The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • Fidelity Bank promotes financial literacy

    Fidelity Bank promotes financial literacy

    Fidelity Bank Plc has equipped the Information Communications Technology (ICT) Centre of Government Secondary School, Mabushi, Abuja. Working under the aegis of the Fidelity Helping Hands Programme (FHHP), one of the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) vehicles, staff of Abuja 1 Bank financed the purchase of 10 brand new computers and provided 10 years unlimited internet access to the school. According to the lender, the provision of reliable broadband internet access is the foundation required to convey personalised, digital learning to every child in the country.

    Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc., Nnamdi Okonkwo, said the gesture is strategically aimed at building the capacity of students, particularly on the use of modern ICT tools. According to the bank chief, the renovation of the ICT Centre is in fulfillment of the objectives of the Fidelity CSR practice which rests on a tripod: The Environment, Education and Health/Social Welfare. He pointedly noted that Fidelity Bank strives to reinforce robust, healthy community relations by identifying with host communities in activities that are most relevant to them.

    “We play a leading role by identifying and seeking viable solutions to the problems of the society like youth empowerment, especially those in our immediate operational environment”.

    Okonkwo who was represented by the Regional Bank Head, Abuja 1 Regional Bank, Hassan Imam, explained that the country and humanity will be a better place when every citizen, be it corporate or individual plays his role effectively, “We strongly believe in social advocacy. We also believe that we should not sit and wait for government to do it all alone. We have as a result, extended similar projects and initiatives to other states of the federation.”

    Imam pledged the bank’s support on initiatives that encourage education at all levels through the deployment of strategic projects that enhance the quality and standard of education in the country.

     

  • Govt pushes for 20% tax to GDP ratio, says CITN

    Govt pushes for 20% tax to GDP ratio, says CITN

    The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CITN) has disclosed Federal Government’s plans on achieving a 20 per cent tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio for the economy.

    The CITN President, Dr. Olateju Somorin, who disclosed this at the 33rd induction ceremony of the institute, held in Lagos at the weekend, said achieving this would require that tax administrators and professionals to navigate the tax laws on behalf of tax clients to ensure equity and fairness in its application and compliance.

    She said the task falls on professionals who must continually update and display the requisite skill set in order to offer top notch services to their clients and the general public.

    Somorin said the institute on its part, recognises the need for continuous provision of a strong manpower base for the tax system and would contribute its fair share in this regard.

    “It is pertinent to emphasise the place of taxation in national development at this juncture. This has become even more imperative in the face of falling crude oil prices and underperforming budgets as a result of paucity of funds from federal allocations. At the federal and state government level, there have been increased activities geared towards increasing internally generated revenue with different strategies being employed,” she said.

    The CITN boss said while some states have given effect to the institute’s call for autonomy for revenue administration, others attempt to resort to self-help by making summary pronouncements on what tax payers should pay.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, imposition of taxes is based on assessments, as is the convention with tax laws. These assessments provide the basis for arriving at the taxes being demanded. This makes for a better understanding and position of trust between the taxpayer and tax administrator. Let me equally reiterate our call that only tax professionals should head and administer agencies charged with revenue generation, especially at the Federal and States Boards of Internal Revenue,” she said.

    “Only people  possessing the right  skills in taxation should do the job.This has become necessary if government is to be taken seriously in addressing the issue of low tax compliance and increased revenue generation.

    “We recognise that as an institute, we do not possess compulsive powers to make government tow this line. However, we will continue to make our voice heard at every opportunity to drive home the message of professionalism”.

    Dr. Somorin explained that as part of the mandate of the institute to standardise taxation practice in the country, the Nigeria Taxation Standard Board (NTSB) was inaugurated  with the mandate to, amongst others, ensure standardisation of taxation practice and administration in Nigeria by narrowing down areas of differences in the treatment of tax matters.

    “In accordance with our institute’s resolve to carry out its mandate with integrity and service, I find it very useful and appropriate here today to inform you that our institute, as a professional body, does not condone any form of unprofessional behaviour or unethical practice among its members. This is a statutory responsibility to which all of us subscribe. Just as a violation of the law in the larger society always invariably attracts commensurate sanctions, so is non-compliance with the provisions of the institute’s Code of Conduct,” she said.

