The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • Consolidated supervision: Banks’ examiners for training

    Consolidated supervision: Banks’ examiners for training

    To actualise the objectives of consolidated supervision, the training of banks’ examiners will soon begin, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has said.

    The training will be undertaken by the Financial Regulatory Service Sector Commission (FRSSC) comprising the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and National Pension Commission (PenCom).

    Director, Banking Supervision, NDIC, AdedapoAdeleke, told The Nation that the framework for the implementation of the scheme is in the pipeline.

    The regulators, he said, had agreed to come up with examiners who will be trained on how to implement the guidelines.

    He said the training of the examiners was crucial to the implementation of the guidelines on consolidated supervision, adding that each regulator would provide examiners to meet the needs of its sector.

    Adeleke said the CBN was at the vanguard of driving the initiative for its overall success. He said consolidated supervision would help in diagnosing sectoral problems, monitoring them, and providingcommon and proactive solutions.

    NDIC, he said, was working with the CBN to ensure proper supervision of the banks and also ensure that the industry’s problem does not spill over to other arms of the financial services’sector.

    He said: “We are working with other regulatory bodies to foster the growth of the consolidated supervision project.  We found out that there are banks that have subsidiaries that are not in the mainstream banking. This would hinder the supervision of the industry. Though no date has been fixed for the training of such examiner, all the regulators will have their own examiners.

    “Different areas in the financial service system require supervision. We have set up a consolidate supervision such that any bank, insurance company, stock broking firm, quoted companies, among others, that are exposed to risk would be quickly checked. The idea aimed at preventing crisis from snowballing in the financial system.”

    This is one of the ways of preventing a re-occurrence of the crisis that rocked the capital market and the banking industry in 2008. “Consolidated supervision would help in seeing, checking, and proffering solutions to problems in each sector.  Its framework would be executed by the examiners trained by the regulators,” he explained.

    Adeleke said the FRSSC would be able to intervene in any part of the financial services sector that is having problem, without going through the National Assembly for solutions. He said when this happens, the growth of the financial service sector and the economy would be fast-tracked.

    He said the commission would do a good job, stressing that it would not get involved in politics.

    On Savannah Bank, Adeleke said the NDIC does not have much role to play on re-opening the bank, arguing that CBN has the capacity to determine the fate of the bank.

    “With respect to the issue of Savannah Bank, NDIC cannot pay its depositors. CBN is still persuading the bank to pay the necessary fund before it can reopen for business,” he said.

     

  • ‘Our partnership with Sterling Bank has been rewarding’

    LAWMA under your leadership has just marked eight years. How has the journey been so far?

    In the past eight years, we have succeeded in finding the pathway for improving the strategy in waste management. We came from minus zero and we have been able to re-align our progression line. What we have been doing in the last eight years has been developing a template that would take the organisation to the next horizon. We are doing something that would take the agency to the next century and make it one of the best in the world. We are trying to make it a force to reckon with in the area of waste management worldwide. The challenge ahead is to be a distinct brand when it comes to waste management worldwide.

    What are the achievements that you have recorded in the past eight years?

    We have recorded several achievements over the years. First is to restore what can be best described as dignity in labour by making people believe in what they are doing to earn a living. Secondly, we have been able to change the attitudes or perceptions of people toward jobs. A typical Nigerian worker, especially in the public sector, is known to be lazy and lackadaisical in his/her approach to work. We have succeeded in changing that at the LAWMA.

    Wherever you see LAWMA’s workers, you see them working with dignity, showing resilience and commitment to the assignments given to them. To me, that is one of the greatest achievements so far. We have been able to change the psyche and attitudes of people to work. Other achievements include making the city of Lagos cleaner and beautiful. We have been able to achieve that goal as evident by the cleaner environment Lagos is boasting of today.

    You once mentioned the issue of neighbourhood approach to waste management at the last interactive session you had with the media, can you give more insight into how it works?

