This partnership is in line with our strategy to provide convenient and innovative services that are easily accessible.