The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • Fidelity Bank gives N53m to loyalty savings scheme winners

    Fidelity Bank Plc has given out N53 million cash rewards to its Sweeta and Fidelity Personal Savings Scheme (FPSS) account holders, who emerged winners in its ongoing Fidelity Loyalty Savings Scheme held in Lagos at the weekend.

    For the Lagos market, the lender presented cash rewards of N500, 000 each to 13 customers, who save under the FPSS account holders and N150, 000 to one Sweeta account holder.

    One of the winners in the N500, 000 FPSS category, Abigail Anthony, said the fund will be judiciously used to cater for the education of her younger one. She explained that the fund was timely, because having lost her father earlier in the year,  it is the only fund she can use to send her to the University of Lagos where she has gained admission to study. “I thank Fidelity Bank for coming to our rescue by rewarding my loyalty to the bank. I will continue to tell more people to bank with Fidelity,” she said.

    Other winners in the N500,000 category are G20 Social Club, Ajayi Olawale, Lady B.I. Chukwueke, Ibiyemi Adegboyega, Stephen Enyi, Ahmed Tijani Mohammed and Emmanuel Chidi, among others. Ebenezer Ogbala won N150,000 within Sweeta account holders category.

    The bank’s Executive Director, Shared Services, Mrs. Chijioke Ugochuwku said the financial institution was trying to encourage savings culture and appreciate customers that have been loyalty to the bank. According to her, “it is our duty to make sure that people continue to save, even as we continue to perform our financial intermediation role. She reiterated that to qualify for the monthly draw, an individual is required to have Fidelity FPSS account or Sweeta account.

    Ugochukwu said the initiative is the biggest loyalty scheme because the lender is consistently thinking of how to support its customers.

    The bank’s Divisional Head, Corporate Banking, Adeyeye Adepegba, said as a service organisation, the lender understands the significance of building relationship with its stakeholders. “What you have seen here today is one of those events we use to cement our relationship with our various stakeholders. This is the third in a series, and 110 people will today go with a total of N53 million across the country. It is one of the ways in which we encourage our customers to work with us, and we will continue to add value to them and their businesses,” he said.

    He encouraged non-customers of the bank to open account and start enjoying the benefits that come with banking with Fidelity Bank. “We want non-customers of the bank to come and open country. The way to benefit is to become customers of the bank and we promise them that every one will be rewarded accordingly,” he said. The Head, Saving Group, Fidelity Bank, Mrs. Janet Nnabuko, said the lender will continue to appreciate and reward its loyal customers because of its passion to see them thrive.

  • Interbank rates ease on N183b liquidity boost from T-bills

    Interbank rates ease on N183b liquidity boost from T-bills

    The interbank lending rates eased to 14 per cent last Friday from 40 per cent  after injections of liquidity from N183 billion matured Treasury bills and refunds by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cash set aside by banks to buy dollars.

    The cost of borrowing among banks jumped to 70 per cent during the week on tight liquidity after the Central Bank tightened liquidity to support the naira. The apex bank last week directed banks to pay for their dollar purchases 48 hours in advance, draining the market of liquidity.

    Reuters quoted traders saying about N183 billion ($920 million) in matured Treasury bills was injected into the money market by the apex bank causing rates to fall.

    Also, more funds from interest payment on bonds and refunds to banks from the CBN for their forex cash provision also raised liquidity, traders said. “Interbank lending rates swung as a result of tight liquidity arising from the provision for forex purchases and we expect the cycle to continue this week,” one dealer said.

    Traders said banks’ cash balances with the CBN stood at about 80 billion naira compared with a 25 billion naira cash surplus last week. The secured Open Buy Back (OBB) and overnight placement closed at 14 per cent from 40 per cent apiece for  OBB and overnight placement last week.

    “We expect  rates to trend up early this week on possible cash withdrawal by NNPC (state-owned energy firm) and could trade around the 30 per cent level until inflows of budgetary allocations to government agencies come in,” another trader said.

    Nigeria, Africa’s top crude exporter, distributes revenue from oil among its three tiers of government every month, injecting liquidity into the money markets.

    Meanwhile, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said he’s on a mission to transform the economy. That’s not what investors are seeking.

    While the collapse of oil revenue in Africa’s biggest crude producer has limited the bank’s ability to prop up the currency, Emefiele has resisted pressure to devalue the naira. Instead, he has imposed foreign-exchange restrictions on imports, risking growth in the continent’s largest economy as retailers and manufacturers struggle to source the funds needed to run their businesses.