    Apart from the government–led initiative to make the state look cleaner, brighter and conducive for living and business; we also have a concept called the three Cs, an acronym for Community Clean Up Campaign. Through this, we allow communities to evolve their roadmaps or needs on how to ensure a health friendly environment. We allow them to start clean up exercises and we meet them half way as part of efforts to make the environment hygienically fit for living. This is mainly applicable to poor communities where they seem to be helpless on the issue of waste control and management. In these communities, you will see a kind of resentment towards government’s programmes because they believe that they have been rejected one way or the other by the state government. But we are not looking at it from this perspective. Rather, we believe the problem is due to lack of communication, a fall-out of the top-down approach to solving issues. So, we are helping communities to drive the clean-up initiative, as well as allowing them to come up with their agenda while meeting them half way to achieve the objectives which LAWMA was set out for. LAWMA pays for most of the services, but what we are doing now is to allow them employ people among themselves for the clean-up agenda. An example is Makoko –Obalende. People were employed from Makoko to clean up their own streets. Besides, they have recycling centres where the refuse are recycled to achieve certain socio-economic objectives. So, they have a set of cleanliness agenda because they want their areas to be very clean. We established recycling centres in those communities for people to recycle bad products and give back to society.

    Beyond these, what other benefits have the initiatives brought to the affected communities and Lagos in particular?

    The initiatives have culminated in a drastic reduction of diseases in the affected areas, criminal activities, provision of employment opportunities, among others. We ensure that idle hands, especially youths were employed for the jobs. We ensure that churches, mosques, among other organisations contribute their own quota on the issue of making the state cleaner. The profit-making organisations such as banks in those communities are made to contribute their own quota as well. They pay half and we pay half to ensure that the job is done. The women sweep the road, while the young men police the areas to prevent unnecessary dumping of refuse. It has been a very effective strategy for us.

    What are the challenges facing the agency, especially in the area of changing the psyche of people towards ensuring a cleaner environment?

    Well, we do face challenges. The problems are still there, especially the ones relating to the habits of the people. We are changing them gradually. We are employing education and enforcement as tools to change the psyche of Lagosians to cleanliness. We educate, sensitise people and establish a lot of publicity outlets to make people aware of dangers of living in a dirty and unsafe environment. We have various strategies for our community hygiene programmes. When we see that residents are recalcitrant and unyielding, enforcement follows. This is used in changing or taming the habits of people towards hygiene.

    Government has a lot of financial commitments or projects, a development which means that LAWMA may not be getting enough funds as it should. Do you get support from the private sector to fund your projects?

    Well, we have partners locally and internationally. Like you rightly said, the government cannot fund everything. One of our major partners is Sterling Bank Plc. The partnership is very solid. The bank supports our clean up exercise programmes and also has its own initiatives in the area of environmental cleanliness. Twice now, the bank organised its members of staff to clean Obalende and Ikeja in Lagos. And I’m told that this did not only happen in Lagos but in the entire federation.

    When Sterling Bank embarked on the cleaning of Obalende for instance, their staff in other locations throughout the country did the same. That tells you how conscious Sterling Bank is in this area. And again, where you see a LAWMA worker on the street, you see them with Sterling Bank logo on their overall. If you are going to talk about a cleaner Lagos, you cannot but mention Sterling Bank as one of the prominent organisations that has been supporting us. Even in this community clean-up campaigns, most of the uniforms provided by Sterling Bank are being given to these communities. Everywhere, people now know the bank as a major supporter of a cleaner and safer environment. We have international organisations such as the Clinton Foundation, World Bank, DFIB, among others, supporting us. It has been a rewarding support. Apart from what we generate internally, we have these supports that have been making things visible for us

    Then, would you say that your partnership with Sterling Bank has been rewarding?

    Yes, in fact you just hit the nail on the head. Our partnership with Sterling Bank has been a success story, highly rewarding. Apart from the Lagos State government appreciating it, Nigerians too are appreciative of what the bank is doing in the area of environmental cleanliness. The bank gives us about 25,000 uniforms annually. This is not a joke. We provide a pair of uniforms for each cleaner. We have about 12,000 sweepers on the roads. The bank has taken it upon itself to give a pair of uniforms to each sweeper on the road. That would have cost us millions of naira. Indeed, this is laudable. To me, what Sterling Bank is doing is to preserve lives. When you look at primary healthcare, you will observe that the bank looks or sees life preservation as key to the growth of the society. The bank’s CSR is channelled towards supporting life; that is why it is supporting LAWMA’s initiative of making Lagos environmentally safe. The bank took a major risk by putting its name and logo on uniforms of a government organisation. We really appreciate that. Not many banks can take that risk. It is a bank that believes so much in us; they believe in our strategy, and they have taken all the risks to make sure that they support us. And we do not have any regrets.

    How can you describe the bank’s CSR, vis-à-vis its support for LAWMA?