  • CIBN holds seminar on economic inclusion

    CIBN holds seminar on economic inclusion

    The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has concluded arrangements to organise the third Annual Seminar on Gender Economic Inclusion to address key issues that will make them economically active and relevant in the financial services industry.

    The seminar is scheduled for Tuesday, December 1, in Lagos is part of the public enlightenment programmes organised by the institute to uplift the lives of Nigerian women in the banking and financial services industry and it is expected to attract women working in the banks and other financial institutions and those who left active service.

    Participants will brainstorm on key sub-themes such as “An overview of Gender Structure in the Nigerian Financial Services Industry”; Financial Inclusion: A Veritable Tool for Achieving Gender Equality and Women. Economic Empowerment; and “The Imperative of Change in the Financial Services Sector: X-raying the Gender Dimension.

  • Sterling Bank flags off shopping dash season

    Sterling Bank flags off shopping dash season

    Sterling Bank at the weekend, flagged off the second edition of the Shopping Dash programme at Shoprite in Festival Mall at the Golden Tulip Hotel, Festac Town Lagos.

    The event is organised by the bank to reward children within the age bracketof four and eight years with its “I Can Save” accounts in five states across the country for being loyal customers. The programme created a lot fun for the children at the event as they were given the opportunity to shop for a period of one minute at the Mall.

    From Lagos, the train will move to both Oyo and Rivers states on Saturday, December 5 where children can shop at both Shoprite, Ibadan Mall Opposite High Court, Ring Road and SPAR PHC Mall, Azikiwe Road, Port Harcourt respectively.

    On December 12,Shoprite in Kwara Mall, Fate Road, Ilorin and Shoprite, Ikeja City Mall, Lagos will be agog with the excitement as the kids shop to the admiration of cheering families and friends. The next stop after this is the SPAR Guru Plaza, 740, Aminu Kano Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja on December 13. The final stop on the Shopping spree is SPAR Lekki, Park ‘n’ Shop Shopping Centre, Behind Nicon Town & Total Filling Station, Lekki Express Way, Lagos, on December 19.

    Some of the children who had the opportunity to participate were excited while their parents praised the bank for introducing the programme which they said would encourage more parents to open account for their children.

    Apart from the excitement on the part of the children, the parents who spoke with reporters at the event also expressed the view that the programme would promote financial literacy among children as some of them would end up using the account when they come of age.

    The bank in a statement signed by its Group Head, Strategy & Communications, Mr. Shina Atilola explained thus:  “The Shopping Dash initiative is aimed at creating fun for the children and rewarding them for having accounts with the bank. The dash provides an opportunity for the participating children to shop within a minute and pick items of their choice at the malls selected for the programme”.

     

  • FCMB supports SMEs’ funding

    FCMB supports SMEs’ funding

    The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, Ladi Balogun, has urged Nigerian women to take advantage of the opportunities provided by various initiatives of the government and the bank in the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) space to enhance their well-being and that of the country.

    He assured that the bank would continue to deepen its support to existing and upcoming women-owned SMEs through increased lending, capacity building, advisory and value-added products as well as service deliveries that would enhance customer experience.

    Balogun made these known while speaking at a capacity building session in Lagos which was organised by FCMB for women entrepreneurs on the N220 billion Central Bank of Nigeria intervention meant for SMEs’ development.

    The programme was in partnership with WEConnect International and Poize Magazine. FCMB is one of the financial institutions appointed to disburse the fund which requires that 60 percent of it should be channeled to women-owned businesses. So far, the bank  which grants over 20,000 monthly loans to individuals and companies and over 2,000 women-owned businesses (non-collateralized lending), has disbursed over N1.7 billion to SMEs in the intervention scheme.

    The capacity building session was attended by women entrepreneurs who operate in various sectors of the economy. It is part of FCMB’s strategies to reach out to the operators,  educate them on how to access the fund and equip them with relevant skills to take their business to greater heights. The development formed part of the bank’s contributions to the growth of SMEs and promote financial inclusion.

