The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • FCMB wins Most Customer Friendly Bank award

    First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has added another feather to its cap having emerged the “Most Customer Friendly Bank” in the country, at the yearly BusinessDay Bankers Awards at the weekend in Lagos.

    The bank, which recently refreshed its brand with unique and differentiating identity, was voted after a rigorous process where several parameters were considered by the award team.The bank during the citation, was said to have also resolved the highest number of customers’ complaints, relative to total complaints recorded in 2014 financial year.

    In a statement by the BusinessDay group, the award was introduced in 2013, by the nation’s premier financial newspaper to reward excellence, achievements and recognise contributions made in the banking industry, and ultimately the economy.

    The publication further said that “since its introduction, it has engendered a healthy competition among deposit money banks in Nigeria, with a view to promoting the development of the banking sector in Africa’s largest economy”.

    Reacting on the awards, the representative of the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of First City Monument Bank Limited, Mr Ladi Balogun, Adam Nuru, who is the bank’s Executive Director, Business Development said: “We are happy to have come tops in the Most Customer Friendly Bank Category of the Awards by the BusinessDay Group which is a very credible and highly respected professional organisation.

    ‘’It is a testimony which confirms our unequalled commitment in offering exceptional quality service to our teeming customers and the  public.”

    “At FCMB, we pamper our customers who have made us who we are today. We go the extra miles to satisfy them.  FCMB will continue to invest in customer experience while providing simple, helpful and reliable banking that is driven by excellent technology and inclusive lending practices,” Mr. Nuru submitted.

    The CEO dedicated the award to all employees and explained that the Bank has launched several simple, friendly, innovative technology-driven customer-centric offers and mobile banking applications to facilitate speedy access to solutions via self-service, even while on the go. These products and services he enthused, address customers’ needs across segments and demographics including the youth segment

    First City Monument Bank (FCMB) is a member of FCMB Group Plc, which is one of the leading financial services institutions in Nigeria with subsidiaries that are market leaders in their respective segments. Having successfully transformed to a retail and commercial banking-led group, FCMB expects to continue to distinguish itself by delivering exceptional services, while enhancing the growth and achievement of personal and business aspirations of its customers.

  • 2,765 BDCs meet CBN’s capital base requirement

    2,765 BDCs meet CBN’s capital base requirement

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), at the weekend, confirmed that 2,765 bureaux de change (BDCs) have complied with new N35 million capitalisation requirements and another N35 million cautionary deposit for operators.

    The apex bank had also stated that interest would now be paid on the mandatory cautionary deposit based on banking industry savings account rate.

    The list of the confirmed BDCs was released by CBN’s Financial Policy and Regulation Department in a circular entitled: “Updated list of confirmed Bureaux de Change in compliance with new requirements.”

    The CBN had in May, published a list of 2,618 licensed BDCs which it said had complied with its new capital requirements of N35 million as at July 31, 2014.

    There were 3,208 registered BDCs in the country before the expiration of the deadline on July 31 for operators to recapitalise. The CBN had in June announced a new minimum capital requirement of N35 million for the operation of BDCs in the country, up from the N10 million it was previously.

    In order to ensure that the foreign exchange dealers comply with the new capital requirements, the CBN had extended the deadline to July 31, 2014 from previous July 15 timeline.

    The regulator had pointed out that on the expiration of the deadline on July 31, 2014, that it would cease to fund any BDC that failed to comply with the new requirements, adding that “only BDCs that meet the new requirements would qualify to be engaged as agent by the licensed international money transfer operators for inward and outward transfer business in Nigeria.

    It will be recalled that CBN had in a statement in June 2014, revised upward the minimum capital requirement for Bureau de Change (BDC) operations in Nigeria from N10 million to N35 million.

    CBN said it introduced the new requirements in a bid to correct observed deficiencies in the operation of BDCs in Nigeria, which it noted had led to gross inefficiency and sharp practices in the foreign exchange market, rent-seeking, depletion of the external reserves, financing of unauthorised transactions and dollarisation, among others.

    The apex bank noted that while the capital requirements for all other CBN-regulated entities had been reviewed upward over the years,  that of the dealers in the sub-sector of the forex market had remained the same.