    The bank’s CSR programme is not only laudable, but shows how a responsible organisation should relate with its community. If a bank is supporting the well-being of the citizens, that means that the bank wants people to be healthy to work. It is like taking it from the bottom angle, and walking up the stairs. I think the bank has done well in that regard. That is very okay. The whole world now looks up to the bank. Once you get to Lagos state, the moment you see a LAWMA staff, you see Sterling Bank.

    Can you list some of the achievements of Waste to Wealth programmes of Lagos?

    The waste to wealth programme is doing well. We have the biggest compose site in Africa. It is located in Ikorodu, Lagos. There, we convert the substantial quantity of market waste into fertiliser. Also, we have waste being converted to electricity. We have a buy-back programme where we buy nylons from people and turn it back into a product. We have tyres that are being turned into rub mats. By and large, we have close to 22 per cent of Lagos waste daily being converted into something useful. We are targeting 50 per cent in the next few years.

    What should we expect when your 10 in office?

    Africa would be proud of LAWMA; ditto Lagos as a centre of excellence.

     

  • A rising entrepreneur 

    The dictum, ‘smooth operator,’aptly describes Samuel J.Samuel of the Origin Group Limited. An emerging big-time player in the agro-allied business, yet seemingly faceless. He can pass incognito in a crowd of five, yet he is a colossus in the contest of contributors to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). His worth and rating is not in his size; it is in his dreams.

    He is not just dreaming big, he is acting big. For proof, check out the Origin Group. It is into agric, big-tme, producing tomatoes (vegefresh), tractor sales and hiring and  furniture manufacturing, among others. At 44, you’ll agree, he has accounted for every year he has been around

    He sees the future of Nigeria in agriculture. “There is a lot we can do here and the way to go is agriculture. Getting answers to Nigeria’s agric problems require that we look inward,” he said, adding that the government should be ready to  engage Nigerians.

    He said those in authority should look to agriculture to stimulate the economy, and not infrastructure, as it is often the case. “I think like you have in other developed countries, when they want to stimulate their economies, they look to infrastructure, but in Nigeria, no matter how we want to stimulate our economy through infrastructure, the challenge  still remains, because what is required to address that ends up in importation,” he further said.

    But, in agriculture, Samuel argues, it’s not so.. “If you do maize, soya beans, vegetable, you end up exporting it to other countries, but not so with infrastructure. The challenge with stimulating our economy with infrastructure  is that we import virtually everything. So, attempts to stimulate the economy ends up promoting foreign economies. But in agriculture, the reverse in the case. Whatever government puts into developing agriculture,  remains here with us, so agriculture is the way to stimulate the economy,”  he insists, adding that “government is becoming more responsive to agriculture, and that is a very good start.”

    He admits though that there are several initiatives by government to encourage agriculture, saying the collaborative efforts of the government and the Bank of Industry (BoI), and the various reform measures to decongest the ports,  are all commendable, but  regrets however that many companies have not directly benefited from any of these initiatives.

    “We’ve had a lot of planning and designs that are patterned after foreign culture. If we are bringing a model from other clines, we must take the literacy level of our people into consideration, otherwise it will be difficult to sustain such initiative,” he says.

    The Origin Group chief, said collaboration between governments and the private sector remains the way forward in deepening the agribusiness sector. He proffers land acquisition and clearing as the starting point, pointing out that a tractor hiring programme can be a veritable way of assisting farmers to increase production. He says the model is already operational in Kano.

    He speaks also of the necessity for governments to establish farm estates, saying the model that will work in Nigeria will require greater partnership between the government and the private sector.

    He said the government can open up farm estates where it will be required to provide tractors to clear the land, and thereafter, share the land among a given member of farmers who will tend it, adding that when it comes to harvesting, the private sector will come in and accomplish that.

    Samuel said at Origin Group Limited, the goal is to put 10 tractors in every local government; by so doing, he argues, every farmer should be able to increase his output.

    Hear him: “Before, farmers use their hands to prepare the ground, but a tractor there. Will do an average of six hectares per day, some can do 60 hectares. If we can take away the labour of these people and give them the tractor, we’ll be able to increase Nigeria’s level of output. That was what China did. They put one tractor to every village. Today,  China is self-sufficient in food production.

    “It can be done here,” he insists, saying  that  pushing the idea is where the challenge is. We are trying to involve state governments in this. Paying for the tractors is where government needs to come in. There are challenges, but we are trying,” he added

    Samuel said the youths in Nigeria have a responsibility in this endeavour. If they refuse to rise up to the challenge and pay the price now, others will pay it, but warns that we don’t have any better option, he said.