    Emefiele has deflected criticism of his performance 14 months into the job by highlighting the CBN’s need for an expanded mandate on monetary policy. He wants the bank to play a more developmental role, including creating jobs and facilitating loans to “productive” industries. Investors say he’s neglecting his main job.

    “The tragedy is that over the past few years, the CBN built up credibility for reforming, for inflation targeting, establishing itself as one of the more orthodox central banks in Africa,” Holger Siebrecht, an associate portfolio manager at Acadian Asset Management LLC, said by phone from Boston. “Now it is at risk of gambling this reputation away.”

     

     

  • DMO sells N80b 2020, 2034 debts at mixed yields

    DMO sells N80b 2020, 2034 debts at mixed yields

    The Debt Management Office has sold a total of N80.20 billion ($403 million) in bonds maturing in February 2020 and August 2034 at an auction on Wednesday with mixed yields.

    Total bids stood at N153.48 billion, more than the N119.53 billion at the previous auction.

    A total of N40 billion of the February 2020 bond was sold at the auction, while additional N10.20 billion of same tenor paper was allotted on non-competitive basis.

    It said the 2020 paper fetched a yield of 15.38 per cent, compared with 15.28 per cent at the last auction.

    The debt office sold N30 billion in the August 2034 debt at 15.19 per cent versus the 15.29 per cent the paper fetched at the last auction. The 2020 debt closed at 15.41 per cent at the secondary market on Wednesday, while the 2034 paper closed at 15.19 per cent.

    The DMO regularly issues bond instruments which creates more debts for the economy. The DMO was established on October 4, 2000 to centrally coordinate the management of Nigeria’s debt, which was hitherto being done by a myriad of establishments in an uncoordinated fashion. This diffused debt management strategy led to inefficiencies.

    It was expected that the coming of DMO would lead to good debt management practices that make positive impact on economic growth and national development, particularly in reducing debt stock and cost of public debt servicing in a manner that saves resources for investment in poverty reduction programmes.

    The body is also expected to prudently raise financing to fund government deficits at affordable costs and manageable risks in the medium- and long-term; achieve positive impact on overall macroeconomic management, including monetary and fiscal policies; avoid debt crisis and achieving an orderly growth and development of the national economy.

  • FCMB launches ‘Quick Recharge’ for airtime purchase

    FCMB launches ‘Quick Recharge’ for airtime purchase

    First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited has unveiled a self-service, known as Quick Recharge, which allows all its customers to top-up their mobile phones instantly on any of the Global System for Mobile (GSM) networks.

    The service enables customers to recharge their GSM phones directly from their FCMB account by simply dialling a dedicated code and within seconds the customer’s phone is credited with the value of airtime purchased. This eliminates the delays and other challenges that could come with buying and use of physical recharge cards or PINS.

    In a statement, the bank explained that the Quick Recharge service can work on all mobile devices, including low end phones, smart phones and tablets. There is also no need for its customers to register on the platform as they all have been pre-registered to enjoy the service. The bank pointed out that the benefits of the service includes, instant top-up anywhere and anytime in the country and it is available on the existing GSM networks (MTN, Airtel, Glo and Etisalat) in the country.

  • FXTM enlightens forex traders on investment conference

    FXTM enlightens forex traders on investment conference

    International broker ForexTime (FXTM) is educating Nigerian traders on its forthcoming online forex trading and investment conference.

    The conference, holding today and tomorrow as well as on 19th to 20th August, 2015 will feature speakers including: Abiola Akinyele, Country Director at FXTM Nigeria, and the highly respected forex expert, Professor Andreas Thalassinos.

    Thalassinos will provide technical analysis training, as well as an extensive workshop for participants.

    The conference is expected to attract over 1000 attendees, and comes on the heels of FXTM’s series of educational events which attracted 500 attendees in June.

    “Attendees can take part in sessions on the following topics: calculating profit levels, developing effective trading and risk management strategies, and identifying high probability entry and exit points,” the company said in a statement.

    Akinyele said: “We are dedicated to making trading understandable to anyone who is looking for new investment opportunities in the evolving global marketplace. Our latest conference is expected to be the biggest forex conference of its kind in Nigeria, and will equip traders with all the necessary skills and strategies to make well-informed trades in the currency and commodity markets.”

