The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • Interbank rates ease on retired N100b TBs

    Interbank rates ease on retired N100b TBs

    The overnight lending rates fell to an average 25 per cent on Friday from a record high of 95 per cent fortnight ago, after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) retired about N100 billion in Treasury Bills (TBs), dealers said.

    Traders said the repayment of matured Open Market Operation Treasury bills provided some liquidity in the market but not sufficient to lower the rates further because the cash was used up by lenders to buy TBs and foreign exchange.

    The secured Open Buy Back and Overnight rates fell to 25 per cent each from 95 per cent previously. The CBN sold about N142 billion in TBs with maturities ranging between three-month and one-year last week.

    The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) recalled some of its deposits with banks, cutting back on the level of available liquidity for transactions in the system.

    Banks’ cash balance with the CBN stood at around N4.8 billion credit on Friday, compared with a deficit of around N25 billion on Monday, traders said.

    “We expect an increase in cash flow into the system this week because of possible disbursal of budgetary allocation for January to government agencies, and rates should fall below the 20 per cent level,” one dealer said.

    The Nigerian economy has lost more than 20 per cent in the past three months as oil prices collapsed and concern grew among investors about political stability after the six-week postponement of the Feb. 14 elections.

    Meanwhile, bonds yields are seen rising this week on the back of tight naira liquidity that may spur a sell off by investors in need of cash, while longer dated Kenyan debt could be in demand.

    Traders said yields climbed slightly on some maturities when investors reduced their positions after the naira currency lost more than 20 percent to the dollar in the past three months. The naira tumbled as global oil prices collapsed and concern grew about political stability. “Some investors… would rather reduce further their positions until after the election when the outlook will become clearer,” one dealer said.

  • Access Bank praised by customers

    Access Bank praised by customers

    Access Bank Plc has been commended for its display of affection during the Valentine’s Day celebration. In line with the bank’s aspiration to build a long-standing relationship with its customers, the Bank introduced a campaign whereby several customers were given Valentine’s Day gifts.

    The Campaign which was tagged #LoveAll250 was aimed at celebrating unity in diversity. Taking into cognizance that there are over 250 languages in Nigeria, the campaign particularly focused on breaking down language and cultural barriers through the promotion of love, peace and unity.

    Speaking on how the campaign was successfully organized, the Head of Strategic Brand Management, Access Bank Plc, Amaechi Okobi said #LoveAll250 which ran for two weeks from February 2 to 15 was aimed at celebrating Nigeria’s unity in diversity.

    According to him, the campaign involved social media fans winning gifts on behalf of their nominees and coming from the angle that love can be expressed in more than 250 ways, social media fans were asked to express love in their own ways by posting pictures that speak love. They were also required to nominate a special person who should get gifts from the Bank.

    “These nominees were 250 in number and they got Cakes from the Bank free of charge on Valentine’s Day”, he stated.

    A customer of the bank, who is also a recipient of the gift, Judith Warelagha described the Cake as the most wonderful gift she ever got from any financial institution.

    “Access Bank has proven beyond reasonable doubt that they are a responsive institution that is sensitive to happenings around the society. I never dreamt of getting a cake from any other person apart from my fiancée who I was told nominated me, but Access Bank has truly surprised me,” Warelagha noted.

  • FBN Mortgages appoints new board

    FBN Mortgages appoints new board

    FBN Mortgages Limited, a subsidiary of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, has announced the constitution of a new Board of Directors to provide superior value to all stakeholders.

    This it said, will also allow for increased thought leadership interventions and corporate governance consolidation in the conduct of its affairs.

    The mortgage company was established to provide integrated mortgage solutions to individuals and property investors, fund the development of quality residential and commercial accommodation choices as well as facilitate acquisition via a wide range of innovative financial products and solutions across a wide range spectrum.

    The New Board is made up of eminent persons who have displayed excellent business knowledge and board experience across an array of industries.  The FBN Mortgages Board of Directors is led by its Chairman – Mr. Tunde Odunayo with Mr. Adenrele Oni as MD/CEO. Other members of the new board are Abdullahi Ibrahim, Otunba Bosede Osibogun, Olatubosun Ashiru, Titilayo Ahmadu and Dr. Umaru Kwairangfa.

  • Foreign reserves drop to $33b

    Foreign reserves drop to $33b

    The nations foreign reserves fell to $33 billion as at February 13, down 4.25 per cent from $34.5 billion a month ago, latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have shown.

    The reserves have dwindled since last year following the fall in world oil prices. This prompted the CBN to intervene in the market by selling dollars to defend the naira. The reserves fell three per cent in two weeks to $37.59 billion by November 13, as the CBN stepped up support for the ailing currency.

    The reserves were at a four-month low of $37.9 billion as of November seven last year, down 3.99 per cent month-on-month after the CBN sold dollars to banks to prop up the value of the naira. The reserves were at $39.55 billion on October 10. In July they stood at $37.89 billion.