    “For me, agriculture is the reliable option, or rather, the best option that we have. Go and check it, those who built America were farmers, peasant farmers, sugarcane farmers, miners. The question is whether we are ready to pay the price. Either way, it’s our interest and passion that will determine the outcome,” he added.

  • Bank to boost investment in Jigawa

    Diamond Bank Plc has expressed its readiness to bring forth prospective clients that will invest in agriculture, healthcare and Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Jigawa State.

    In a statement, the bank said a senior official of the bank, Alhaji Muhammed Lawan Shuaibu, spoke at the Jigawa Economic and Investment Summit.

    It added that the bank is partnering with the state government for its first-ever Jigawa investment summit.

    The theme of the summit was: Mobilising investments for sustainable development and it was attended by different stakeholders – investment advisors and analysts, bankers and statesmen, among others.

    The state Governor Sule Lamido said: “We want to announce to the whole world with all the noise we can muster that we are ready and our doors are now opened to take Jigawa to the next level.”

    The Chairman of the summit Lord Paul Boateng said he had the conviction that the state has great potentials.

  • Stallion Home, Mutual Alliance in merger talks

    Stallion Home savings & Loan Limited and Mutual Alliance Savings & loans Limited have started merger talks to beat the recapitalisation deadline of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    In a statement, the two mortgage banks said they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the proposed business combinations that would result into a mega national mortgage bank.

    It said that to actualise the proposal, a four-member steering committee, two each from both Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs), have been inaugurated and saddled with the responsibility to put together necessary documentations as prescribed by the recapitalisation guidelines for submission to the CBN for approval.

    The committee is expected to conclude its assignment and submit the report by September 30, 2013.

    Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Stallion Home Savings and Loan Limited, Johnson Akhidenor, said the emerging entity will be a mega national mortgage bank with over N5 billion capital base.

    Director of Mutual Alliance Savings& Loans Limited, James Taylor, said the merger will strengthen both firms to enable them to address the housing needs of Nigerians.

     

  • BoI targets $500m AfDB facility

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) has concluded arrangement to secure $500 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to expand its lending capacity, The Nation has learnt.

    Also, the bank demands 10 per cent equity contribution from prospective borrowers to enhance their commitment to the loans.

    BoI’s General Manager, Operations, Joseph Babatunde, made this known at the weekend during a media workshop organised by the bank in Lekki, Lagos.

    He said the AfDB would extend $200 million facility to the Nigeria-Export-import (NEXIM) Bank, adding that one of reasons for the delay in securing the loan was because the lender (AfDB) was awaiting the Federal Government’s sovereign guarantee. “We have already secured the needed approvals for the loan aside getting a sovereign guarantee,” he said.

    Babatunde said rates for such loans are always at small margin above the Nigeria Interbank Offered Rate (NIBOR), adding that it will be a moving rate, rotating around NIBOR, and will be at single digit.

    “It is not going to be at high interest rate because it is international borrowing. But I can assure you it will be at a single digit rate,” he said.

    Babatunde also hinted that BOI had secured government approval to increase its capital base from current N250 billion to N750 billion, adding that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Federal Ministry of Finance constitutes its major shareholders.

    He said the AfDB loan will soon be ready, adding that the delay in securing the fund had also stalled plans by the firm to honour its financial pledge to the entertainment industry.

    He however, said the BoI had in its own, extended over N1 billion facility to the subsector.

    The manager also explained why majority of prospective borrowers never secure loans from the bank. He said many of such requests do not meet the specified criteria with critical information such as formal application letter, completion of questionnaire, report of feasibility study, performa invoice of machinery and equipment from the sources indicated in the feasibility, prices and sources of raw materials, among others are usually missing.

    He said once these conditions are met, the legal documentation of the part of the bank does not take long time while approval and disbursement of such loans usually happen within two weeks.

    Also, supervision and monitoring of such loans follow while tenure ranges from five to 15 years depending on terms of the loan and cash flow.

  • Inter-bank rate bullish on CBN’s liquidity control measures

    The inter-bank rate, last week, rose by 333 basis points to 14.5 per cent. This was largely due to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) liquidity management efforts. The CBN had mopped up over N200 billion via treasury bills on June 5 to support government liquidity needs.