    CBN also reviewed the mandatory cautionary deposit for BDCs to N35 million, adding that the fee shall be deposited in a non-interest yielding account in the CBN upon the grant of approval-in-principle. In addition, while the application fee was raised to N100,000, the licensing fee to N1 million, the annual renewal fee for the forex dealers was also increased to N250,000.

    All existing BDCs and those currently operating with a final approval letter were expected to comply with the new mandatory cautionary deposit requirements.

  • GTBank’s SME MarketHub empowers female entrepreneurs

    SME MarketHub has partnered with She Leads Africa to support African women entrepreneurs. The groups have also announced the top six finalists for the 2015 She Leads Africa Entrepreneur Showcase holding this month in Lagos.

    Now in its second edition, the initiative, sponsored by GTBank is aimed  at beaming a spotlight on women who are driving Africa’s growth through leadership, commerce and innovation by providing a veritable platform for young female entrepreneurs to grow their businesses across Africa and compete for $10,000 in cash prizes, direct access to investors and international media exposure.

    This year, applications were received from over 400 startups in 20 countries before six  finalists (i.e. Beauty Rev NG, Heat Free Hair, Heels In the Kitchen, InstaHealth, Kamokini and Omolata) were selected to pitch their businesses to a panel of leading business personalities including Segun Agbaje, Managing Director of GTBank plc; Tunde Folawiyo, Managing Director of Folawiyo Group; Huda Al Lawati, Abraaj Capital Midle East and North Africa Chief Investment Officer; Acha Leke, Director, Mckinsey & Company; Mo Abudu, Founder of Ebony Life TV.

    According to Mr. Yasmin Belo-Osagie, co-founder of SLA, “We are very excited about the judging panel for this year’s She Leads Africa Entrepreneur Showcase. The panel is made up of established and well-respected individuals from the consulting, media and finance sectors. Each judge’s professional insight and experience will play an important role in deciding the winners of this year’s Entrepreneur Showcase.

    Commenting on the development, Segun Agbaje, Managing Director/CEO of GTBank said: “empowering SMEs across Africa remains pivotal to the sustenance of growth and development in emerging economies across the world. It is for this reason that using our SME MarketHub platform, we have strategically targeted this sector to provide opportunities and create value for all our customers. He further stated that “SME businesses listed on the GTBank SME MarketHub can take advantage of the “She Hive”, a one week training programme sponsored by the SME MarketHub of the bank to train small business owners on capacity building, business ethics and global best practices. Tickets for the pitch competition are available on the SME MarketHub.

  • UBA trims loans as African units turn profit

    UBA trims loans as African units turn profit

    United Bank for Africa (UBA) lowered its forecast for 2015 loan growth to five to eight percent from 15 to 20 per cent as rising regulatory and economic uncertainty increase risks to lending, the bank said yesterday.

    UBA CEO Phillips Oduoza told Reuters in an investor call that the lender would maintain a conservative approach to lending for the second half of the year with a view to balancing risk with returns.

    Loans grew 8.5 percent in the first half with foreign currency loans accounting for 30 per cent of total N1.16 trillion ($5.8 billion) loan book. That compares with 14 per cent growth in loans last year.

    Oduoza said the bank would maintain its other forecasts. He forecast 2015 return on equity (ROE) would be above 20 percent, up from 19.2 per cent last year. ROE hit 22.3 percent in the first six months of the year.

    “We have revised downwards our loan growth target … given renewed uncertainty in the global and domestic market we would maintain a conservative approach,” HE said.

    Nigeria’s economy slowed sharply to 2.35 percent in the second quarter from 6.54 percent a year ago as lower crude prices took its toll on Africa’s biggest economy and top oil producer.

    The drop in crude prices also hit the currency market, prompting the central bank to tighten access to dollars in a bid to curb speculation on the naira, in turn hurting bank revenues from foreign exchange activities.

    Oduoza noted that regulatory risk was also rising with the government withdrawing public funds from the banking sector.

    Last week, UBA posted a pretax profit rise of 35 per cent in the first half to N39.04 billion ($196 million) and declared a dividend of 0.20 naira, thanks to increased income from business customers.