    Thalassinos said: “It is an honour to offer my expertise to FXTM’s clients in Nigeria. FXTM’s commitment to bringing top quality forex training to Nigeria has already seen the company hold a number of very successful educational events here this year. The high turnout expected for the conference in August demonstrates the real enthusiasm which local traders have to educate themselves on the currency markets and trading strategies.”

  • CBN, NIBSS support incentives for e-payment users

    •Three winners get cash reward

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) have reiterated their support for the ongoing Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme (EPIS).

    Speaking during the redemption of prizes in Lagos for the first three winners, representative of the Banking Payment System Department of the CBN, Isah Abubakar, said the apex bank will keep giving the desired support for the EPIS project.

    He said cash-less banking will help in revolutionizing Nigeria’s economic development and enhancing efficiency in business.

    He praised the process used in selecting the winners. He said the cash-less banking initiative is helping to promote financial inclusion and getting banking to the grassroots.

    “The CBN is behind the incentive scheme and will support any project that takes banking to the grassroots,” he said.

    The winners include Adeyinka Adejuwon, who banks with GTBank, and was the first prize winner. He went home with N100,000; the first runner-up was Julie Chioma Ukwosah who banks with Ecobank and won N50,000 while the second runner-up, Jerry Boakye-Mensah banks with Diamond Bank and got a N15,000 cash prize.

    Executive Director, Business Development at NIBSS, Mrs. Christabel Onyejekwe, said it was the need to drive universal usage of electronic payments in the country that prompted the management of the CBN to approve an industry-wide incentive scheme and awareness campaign for electronic payments for stakeholders and users.

    “The EPIS idea was first conceived in March 2013 which was followed by Workshop in December 2013 driven by NIBSS amongst other key stakeholders like banks, several card schemes among others. Following the submission of the proposal CBN approved the EPIS in September 2014 with a Go Live/Implementation date for November 2014,” she disclosed.

    Continuing, she said the scheme is primarily focused to reward users of electronic payment in Nigeria and to further encourage greater adoption by all. “The incentive scheme will reward and appreciate usage across all channels with emphasis on channels of electronic payments that promote financial inclusion by aiming to identify and rewardthe cardholders, merchants and sales persons,” she said.

    “In other to spice up a reasonable level of awareness and excitement in anticipation of the Loyalty Program for consumers and salespersons, we proposed an EPIS Monthly Raffle Draw Initiative targeted at all card users (POS transactions) within the Nigerian e-payment ecosystem”.

    She said all winners are expected to have a valid Biometric Verification Number (BVN) for the authentication of their various bank accounts adding that Ernst & Young was appointed to ascertain the credibility of the process. Also, the initiative has been backed by Consumer Protection Council  and National Lottery Regulatory Commission.

    “Suffice to say that Electronic payment and card usage in Nigeria is still at its nascent stage as most transactions in the country are still done with cash. Go cashless, use your cards and support the CBN’s Payments System Vision PSV2020,” she advised.

  • Africa investor announces investment wards

    Africa investor (Ai), a leading international investment and communications group, has announced the shortlist for its prestigious Ai Institutional Investment and Capital Market Awards 2015. It would  hold on the 25th of September at the Thomson Reuters offices  during the UN General Assembly.

    Launched in 2007, and linked to the Africa investor Index Series, the Ai Institutional Investment and Capital Market Awards are based around the Ai Index Series and are the only pan-African Awards designed to recognise Africa’s best performing stock exchanges, listed companies, investment banks, research teams, regulators, socially responsible companies and sovereign wealth and pension fund investors. It is a uniquely African capital markets event.

    Hubert Danso, CEO of Africa investor said Africa’s capital markets remain some of the most attractive propositions for institutional investors globally. We are therefore delighted to showcase the institutions and CEOs from the Ai Index Series at the forefront of delivering world class returns.

    The stiff competition in our African and global pension and sovereign wealth fund categories is a testament to the high institutional interest and participation from owners of capital. We are therefore naturally very pleased with this year’s top ten shortlist and wish all nominees the best of luck.”

  • Heritage Bank bags ISO award

    Heritage Bank bags ISO award

    Heritage Bank Limited has been awarded the ISO/INEC 27001:2013 certification in recognition of its commitment to effective and secured financial system. The bank got the certification award in less than three years of operation and therefore joined the league of big players in the industry, including the Central Bank of Nigeria which is ISO/INEC 27001 compliant.