    The overnight and seven-day money market rates rose to 14.45 per cent and 14.79 per cent respectively while three-month Nigeria Inter-bank Offered Rate (NIBOR) also rose to 15.4 per cent, though less activities are done on the tenor.

    The inter-bank secured lending (Open Buy Back) rose to 14.16 per cent for commercial banks and discount houses respectively even as the CBN liquidity management remained active within the week.

    It was also supported by the circular issued on 1 August reviewing its guidelines for how banks access its Standing Lending Facility (SLF).

    However, Currency analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, Ezun Olakunle hinted that the inflows of about N200 billion matured treasury bills and Open Market Operation bills on 6 June might gradually reduce rates by 200 basis points to about 12 per cent this week.

    At the Wholesale Dutch Auction System (WDAS), the apex bank offered and sold $300 million on June 5 at N155.74 to a dollar against $350 million sold on June 3 at N155.74. Over the short term, the naira is expected to continue to trade on the inter-bank market within the CBN’s three per cent band either side of N155 to a dollar.

    On Friday, the naira dropped by 0.4 per cent before trading 0.3 per cent lower at 159.35 per dollar. The decline extended its weekly decline to 0.7 per cent, the biggest fall since the five days through June 8, 2012.

     

    Banks’ stocks

     

    Oil and gas as well as power projects financing have been tipped to soar returns on banks’ stocks to 42 per cent by this year end, Vetiva Capital Management Ltd, an investment and research firm told Bloomberg.

    The Bloomberg NSE Banking Index, which tracks Nigeria’s 10 biggest banks by market value, is trading at a price-to-book ratio of 0.8 times, less than the 1.4 times book value of assets for lenders in the MSCI Emerging Market Banks Index.

    It said the gauge for Nigerian banks has gained 34 per cent this year compared with a 0.5 per cent drop in MSCI EM Banks Index. Nigeria’s all-share index has rallied 37 per cent this year, Africa’s best performer after Ghana’s benchmark equities measure.

    “What matters to us is the valuation of the banks, their move to create risk assets and how well they manage those risk assets. We’ve seen emerging market banks with similar risk profile with Nigerian banks, yet trading at higher multiples,” Pabina Yinkere, an equity analyst at Lagos-based Vetiva said.

     

    Mobile money

     

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has explained why it is unable to adopt a telco-led approach in the execution of mobile money services.

    CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said regulation of the telecoms sector was not within the bank’s control, making it difficult to guide mobile money operations under the telco-led model being advocated by telecoms operators.

    Sanusi, who spoke at the risk management conference in Lagos, said the risks in mobile money operations were high, regulation has to be implemented.

    He said the banking watchdog does not control what the telcos are doing, unlike in the bank-led model where there are guidelines.

    Telecoms companies have been calling on the CBN to allow them to participate in the regulation of the mobile money subsector, one of the services provided by banks in support of the cashless banking initiative.

    Speaking at a seminar in Lagos, Tunde Kuponiyi, Globacom’s Director, Telebanking Unit, said the regime of mobile money regulation, which is bank-driven, is not friendly to telecoms companies, which provide the mobile payment platform. He said though there was a lot that telecoms companies could contribute in a cash-less economy, their mandate was limited.

    Kuponiyi explained that since the mobile payments business is 90 per cent dependent on the mobile industry, it was unfair that the mobile networks are prevented from advertising their various mobile payment products, which are the foundation on which the bank products operate.

     

    Nigeria, Canada

     

    The Nigeria, Canada trade volume will double to $6 billion from current $3 billion by 2015, the Canadian Minister of International Trade, Ed Fast has said.

    He disclosed this in the Oxford Business Group (OBG) report which indicated that Canada is working closely with the Federal government to address issues relating to security.

    The report titled: ‘Nigeria -2013 Report on Economic Reforms’, the firm said rolling out of wide-ranging reforms across the Nigeria’s economy is prompting investors to take a “fresh look” at the country.

    Also, Fast said Nigerian government’s privatisation and anti-corruption reforms will create better opportunities for investors.

     

    VISA

     

    The VISA Incorporated has re-iterated the need to focusmore on getting people in remote parts of the country involved in banking.

    The Country Director, sub-Saharan Africa, VISA Incorporated, Mr Ade Ashaye, said a lot of money in circulation is outside the banking system and the CBN cash-less policy is only targeted at encouraging people to make payments electronically rather than cash.