  • NIBSS battles Chinese, Indian Customs over BVN tools at ports

    NIBSS battles Chinese, Indian Customs over BVN tools at ports

    •Partners telcos on BVN confirmation alerts

    The Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) said its plans to extend the Bank Verification Number (BVN) project to China and India is hampered by delays in clearing project kits from their ports.

    Speaking yesterday during the announcement of partnership between NIBSS and some telecom operators in Lagos, its Managing Director, Ade Shonubi, said some of the devices needed to commence Diaspora BVN registration in both countries are stuck in their ports.

    He said: “We have been unable to get the devices out of the ports. The Customs in those countries are not co-operating with us”.

    Shonubi said NIBSS is working in partnership with telcos to ensure that every one that has been enrolled on the BVN network gets his number through his phone by dialing specified code.

    He said the USSD-BVN Notification Service, will assist the banking sector achieve seamless Know-Your -Customer (KYC) documentation process, and will boost customers’ access to credit.

    The NIBSS boss also said the BVN will enable banks blacklist fraudulent customers and ensure they do not return back to the system.

    Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat, Francesco Anjelone, said the firm is fully in support of the USSD-BVN Notification Service, describing it as an innovation. He said Etisalat keyed into the project because there will be a creation of value for both industries. “The collaboration will strengthen the BVN project,” he said.

    Senior Manager, Airtel, Adefolake Ogunbayo, said Airtel customers will start checking for their BVN from Wednesday next week. She described the partnership with NIBSS as a perpetual relationship that will lead to other services.

    Aside China and India, the NIBSS also is working on extending the BVN project to Washington DC, Johannesburg, and Atlanta. Other cities participating in the scheme are Guangzhou, London, Leicester, Houston and New York City.

    The OIS Services, handling the Diaspora project, is expected to capture necessary data for online transmission to NIBSS, which would thereafter generate the BVN and communicate same to the customer. The Diaspora customer are expected to forward their BVN to their local banks for linkage with their accounts.

    The CBN has also reiterated its support for the BVN project. The regulator said the new guidelines on the BVN enrolment has authorised bank customers in Diaspora to present themselves for enrolment by using foreign based Nigerian banks.

    “The first option is the customers of Nigerian banks to present themselves to the offshore branches or subsidiaries of any Nigerian banks for the BVN enrollment. The deployment of scanners and other devices to these locations have started in earnest,” it said.

  • NDIC boss urges banks on outsourced staff

    NDIC boss urges banks on outsourced staff

    The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has called for a closer look at the phenomenon of outsourced or contract staff in banks to ensure healthy and sound practices in the banking industry.

    Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Corporation, Umaru Ibrahim, made the call in Abuja during a courtesy call on him by the President and other Council Members of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

    The NDIC Boss said bank examination reports had indicated that the high incidences of fraud and forgeries in the banking system had been linked to outsourced or contract staff.

    Umaru also said that in as much as regulators appreciated the necessity for banks to cut costs, it was incumbent on all stakeholders to fashion out capacity building and other strategies to motivate all employees to contribute positively rather than engaging in criminal acts that impact adversely on the entire banking system.

    The NDIC CEO also expressed concern about the plight of female employees in the banking industry. He noted that banks often engaged female employees and set for them very high targets on deposit mobilisation and other asset creation ventures, which put undue pressure on the female employees.

    According to him, although some improvement had been recorded with regards to the situation, there was still need to provide a more conducive working environment in order to attract and retain a talented female workforce in the sector.

    The President of the Institute, Mrs Debola Osibogun regretted that over 75 per cent of fraud cases in the sector had been traced to outsourced bank staff who were neither professionals nor members of the CIBN.

    While noting that the Institute had no control over the banks, she disclosed that a Committee of the Institute was already working with heads of operations of banks on the challenges being posed by the outsourced staff and would soon submit its report to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for consideration.

    The CIBN President also said the Institute had been mandated as the agency for competency framework for banking industry by the CBN, adding that the CIBN had visited banks’ academies and had issued accreditation certificate to the academies of the FirstBank, Access Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank.