    CBN’s Assistant Director, Developmental Finance, Mr. Jonathan Tobin told the women entrepreneurs to be committed and show passion in their businesses. While advising that they could start small and grow, he stressed that, “CBN is determined to partner with FCMB to ensure you grow your businesses to achieve your business dream”.

     

  • Okauru, Stanbic IBTC director, others discuss women empowerment

    Okauru, Stanbic IBTC director, others discuss women empowerment

    Former Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) chairperson, Ifueko Omoigui Okauru and other leading women in banking, taxation, telecommunication and other sectors of the economy have advised women on how to be successful in their careers and businesses.

    Speaking at the Women In Successful Careers (WISCAR), seventh end of year graduation/induction ceremony held in Lagos, she said to lead change and achieve needed results, there should be mindset adjustment to continuous research, innovation, enquiry, progress, learning and self improvement.

    The First female presidential candidate, Prof. Remi Sonaiya; Chief Technical Officer, MTN Nigeria, Lynda Saint-Nwafor and Executive Director, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Yewande Sadiku,  shared their experiences and urged women on how to build successful careers without affecting the homes.

    Speaking on the theme: “Women Leading Change”, Okauru said “the change we seek should be a mind that does not just accept what is said, but questions, analyses, researches, learns from others, diversify our thinking by being with people who do not think like us, learning from them to achieve the results we seek,” she added.

    WISCAR graduated its sixth stream of mentees and inducted the seventh set who will go through the intensive and unique twelve months structured WIN with WISCAR mentoring program. As a contribution to the WISCAR legacy, the graduating mentees presented a cheque of N350, 000. Mentees from other streams shared inspiring stories.

    The founder of WISCAR, Mrs. Amina Oyagbola, said she realised that Nigerian women are hardworking,  diligent and creative. “Nigerian women are achievers. This has been further brought home to me recently by the great strides WISCAR made when we set up sub-committees of the WISCAR advisory board,” she said.

  • All banks sound, stable, says CBN

    All banks sound, stable, says CBN

    •Naira strengthens

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has defended the stability of the banking system, saying no Nigerian bank is “experiencing stress.”

    CBN’s Director of Communications, Ibrahim Mu’azu, assured the banking public that the Nigerian banking system is sound and that all banks are in compliance with both the regulatory and prudential requirements.

    Meanwhile, the naira yesterday strengthened by 2.1 per cent to N235 per dollar on the unofficial market. The local currency became upbeat after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) moved to enforce documentation requirements on bureau de change (BDC) operators prior to dollar sales.

    The CBN had asked BDC operators to submit accounts showing their dollar usage at the start of each week before they can access future sales, a move traders say was aimed at curbing speculation.

    The naira had fallen sharply on Wednesday, a day after the apex bank unexpectedly cut interest rates to stimulate lending. The currency was quoted at the pegged rate of N197 on the official interbank market on Thursday. “It has been observed that a good number of bureaux de change purchased foreign exchange from the central bank without rendering returns on their utilisation,” the CBN said.

    The CBN has introduced currency controls to stop the naira weakening, defying calls to further devalue the currency hard hit by the plunge in global crude prices.

  • Union Bank appoints chairman

    Union Bank appoints chairman

    Union Bank of Nigeria Plc (Union Bank) has appointed Cyril Odu as Chairman of the Board of Directors. His appointment followed the resignation of previous Chairman, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, who was recently appointed Minister of Budget and National Planning by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Odu joined the Board of Union Bank in 2012 following a $500 million investment in the Bank from Union Global Partners Limited, a private equity consortium.

    “The Board and Management of Union Bank thank Senator Udoma for his astute leadership and support over the past three years. Under Senator Udoma’s guidance, the Bank defined its strategic direction, outlined its transformation roadmap, and has made significant strides executing its priorities as is evident in our achievement of critical operational and financial milestones.

    We wish him success as he is called to serve our countryin a higher capacity and to assist the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in the transformation of the Nigerian economy,” says Emeka Emuwa, Group Managing Director and CEO of Union Bank.