    He said financial inclusion is being widely pursued because there has always been a problem on how to reach people that is far away from banks. This, he said will involve banks opening more branches and getting their customers into embracing e-payment services.

     

    IFC

     

    The International Finance Corporation (IFC), an agency of the World Bank, is assisting local banks to boost lending to Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (SMEs) in the country. Speaking at the SME Toolkit Global Partner conference in Lagos, IFC, Nigeria Country Manager, Solomon Quaynor, said the corporation found that banks do not want the high risk transactions associated with lending to SMEs.

    Quaynor said the SME Toolkit would enable the entrepreneurs to manage their businesses. IFC, he said, stepped in to de-risk such loans by providing financial infrastructure and developing collateral registry that will assist banks in lending to the subsector. “We are working on getting the SMEs to use toolkit, so that banks can be more comfortable lending to the subsector. Our focus is not about giving money to the banks to lend to SMEs. It is about building their confidence in the SMEs so that the subsector can easily obtain loans from lenders,” he said.

     

     

    ICAN

     

    The newly elected and re-elected members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) have been sworn in. They are Mrs. Comfort Olujumoke Eyitayo, Mrs. Uchenna Ifesinachi Erobu, Mr. Nnamdi Anthony Okwuadigbo, Alhaji Ismaila Muhammadu Zakari, Deacon Titus Alao Soetan, Mr. Sunday Abayomi Bammeke, Mr. Hart Wahab Odafen Ozoya, Mrs. Joy Onome Olaolu and Chief Oye Clement Olugbenga Akinsulire.

    A statement from the Director, Corporate Affairs, Claudia Binitie said the election which was conducted through e-balloting was in two categories: ‘Members-in-Practice’ and ‘Members-not-in- Practice’. In the first category, 18 members contested, out of which seven were elected to fill the existing vacancies.

    In the second category, seven members contested and two were elected to fill the two existing vacancies. They will serve for three years before offering themselves for re-election. The ICAN President, Kabir Mohammed, welcomed Mr. Hart Ozoya and Mr. Oye Akinsulire, to their first Council meeting and encouraged them to contribute positively to deliberations on Council issues.

     

    Bank to bank report

    Fidelity Bank Plc has concluded its 25th Anniversary Cars and Cash Savings promo during which it gave out N25 million and 25 cars to its customers.

    Speaking at the cars and cash presentation in Lagos, the bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Reginald Ihejiahi said the bank gave out the cars to assure everyone that it keeps its promises. He said the bank is gender sensitive and has taken steps to empower women entrepreneurs, many of whom won some of the prizes.

    Some of the winners who were presented with their prizes are Abimbola Oluwaseun and Nnenna Edeh who won a brand new Hyundai car each. Also, Adewunmi Mary Ladi won N100,000; Janiat Jamiu won N100,000; Nwamba Chinyere won N250,000 while Chigere Chibuzor won N500,000.

    First Bank of Nigeria Limited has partnered with LEGO, the world’s fourth largest manufacturer of children’s toys to introduce KidsFirst, one of the bank’s children products to the market.

    At an exclusive cinema screenings to mark this year’s Children’s Day, the bank unveiled a comprehensive programme that includes three new products, exciting content partnerships, a dynamic new website and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

    Speaking on the programme, FirstBank’s spokesperson, Folake Ani-Mumuney said the partnership with LEGO represents the bank’s quest to create a platform for Nigerian children to express themselves and instill the culture of financial discipline in them.

    Unity Bank Plc has received the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard certification, the global information security standard that helps prevent card-related fraud, the lender said in a statement.

    Presenting the certificate to Unity Bank, Mrs. Adedoyin Odunfa, Managing Director of Digital Jewels, a consulting firm on the project, said Unity Bank – which currently issues MasterCard and Interswitch Verve cards to its customers – had demonstrated leadership in the industry, being the fifth bank to receive the certification in the country.

    Mrs. Odunfa said: “After achieving the ISO270001 last year, Unity Bank has shown that it is one of the banks at the forefront of good security and compliance by now attaining the PCIDSS certification. You are the second bank in the country to have attained both of those certifications. That is quite a formidable feat given that there are several other banks who may claim to be more technological advanced than Unity Bank.”

     

  • Produce credible financial reports, accountants urged

    Produce credible financial reports, accountants urged

    Chartered accountants have been urged to generate credible and reliable financial reports that will present the true state of public and private institutions.

    This was part of the communiqué issued at the 42nd Annual Accountants’ Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Abuja.