  • Forex: CBN, BDCs head for showdown

    Forex: CBN, BDCs head for showdown

    Bureaux De Change (BDCs) are facing regulatory hurdles over continued foreign exchange (forex) volatility in the wake of falling oil prices. The BDCs jittery that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may shut them out of the official forex window, writes COLLINS NWEZE.

    Bureaux De Change (BDC) are critical stakeholders in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) – moderated foreign exchange (forex) market. But they are the first point of adjustment every time there is a forex crisis.

    The fear of Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) president Alhaji Musa Gwadabe that CBN is considering closing the official forex window to BDC operators is not helping matters. It portends a grave danger for operators. Gwadabe linked the fear of closure of the forex window to BDCs as one of the factors fueling naira speculation and hoarding in the market.

    The ABCON chief has therefore sent a letter to the regulator, accusing it of over regulating the sector.

    The group said the increasing challenges arising from over regulation and complex documentation requirements that licensed BDC operators are facing in carrying out their daily legitimate operation, is worrisome.

    These, he said, have had negative impact on their efforts toward compliance to statutory and regulatory requirements.

    The ABCON chief said that six units within the CBN are involved with BDC regulations, supervision, licensing, monitoring, saying this  constitutes multiple regulation of a unit of the financial sub-sector that is only involved as a small market player.

    “A BDC operator is expected to render daily, monthly, quarterly, half yearly and annual returns to these various departments of the same corporate body, which could be very cumbersome, repetitive and time consuming for both the operator and the regulator,” he said in a statement.

    “In addition to the above, the BDC is also under obligation to render same returns to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission /Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, while at the same time reporting to other statutory government establishments, including  the Federal Inland Revenue Service and Corporate Affairs Commission respectively”.

    Gwadabe also disclosed that the BDCs had in recent months, come under severe pressure from the CBN for observed infractions. For instance, the CBN recently suspended 437 BDC operators from the forex window.  The affected BDCs, which were slammed with N2 million fine each for non-rendition of their monthly returns to the apex bank, were also  denied access to the $30,000 weekly allocations to operators by the regulator. The affected firms failed to provide detailed reports on how previous dollars sourced from the CBN were utilised. They failed the returns rendition test which carries sanctions of fines or revocation of licences.

    “Unfortunately, some have had to pay high penalties to different departments where instant regulations were violated. The result of this is heavy burden on the BDC considering the little margin of profit allowed on their transactions,” he said.

    The Corporate Affair Commission, he added, has also hiked their incorporation fees and with the review of the operational requirements which made it mandatory for every BDC operator to recapitalise their initial capital and so upgrade their documentation with the CAC, they were charged enormously for the perfecting of their documents.

    Furthermore, the ABCON boss said operators had to grapple with the problem of erratic network at the electronic Financial Analysis and Surveillance System (e-FASS) platform around the country in the last couple of months. This situation, he said, hampered the rendition of BDC returns to the CBN by operators and eventually many were recently penalised as a result thereof.

    He said the documentation requirement to process a Personal Travelling Allowance of say $10,00 requires an international passport, valid visa, ticket among others, making the process cumbersome, complex and inconvenient for both the buyer and the BDC operator. Also, payment for medical fees of say $3,000 requires hospital bill, international passport, ticket, valid visa among others, to consummate the transaction.

    He also faulted the inability of the regulators, statutory agencies to effectively monitor, supervise, train the ever growing number of the BDCs as a result of these multiple and overlapping regulations of the various department of the CBN and other related agencies.

    He said: “The CBN should consider the introduction of dollar denominated cards and coupons to BDCs for retailing to the public. We shall welcome your invitation at your convenience to shed more light on this. We suggest a single BDC directorate at the CBN to be in charge of the BDC sub-sector in order to enhance efficiency, productivity and transparency. This would engender proactive involvement of both the regulators and the BDCs for the growth and dynamism of the sector,” he said.

    “The CBN is to consider as alternative requirement other means of identification such as drivers licence, voters card, and international passport”.

    For instance, the apex bank recently, suspended 437 BDC operators from the forex window, The Nation had reported.

    The affected BDCs, which have been slammed with N2 million fine each for non-rendition of their monthly returns to the apex bank, were  denied access to the $30,000 weekly allocations to operators by the regulator.