    The CBN said it will continue to defend the local currency which has fallen six per cent so far this year on concerns about lower oil prices and an exit from the local debt and equity markets by offshore investors.

    The apex bank said the decrease was driven largely by the increased funding of the foreign exchange market in the face of intense pressure on the naira and the need to maintain stability.

    The apex bank said the pressure on the external reserves was deemed to be consistent with the seasonal annual payment of dividends to foreign investors. The bank has spent billions of dollars defending the naira, hit by falling global oil prices, in the past seven to eight months.

    The CBN said the decrease was driven largely by the increased funding of the foreign exchange market in the face of intense pressure on the naira and the need to maintain stability, adding that the pressure on external reserves was deemed to be consistent with the seasonal annual payment of dividends to foreign investors.

    Meanwhile, the CBN yesterday intervened for the third straight session to defend the naira by selling dollars below its official band but the currency traded weaker in the interbank market. Dollar sales by an oil firm were traded at a weaker level than in the earlier sale by the CBN, dealers said.

    The bank once again sold dollars below its official band, at N198 to the greenback, and again banned banks from reselling dollars bought at its currency auction to other banks to curb speculation.

    Reuters said that all the trades by the bank have been outside its own target band of N160 to N176 to the dollar set in November when it devalued the currency by eight per cent to save its foreign reserves.

  • New dollar dealing system to stabilise naira

    New dollar dealing system to stabilise naira

    A new trading system introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria stabilised the naira and will result in daily intervention by the regulator, according to foreign-exchange dealers.

    Currency traders can only buy dollars on the interbank market with quotes that are backed by orders from customers, Jibril Aku, Vice Chairman of FMDQ OTC Plc, told reporters in Lagos.

    Moving to an order-based two-way quote system will avoid speculation and dissuade people from buying the greenback in anticipation of naira weakness, he said.

    “There hasn’t been excess supply or excess demand in the market, indicating stability has returned since the measures were introduced on February 13,” said David Adepoju, President of the Financial Markets Dealers Association, the parent organisation of the FMDQ, adding that the CBN will intervene to buy or sell excess dollars to meet excess demand at the end of each day’s trading.

    The CBN has focused on stemming the naira’s decline by introducing measures that have dried up foreign-exchange trading as the economy gets battered by a slide in oil prices, which account for 90 per cent of export earnings and 70 per cent of government revenue. It has also depleted reserves to the lowest in more than three years to defend the currency.

    The naira yesterday gained 0.9 per cent to N197.75 per dollar. That pared declines this year to seven per cent, the most among 24 African currencies tracked by Bloomberg after Zambia’s kwacha and Ghana’s cedi. Nigerian stocks have dropped 16 per cent, the most among 93 primary equity indexes.

    The CBN announced an unscheduled auction of dollars at the end of last week to stem the naira’s rout. It sold $401 million at N198.50 per dollar, wider than its target band of N159.60 to 176.40, according to Adepoju. The central bank carried out more auctions this week.

    “The CBN is expected in the market daily,” said Aku, whose FMDQ is responsible for developing over-the-counter financial markets.

  • FirstBank sponsors sustainability workshop

    FirstBank sponsors sustainability workshop

    First Bank of Nigeria Limited, will through its sustainability programme- an avenue it uses to partner with the Lagos Business School, host a workshop for non-governmental organisations and corporate organisations.

    The programme, it said, would enable participants adopt modern approaches which they can use to address social and environmental concerns of business customers, investors and the media.

    It said in the wake of the emerging shift in stakeholder needs which optimises social responsibility above business profitability, there is a landscape of opportunities for NGOs and corporate organisations to collaborate, increase capacity, sustainability, and deliver service to the community.

    The workshop scheduled for February 24 and 25, 2015, will hold at the Lagos Business School and is designed to develop business partnerships between NGOs and corporate organisations to achieve widespread and lasting change in the business environment. It would also provide capacity building training for NGOs, who want to partner with corporate organisations on their sustainability programmes.

    According to FirstBank’s spokesperson, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, the bank is a responsible corporate citizen and would continue to foster partnerships that build sustainable businesses.

    “We put our customers at the heart of our business as part of our ‘You First’ ideals to drive sustainable finance, empower the citizenry and grow the economy”, she said.

  • DMO sells N142.43b in TBs, yields mixed

    DMO sells N142.43b in TBs, yields mixed

    The yield on one-year treasury bills rose at an auction where a total N142.43 billion was raised, the Debt Management Office (DMO) said yesterday, in a bid to attract investors to the longer maturity.

    The yield rose to 15.25 per cent at the auction held on Wednesday from 14.3 per cent two weeks ago on the one-year note, fetching N80 billion.

    The yield on the three-month paper eased to 10.75 per cent from 10.98 per cent at the last auction on February 3, fetching N32.43 billion, the agency said. The yield on the six-month paper fell to 13.70 per cent from a previous 13.9 per cent. The paper fetched N30 billion.