    Participants at the conference noted that the economy will function properly when participants have trust in the financial statements that drive activities and decisions in the capital market. They noted that the problems of the nation‘s uninspiring pace of development is attributed to the absence of strong institutions and professionals who give high regards to corporate governance.

    It recommended that chartered accountants should play a more active role in public governance, urging the institute to regularly engage all relevant stakeholders in advocating for good governance, principled leadership, institution-building and fiscal discipline.

    For a national rebirth, the conference urged the institute to ensure that its members hold to the highest level of professional standards and integrity and apply sanctions where members act in any manner that is inconsistent with the ideals of the profession.

  • Why telecos can’t lead mobile money, by CBN

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has explained why it is unable to adopt a telco-led approach in the execution of mobile money services.

    CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said regulation of the telecoms sector was not within the bank’s control, making it difficult to guide mobile money operations under the telco-led model being advocated by telecoms operators.

    Sanusi, who spoke at the risk management conference in Lagos, said the risks in mobile money operations were high, regulation has to be implemented.

    He said the banking watchdog does not control what the telcos are doing, unlike in the bank-led model where there are guidelines.

    Telecoms companies have been calling on the CBN to allow them to participate in the regulation of the mobile money subsector, one of the services provided by banks in support of the cashless banking initiative.

    Speaking at a seminar in Lagos, Tunde Kuponiyi, Globacom’s Director, Telebanking Unit, said the regime of mobile money regulation, which is bank-driven, is not friendly to telecoms companies, which provide the mobile payment platform. He said though there was a lot that telecoms companies could contribute in a cash-less economy, their mandate was limited.

    Kuponiyi explained that since the mobile payments business is 90 per cent dependent on the mobile industry, it was unfair that the mobile networks are prevented from advertising their various mobile payment products, which are the foundation on which the bank products operate.

    “From the customer’s mobile phone, to the mobile payments system and feedback to the mobile phone, the mobile payment transaction utilises mostly mobile resources, makes use of mobile time and is supported largely by mobile engineers, but unfortunately, the CBN has restricted telecom companies from advertising in the mobile payments space,” he said.

    He stressed the need for telecoms companies to be allowed to speak on the capabilities of their networks, the quality of user experience and the choice of mobile payment services available on their networks.

    He lamented that the passive role to which the telecoms companies have been compelled to play has led to the slow growth of the mobile payment sub sector.

    “It is roughly a year since the first mobile money went live and approaching a year since cash-less economy came into operation. Meanwhile, none of the individual players can boast of having more than 10,000 active subscribers,” he said.

    The CBN has said infrastructure will be a challenge in implementing mobile money and is working towards improving on that, although that responsibility is outside its powers.

    Sanusi had met with the Minister of Communication Technology and other stakeholders, to deliberate on infrastructure.

  • VISA seeks e-banking for rural dwellers

    The VISA Incorporated has re-iterated the need to focusmore on getting people in remote parts of the country involved in banking.

    The Country Director, sub-Saharan Africa, VISA Incorporated, Mr Ade Ashaye, said a lot of money in circulation is outside the banking system and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cash-less policy is only targeted at encouraging people to make payments electronically rather than cash.

    He said financial inclusion is being widely pursued because there has always been a problem on how to reach people that is far away from banks. This, he said will involve banks opening more branches and getting their customers into embracing e-payment services.

    He said by encouraging electronic payments, banks will have more money to lend to industries. “A lot of cash is outside the banking system, a practice which will be reversed when more transactions are done electronically using cards,” he said.

    He said VISA is also advising the CBN and banks on how to ensure that the global best practices are achieved during the implemention of the cash-less policy of the apex bank.

    He said there is need to create awareness on how to make people understand how to use the electronic banking products, adding that achieving financial inclusion will require the banks expanding their networks to remote areas to reach more people.

    He said VISA has tried to improve banking technology in the country and that almost all the banks are members of Visa. He said Nigeria has the right technology after many of the banks migrated to EMV, which is a more secured platform needed to prevent frauds.

    EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard and VISA, a global standard for inter-operation of integrated circuit cards or chip cards, which can be used on point of sale (PoS) terminals and automated teller machines (ATMs) for authenticating credit and debit card transactions.

    Ashaye said cards can increase taxable income by creating an electronic audit trail. He said the reduced risk of fraud inherent in many electronic payment networks is a guarantee of payment for merchants and liability protection for cardholders in the case of fraud.