    The affected firms failed to provide detailed reports on how previous dollars sourced from the CBN were utilised. They failed the returns rendition test which carries sanctions of fines or revocation of licences.

    The source said the level of abuse was so massive that the CBN decided to hit their pockets to serve as deterrent to others. “Given that BDCs were long viewed as a potential source of forex leakage in the system, these measures should boost confidence in the sustainability of the forex band,” the source said.

    Gwadabe confirmed the development, and described the sanctions as punitive, and will further weaken the already fragile naira.

    He said the CBN will make nearly N1 billion when the 437 BDCs pay the stipulated penalties and that will add undue pressure on the finances of the operators already wailing from the burden of increased capital base and N35 million mandatory cautionary deposit.

    “My suggestion to the CBN is that instead of demobilising the affected BDCs for non-rendition by denying them access to forex market, their N35 million cautionary deposit should be debited with the penalty sum,” he said.

    This is coming as CBN had in July, licensed additional 70 BDCs, bringing the total approved operators to 2,688 since the request that operators increase their  capital base from N10 million to N35 million plus another cautionary deposit of N35 million kept with the CBN. There were 3,208 registered BDCs before the apex bank ordered them to recapitalise latest by July 31, 2014.

    The regulator has, however, kept updating its list of BDCs, even though the deadline elapsed since July last year despite earlier stand that it would cease to fund any BDCs that failed to beat the initial deadline.

    Besides, the CBN has consistently adjusted its forex policies to maintain exchange rate stability.

    Chief Economist, Africa Global Research at Standard Chartered Bank, Razia Khan, hinted that the apex bank is already under intense pressure to re-open two-way interbank forex trading.

    In a report: “When perception is not reality” obtained by The Nation, the analyst explained that given the current perceived market shortage of dollar, a re-opening of the market is likely to see dollar-naira trade higher.

    She said the ‘negative watch’ period for the continued inclusion of Nigerian bonds in the widely tracked GBI-EM index was extended in June, to allow the new government the time to formulate policy.

    “Unless interbank determination of the forex rate is reintroduced, with a resulting improvement in forex liquidity, Nigeria risks being excluded from the GBI-EM index. Failure to re-open the FX market may deter direct investment as well. Few foreign investors are ready to commit new investment to Nigeria ahead of an forex adjustment that they believe to be imminent,” she said.

    Khan said Nigeria’s changing economic fundamentals call for a rethink of forex policy, in order to better absorb external shocks.

    “We see Nigeria’s current account surplus moving to a deficit, both in 2015 and in the years ahead. The pace of accumulation of new forex reserves will not easily support a fixed exchange rate system.

    With a fixed exchange rate, forex reserves rather than the naira bear the brunt of any external shock, hurting Nigeria’s creditworthiness, and potentially raising the cost of any external borrowing,” she predicted.

    The economist said the risk is that the longer it takes to re-open the forex market, the greater the likelihood of forex overshooting when conditions do eventually normalise.

    She said the debate over forex policy would continue to take centre-stage in this quarter, culminating in a reopening of the interbank forex market, and a likely move higher in the dollar-naira exchange rates. “The authorities, mindful of other reform priorities and the need to limit inflation, are unlikely to favour naira depreciation for its own sake. These reform priorities include a probable doubling of the rate of Value Added Tax to 10 per cent in order to boost state government revenue, as well as some form of fuel subsidy adjustment,” she said.

    The CBN had, after a series of measures aimed at arresting the continued fall in naira value, announced the closure of the RDAS, thereby, leaving the interbank foreign exchange market as the only official one.

    The decision became necessary given the wide gap between the rates at the CBN official exchange market and the interbank market; a development which analysts said largely fuelled the current speculative activities in the foreign exchange market in the country.

    The RDAS or official forex window allows banks and other authorised dealers to place bids on behalf of individual clients who qualify to buy forex at the official auction.

    Unlike the Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS) scrapped in September 2013 over widespread abuse, the RDAS allows the CBN to monitor more accurately various sources of forex demand and any potential duplication of demand in the system to address speculation in the market which has put naira under pressure.

    The CBN is also closely monitoring BDCs to ensure they comply with anti-money laundering policies. The regulator has consistently urged banks, BDCs and Other Financial Institutions (OFIS) on the importance of rendition of returns and compliance with anti-money laundering regulations.

    CBN Director, Banking Supervision, Mrs Tokunbo Martins said during the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) anti-money laundering workshop held in Abuja, that the CBN always wants to ascertain if lenders are complying with Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations.

    Matins said: “Section 29 of the CBN AML/CFT Regulations, 2013 (as amended) requires financial institutions to maintain all necessary records on transactions, both domestic and international for at least five years after completion of the transactions or such longer period as may be required by the CBN and Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), provided that this requirement shall apply regardless of whether the account or business relationship is on-going or has been terminated”.

    She disclosed that financial institutions are expected to maintain records of the identification data, accounts files and business correspondence for at least five years after the termination of an account or business relationship or such longer period as may be required by the CBN and NFIU on a timely basis.

    She said that financial institutions are required to forward their AML/CFT Compliance Manual to the CBN for off-site review of the document as well as carry out enhanced customer due diligence for high risk customers and effective Know Your Customer (KYC) processes.

     

     

  • How to save naira, by economist

    In the face of dwindling oil prices, the naira exchange rate should be adjusted to reflect the prevailing economic reality.

    By so doing, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will be bridging the gap between exchange rate in the official and parallel (black) markets, an economists has said.

    Mr Bismarck Rewane, Financial Derivatives Company Limited Managing Director, urged the CBN to act now to avert a worse economic failure.

    Crude oil prices closed higher on Monday after bouncing back from six and half-year lows. Specifically, oil is trading at less than $50 per barrel, half the price of a year ago.

    Rewane said the CBN needs to adjust the local currency in view of developments in the global market, saying “if you don’t do the right thing at the right time, you may do more later.”

    “Sooner or later, the currency will adjust because you cannot create a synthetic situation. And your signals must be consistent and logical. If you know that you have enough money to support the currency, then why are you locking the door? So, there are some inconsistency in signal and the price,” he added.

    According to him, the challenges facing the Nigerian economy presently are more of external. “If you are a Nigerian government official and you came to power with the belief that if you fix the refineries and others, things would be fine. But the problem has gone beyond that! External imbalances are different from internal imbalances.

    “Once you are integrated with the rest of the world, what happens over there affects you and you cannot run contrary and it is a question of time before you fall in line,” he argued.

    The economist noted that crude oil price is determined by the market and geo-political considerations, adding that once the oil price came down, the four countries that were mostly hit were Russia, Venezuela, Iran and Nigeria.

    “So, we are looking for an optimal solution. If you asked me a year and half ago, what is the floor price of crude oil, I could bet with you that it will not go below $95 per barrel and then the price was $110 per barrel. And I was considered to be one of the realistic or pessimistic observers. If you asked me six months ago, I would have said $65 per barrel. But if you ask me today, I will quickly grab $45 per barrel,” he said.

    Despite the oil price volatility, Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporting country, has maintained its production levels despite a collapse in the price of oil. It may issue bonds, or Islamic bonds known as sukuk to finance some spending. The kingdom has more than $600 billion in reserves it can draw upon should expenditure outstrip income from oil exports.

    The country has built reserves, cut public debt to near-zero levels and is now working on cutting unnecessary expenses while focusing on main development projects and on building human resources in the kingdom.

    He said the total revenue shared by all governments in August through the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) declined to N511.8 billion. This was based on average oil price in June of $63.75pb and is expected to further fall to N320 billion this month.

    He said the dollar appreciation may push oil prices further down, adding that August FAAC was down slightly by 1.3 per cent when compared to N518.5 billion in July figure.

    He said although states have started receiving CBN intervention fund worth N338 billion, debt repayment will become difficult with the slide in oil prices, adding that some states have already restructured previous debt obligations.

    Rewane’s position which is contained in the FDC’s September Economic Report, said interest rates at the interbank oscillates between 10 and 80 per cent per annum, and that the local currency is now at N220 at the parallel market and still dropping.