    Total demand at the auction fell to N254.33 billion, from N294.54 billion from the last auction. The naira has lost more than 20 per cent in the past three months as oil prices collapsed and concern grew among investors about political stability after the six-week shift of the February 14 elections.

  • CBN sells $350m to halt naira’s fall

    CBN sells $350m to halt naira’s fall

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervened Friday with about $350 million foreign exchange sale to dealers at its official exchange rate, halting the naira’s slide to a record low.

    The regulator sold foreign-exchange at a rate of N198.50 per dollar, weaker than its target band of N159.60 to N176.40, spokesman Ibrahim Mu’azu told Bloomberg.

    Two large sales were done at N198.50 to the dollar, totaling $40.8 million, Thomson Reuters data showed. Trading on Nigeria’s foreign exchange market was delayed until after 10 a.m. to allow dealers to submit demand for dollars to the apex bank.

    President, Financial Markets Dealers Association said the aim is to pump a maximum amount of liquidity into the market and reduce dollar demand.

    Analysts estimate that Nigerian assets have plummeted with a 50 per cent decline in oil prices since June that has curbed government revenue and export earnings for the country. The selloff deepened last week, pushing the nation’s currency to a record low, after elections scheduled for Saturday were postponed by six weeks.

    The CBN sells dollars to banks on Mondays and Wednesdays at a rate of five per cent above or below N168 per dollar.

    “It is part of CBN measures to defend the naira. The aim is to increase dollar supply to the level that it will be able to suppress dollar demand and minimize the level of depreciation of the naira,” Mu’azu said.

    The naira gained 0.6 per cent to 204.30 per dollar, reversing an earlier decline. The naira has lost five percent over the past eight days, the most on a weekly basis since December 2008.

    “When the election was delayed, confidence was sapped. It’s mostly foreign investors that are selling. No sector is safe from the selloff and shares may fall even further before elections because of the high political risk,” Seun Olanipekun, an analyst at Investment One Financial Services Ltd., said.

    “I just don’t see any investors going long naira onshore assets,” Samir Gadio, head of African strategy at Standard Chartered Plc, said by phone from London. “We are hardly seeing any trading in the interbank market.”

    Price swings in the naira jumped to a six-year high this week after Standard & Poor’s said on Feb. 10 that the country’s BB- credit rating, already three steps below investment grade, may be cut.

    Trading in the naira was temporarily halted by dealers on Wednesday as increased volatility put banks at risk of giving wrong prices, according to Kunle Ezun, an analyst at Ecobank Transnational Inc. in Lagos.

  • Sterling Bank’s promo produces winners

    Sterling Bank’s promo produces winners

    Sterling Bank has rewarded another set of six lucky winners with the bank’s Arsenal accounts in the on-going Gunners Promo organised by the lender to reward loyalty and encourage savings culture among Nigerians.

    At the third draw was held at the bank’s Corporate Head Office in Lagos at the weekend, the lucky six lucky winners will have the privilege of an all-expense paid trip to watch the home match involving Arsenal Football Club and Liverpool on April 4.

    This brings to 18, the number of lucky winners that have emerged in the three draws held. The next two draws holding in March and April will produce another set of 12 winners bringing the total number of winners to 30.

    The six lucky winners are Abubakar Hallihru, Obi Nwaogwugwu, Lawal Kazeem, and Momodu Francis Aleogho. Others are Bala Belief and Muritala Agbolahan.

    An excited Nwaogwugwu who was called during the draws expressed his gratitude to the Bank for fulfilling its promise to reward owners of Arsenal Accounts. Although he was initially sceptical, he explained that “what is happening to me can only be a dream and l hope to wake up in the Emirates Stadium”. Same for Messrs. Kazeem, Agbolahan and Momodu.

    The bank’s Group Head, Strategy & Communications, Mr. Shina Atilola, said the lender  came up with the promo to reward customers for their loyalty, and encourage other football lovers to share the one-customer experience.

  • Overnight lending rate soars to 95%

    Overnight lending rate soars to 95%

    The overnight lending rates climbed to near record highs on Friday after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold Treasury bills to mop up liquidity and enforced a cash reserve requirement for lenders, dealers said.

    Amid a squeeze on the naira, the rate commercial banks charge other banks for borrowing on the interbank market jumped to 95 percent, from 20 per cent on Thursday.

    Overnight rates had climbed to a record high of 100 percent on Tuesday after the CBN soaked up liquidity to support the naira currency, which fell through the psychological 200 mark for the first time this week.

    The central bank sold 115 billion naira ($575 million) of debt in a bid to tighten liquidity in support of the local currency by draining cash and pushing up lending rates.

    Traders said the state-owned energy company, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), also recalled a portion of its deposits with banks, putting further pressure on liquidity.