    The award was presented on behalf of the British government, to the bank in Lagos by the Deputy High Commissioner in Nigeria, Mr. Ray Kyles.

    Kyles commended the bank for setting high standard in the financial industry and pledged the continued support of the British government for Nigeria’s financial institutions. “It is not an easy task. This award remains a cornerstone of your reputation,” he said.

    The Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, noted that banking is a business of risks management, from assets to data, adding that it is fundamental that whatever a customer keeps in a bank is in safe custody. “This is a day to beat our chest. Heritage Bank is an idea, not a bank. We are a service company providing banking service; and we are the best in the class of security of our information systems. It means funds kept with us are safe. This award is a validation of our mission to promote high ethical standards, integrity, and good business practices,” he said.

    Sekibo stated that innovation is inevitable for the banking industry. This, he said, is due to changing dynamics across the globe which has penetrated banking. He therefore, reiterated the commitment of his bank to introducing more innovative banking products and services to meet the needs of its customers.

    Solomon Edun, Managing Director of Global Infoswift, the consultant to the project explained that the certification is a rigorous exercise that confers internationally recognised standard on the recipient. He added that the award is the most rigorous certification in terms of information, process/data and asset security.

  • CBN to resuscitate textile industry

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disclosed on Friday that it is working out modalities to provide funding under the Real Sector Support Facility (RSSF) for the revitalisation of the ailing Cotton Textile and Garment (CTG) industry.

    CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who made this known during a meeting with CTG industry stakeholders in Lagos, hinted that the apex bank will partner with stakeholders in the textile sector to develop a blueprint on the development of the industry.

    He lamented that the industry that previously had over 150 textile mills and employed over  one million people is dominated by imports from Asia.

    He noted that the industry was suffering from huge capital flight as a result of the huge importation worth  millions of dollars of textile products into the country.

    “India alone was estimated  to export textile products worth over $140 million into Nigeria, while imports from China, Indonesia and Taiwan are more likely to be even much higher. The challenge for us as stakeholders is how to prevent further dumping of the product into the country with the implementation of the Common External Tariff,” Emefiele said.

    The CBN boss explained that the relationship between banks and the textile companies was thorny because the former was suddenly left with huge non-performing loans after the bubble burst.

    He said though CBN has no mandate to ban the importation of any product, it recently included textiles as one of the 41 items excluded from foreign exchange sales from the Nigerian forex market.

    On smuggling, he noted that CBN and the textile stakeholders would continue to work with relevant government agencies such as the Nigerian Customs Service and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to combat the menace and ensure that importers pay the right duties for products.

    On the challenges facing the industry, the Chairman of Textile Industry, Mrs. Grace Adereti, lamented that the industry which created over 18 million employment with over 150 vibrant mills in the past, could only boost of no fewer than 20 textile firms, that are managing to stay afloat.

    She said the industry was in coma  because 95 per cent of textile products were imports as 150 containers of textile materials are smuggled into the country in one night on daily basis, even when the country has can produce 1.5 billion metres of cotton.

     

     

  • Fed Govt sets 2016 timeline for accrual basis accounting implementation

    Nigeria will begin the implementation of accrual  basis accounting under the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) in January 2016, the Federal Government has said.

    The Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, who disclosed this in Abuja at a book launch titled: “Government Accounting in Nigeria: An IPSAS Approach”, said Nigeria started the implementation of the cash basis in 2014.

    The book was written by a former Accountant-General of the Federation, Kayode Naiyeju and Prof. Eddy Omolehinwa.

    Idris added that the implementation committees at both the state and national levels were working to make sure that Nigeria implements the policy next year.

    “There is an implementation committee at national level. There is one at state level and these committees are working based on time frame. So there is no delay.We are on course.

    “The accrual basis is supposed to kick-start in January and by the grace of God we will kick-start January. We want to also be a global player in everything and that is why we have keyed in. We have a time-frame, and like I told you the cash basis started 2014 and we are now transiting into accrual basis and that is exactly what we are doing.”

    He explained that with the implementation of IPSAS, Nigeria will operate on the same platform with advanced economies.

    He said: “We will be operating on the same platform with advanced economies in terms of financial accounting reporting, information rendition, and services of our financial accounts, among others.’’

    “We need to keep government accounting more seriously in Nigeria. Because without proper accounting, you are never going to have accountability and without accountability, we are not going to tackle the problem of corruption in our country,” he said.