    “The naira has been held artificially stable by administrative measures,” he said, pointing out that the currency is supported by reduced leakages from oil and revenue management, while capital inflows have shrunk to as low as $2.6 billion per quarter. Inflation has spiked seven out of nine months in 2015.

    The economist said administrative measures are temporary and unsustainable and cannot guarantee long term conservation of, or accretion in reserves.

     

  • How to curb money laundering, terrorist financing

    How to curb money laundering, terrorist financing

    Director-General, International Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), Adama Coulibaly, has said member-countries need strong partnership to check the rising cases of money laundering and terrorist financing in the sub-region.

    Coulibaly, who spoke at a three-day regional sensitisation workshop on Anti-money Laundering/Combating Financing of Terrorism for civil society organisation organised by the International Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), in Lagos, described money laundering as a global problem that not only threatens security, but undermines economic prosperity of countries.

    He said such partnership will make it possible for countries to significantly enhance understanding of various mechanisms designed to combat these crimes.

    “The ultimate goal is to help create in the ECOWAS region not only a strong bulwark against those scourges but also create a conducive environment for investment, as well as for job creation for the benefit of the youth in particular,” he said.

    He said GIABA was established by the Authority of States and Government of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2002 with the mandate to protect the national economies and financial system of member States from abuse and the money laundering of the proceeds of crimes.

    The Director-General, Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Prof Bola Akinterinwa, said money laundering and terrorist financing are impediments to growth of world economies, adding that over the years, government and law enforcement agencies are struggling to handle illicit trafficking of arms and persons, trans-border theft and armed robbery, drugs, narcotics among others.

    He added that the international community is determined to deprive persons engaged in illicit traffic of their criminal proceeds. He urged countries to collaborate with other states and international bodies in sharing information.

    Prof Akinterinwa recommended that banks and financial institutions should know their customers reasonably well; maintain records of their transactions for up to five years and also engage in financial activities as a commercial undertaking be required to disclose information relating to their clients.

     

  • Diamond Bank, NEPC partner on export delivery

    Diamond Bank Plc, in partnership with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), has reaffirmed its commitment to effective and efficient export service delivery.

    In a two-day training programme, hinged on managing effective export desk in banks, the lender stated that effective and efficient export service delivery is one of the surest ways the financial services sub-sector could help stimulate economic activity in the country.

    The training helped in improving the skills of the bank’s staff on the export desk and promoting efficient export service delivery in the bank. Benefiting staff were selected from its branch network across all the geo-political zones in the country.

    The bank’s Executive Director, OladeleAkinyemi, said its involvement in the training is to promote a stress-free and prompt transaction processes in export trade for the growth of the economy.

    He said: “It is imperative to encourage a synergy between government agencies and financial institutions to aid smooth flow of business in the exportation of Made-in-Nigeria goods. Diamond Bank as a financial institution seeks to be a leader in export trade by putting in place a system that is beyond ordinary banking for export customers. Our desire is to be on ground to offer professional advice that would add value to our customers in their business transactions. Therefore, we are training our staff members to think and act as exporters as well”.

    The Chief Executive Officer, NEPC, Segun Awolowo who was ably represented by Olajide Ibrahim, Executive Director, NEPC, praised the collaboration, adding that it will enhance capacity building for personnel that are assigned to manage export desks.

    “The NEPC has viewed the aspect of Export Desks-cum-finance as very vital to non-oil export promotion, hence the need for a deliberate intervention plan. This training and capacity building workshop will facilitate quick access to finance by the Nigerian exporters,” he stated.

    Facilitator of the session, Obiora Madu, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer MultimMix Academy, praised the lender for being the first bank to approach the NEPC for consultation on such training.  According to him, “This is simply a reflection of the bank’s commitment to make exporters have strong backing in their business transactions”.

    The Area Comptroller, Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Port, Lagos, Charles Edike, also lauded the bank for taking the initiative to train its staff and rightly position them for efficient export service delivery especially as the new government is very keen on promoting the exportation of goods from the non-oil sector.

    He said: “Nigeria has abundant resources that are yet to be harnessed for export trade. We are excited that Diamond Bank has taken this all-important issue to the academy to educate bankers on the export business. The knowledge gained here cannot be over emphasised as it will ensure that we have the best hands managing the export desks of the bank.”