    Emuwa said as a non-executive Director since 2012, Odu has brought his extensive knowledge and experience to bear and has provided critical input and direction to support the lender’s transformation.  “His appointment brings continuity and ensures that the Bank will continue to execute its defined strategic initiatives over the next few years.”

  • IMF approves $46.14m for Sierra Leone

    IMF approves $46.14m for Sierra Leone

    Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF),  has approved $64.59 million (equivalent of SDR 46.665 million of the local country’s currency) to be distributed in three tranches to Sierra Leone.

    The augmentation of access was approved after the Executive Board completed the third and fourth review of Sierra Leone’s performance under a three-year arrangement by the Extended Credit Facility (ECF).

    IMF said: “The completion of the third and fourth review enables the immediate disbursement of US$46.I4 million (SDR 33.335 million). This amount includes the first tranche of the augmentation in an amount of about US$2 l .53 million (SDR 15.555 million).”

    The Executive Board also approved the authorities’ request for the re-phasing of the fifth and sixth disbursements under the arrangement.

    In completing the review, the Executive Board additionally approved the authorities’ request for waivers of non-observance of the end December 2014 performance criteria on the ceiling on Net Domestic Bank Credit to Government.

    “The ECF arrangement for SDR 62.22 million (about US$95.9 miIIion) was approved in October and was augmented twice,” the Fund said.

    Following the Executive Board’s discussion on Sierra Leone, Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, said: “With the World Health Organization declaring Sierra Leone Ebola free on November 7, the country now faces the difficult challenge of economic recovery.

  • Union Bank appoints new chairman

    Union Bank appoints new chairman

    Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. has appointed Mr. Cyril Odu as Chairman of the Board of Directors following the resignation of previous Chairman, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, who was recently appointed Minister of Budget and National Planning by President Muhammadu Buhari. Mr. Odu joined the Board of Union Bank in 2012 following a $500 million (USD) investment in the Bank from Union Global Partners Limited, a private equity consortium.

    “The Board and Management of Union Bank thank Senator Udoma for his astute leadership and support over the past three years. Under Senator Udoma’s guidance, the Bank defined its strategic direction, outlined its transformation roadmap, and has made significant strides executing its priorities as is evident in our achievement of critical operational and financial milestones. We wish him success as he is called to serve our country in a higher capacity and to assist the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in the transformation of the Nigerian economy,” says Emeka Emuwa, Group Managing Director and CEO of Union Bank.

    On the appointment of Mr. Odu, Mr. Emuwa continues, “We are very pleased as Mr. Cyril Odu assumes the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors. As a non-Executive Director since 2012, he has brought his extensive knowledge and experience to bear and has provided critical input and direction to support Union Bank’s transformation. His appointment brings continuity and ensures that the Bank will continue to execute its defined strategic initiatives over the next few years.”

    Mr. Odu has nearly 45 years of professional and management experience. His 40-year distinguished career at ExxonMobil saw him rise from Trainee to Vice Chairman of the Board of Mobil Producing Nigeria and Chief Financial Officer of ExxonMobil Upstream Companies in Nigeria, making him the highest ranking Nigerian in the organisation until his retirement in 2012. During the span of his career at ExxonMobil, he served in many technical and managerial functions including Associate Geologist, Treasurer, Controller, Project Finance Director (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Country HR Manager, and General Manager, Planning and New Business Development. He was actively involved in developing and executing ExxonMobil business strategies in Nigeria, as well in as the implementation of several innovative funding and financing solutions, including the first upstream financing deal (the 1991 Oso Condensate field development) in Nigerian history.

    In 2008, he served on a presidential committee tasked with accelerating the expansion of Nigeria’s power infrastructure. After his retirement from Exxon Mobil in 2012, Mr. Odu joined African Capital Alliance where he became a Partner and led the energy division of the firm. He serves as a non-executive director on other corporate boards including Income Electrix and Venture Gardens Group.

    Prior to his appointment as Chairman of Union Bank, Mr. Odu was the Chairman of the Bank’s Risk Management Committee and also served on the Finance and General Purpose Committee and Credit Committee.

    Mr. Odu holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from the University of Ibadan, where he graduated with honours. He also has an MBA from Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas.