The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • CBN, NDIC to monitor banks’ compliance with ATMs’ directive

    CBN, NDIC to monitor banks’ compliance with ATMs’ directive

    The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) is to monitor compliance with its directive stopping the N100 depositors pay for using other banks’Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).

    CBN will deploy examiners in banks to ensure compliance, Managing Director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Umaru Ibrahim said.

    He was speaking at a workshop for finance reporters in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital.

    Last Tuesday, CBN stopped the N100 charge for the use of ATMs other than those of a depositor’s banks.

    The decision followed a meeting at the lenders’ committee comprising executives banks directors and top CBN officials.

    Depositors hitherto paid N100 per withdrawal for rising other banks’ ATMs.

    The NDIC boss said the decision to stop the charge would increase the patronage of ATMs and deepen the financial inclusion strategy.

    He listed the other projects meant to promote financial inclusion to include the cash-less policy designed to bring low-cost, secure and convenient financial services to urban, semi-urban and rural areas in the country.

    Ibrahim called for the promotion of all-women microfinance banks, adding that evidence from other countries indicate that such institutions have the potential to promote easy access to credit among rural women, especially at the group levels.

    He said the platform could also be used to mobilise more funds from the group. He said out of the total number of provisional and final microfinance bank licences issued by the CBN, the north, including Federal Capital Territory had only 24.75 per cent, and therefore called on the state governments in the region to establish more grassroots banks.

    According to him, financial inclusion, alternatively characterised as ‘access to finance’ has been defined as ‘universal access at reasonable cost, to a wide range of financial services to everyone needing them, provided by a diversity of sound and sustainable institutions.’

    He said the CBN and NDIC have and uphill task in improving financial inclusion given the relatively low level of penetration of financial services in the country.

    The NDIC boss said the rising trend in bank customers’ complaints is a source of worry to the regulators.

    He said such complaints arising mainly because of poor customer service, high bank tariffs, frauds and forgeries as well as bank distress could threaten confidence in the banking system.

    He said banks are aware of whom their customers are but many of them do not appreciate the need to determine their expectations and how to manage them.

    “The inability to manage customers coupled with the serious corporate governance issues could explain the high frequency of complaints among bank customers in Nigeria. To determine the causes of customer complaints and design appropriate strategies for preventing and controlling it, the need to determine customer expectations and how to effectively manage them cannot be overemphasised,” he said.

  • FirstBank’s Interswitch network hits 5m

    FirstBank has received a “Milestone Achievement Award” for hitting five million Verve card issuance mark on the Interswitch network to five million Verve cards in one year.

    According to Mr Mitchell Elegbe, group managing director of Interswitch, the bank also increased the activity rate of its cards on the Interswitch network from 56 per cent to 90 per cent in 12 months.

    “To put this in proper perspective, 90 per cent of FirstBank Verve cards are active and have carried out at least one transaction in the last two months. The average rate across the switch is about 70 per cent. These are huge milestones which deserves recognition and commendation,” he said.

    The Group Managing Director of the bank, Mr Bisi Onasanya dedicated the award to the bank’s numerous customers, noting that their patronage and loyalty had continued to drive the Bank along the path of innovation, service excellence, and profitability.

    Onasanya said the award would encourage the customers to remain loyal to the bank, and promised that the bank would continue to provide superior services.

    He said the bank would continue to defend and extend its leadership of the financial services sector through technology-driven service and specialised products and services that speak to all sections of the banking public.

    “FirstBank’s investment in e-business reflects our commitment to promoting financial inclusion which is widely regarded as a panacea for ensuring sustainable economic growth and development as well as enhancing entrepreneurship. Our passion to serve and extend financial services to the unbanked and under-banked has since inspired several innovations including the introduction of a card-less Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Transfer service which ensures that people without bank accounts or electronic cards can receive funds from our ATMs across the nation,” he added.

  • Agric earnings for Africa hit $20b

    Africa will realise extra $20billion in yearly earnings if its leaders can dismantle trade barriers hindering regional dynamism, a World Bank report has said.

    The report was released on the eve of an African Union (AU) Ministerial summit on agriculture and trade in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

    In a statement, the bank said Africa’s farmers can grow enough food to feed the continent and avert future food crises if countries remove cross-border restrictions on the food trade within the region.

    The report urges African leaders to improve trade so that food can move more freely between countries and from fertile areas to those where communities are suffering food shortages. “The World Bank expects demand for food in Africa to double by the year 2020 as people increasingly leave the countryside and move to the continent’s cities,” it said.

    According to the new report, Africa Can Help Feed Africa: Removing barriers to regional trade in food staples – rapid urbanisation will challenge the ability of farmers to ship their cereals and other foods to consumers when the nearest trade market is just across a national border.

    It said countries south of the Sahara, could significantly boost their food trade over the next several years to manage the deadly impact of worsening drought, rising food prices, rapid population growth, and volatile weather patterns.

    With many African farmers effectively cut off from the high-yield seeds, and the affordable fertilisers and pesticides needed to expand their crop production, the continent has turned to foreign imports to meet its growing needs in staple foods.

    “Africa has the ability to grow and deliver good quality food to put on the dinner tables of the continent’s families.

    However, this potential is not being realised because farmers face more trade barriers in getting their food to market than anywhere else in the world. Too often, borders get in the way of getting food to homes and communities, which are struggling with too little to eat,”Makhtar Diop, World Bank Vice-President for Africa, said.

    The new report suggests that if the continent’s leaders can embrace more dynamic inter-regional trade, Africa’s farmers, the majority of whom are women, could potentially meet the continent’s rising demand and benefit from a major growth opportunity. It would also create more jobs in services such as distribution, while reducing poverty and cutting back on expensive food imports. Africa’s production of staple foods is worth at least $50 billion a year.

  • Fidelity Bank rewards customers

    Fidelity Bank has given out five cars to five of its customers that emerged winners in the ongoing ‘Cars and Cash’ promo.

    Muhammed Isah Shemsu, Saidu Sanusi, Benita Onwuneme, Odo Ngozika Blessing and Blessed Maka Ventures were winners of the first set of cars in the first mega draw, held to pick winners across five zones in the country—Northeast/West, Southeast, Southsouth, Abuja/Northcentral and Lagos/Southwest.

    Other 20 customers also won various cash prizes ranging from N100, 000 to N1 million each. Nwanjoku Chima from Lagos zone won N1 million,while Umar Bashir from Abuja/Northcentral and Anayo Evelyn Onyishi from the South East won N500,000 each. Eight customers from the five zones in the country won N250,000 each while 10 other customers won N100,000 each.

    The bank’s Managing Director, Reginald Ihejiahi, said the lender has fulfilled promise it made to its customers by rewarding winners in the promo. He said the bank embark on the campaign to encourage savings culture among Nigerians and to celebrate its 25th anniversary, coming up early next year.

    The bank’s General Manager, Lagos, Mr Emeka Obiagwu, said the anniversary promo will last for five months, ending in May 2013, with 25 cars given out and N25 million won in cash prizes by depositors in the bank.

    He said the bank will look for other ways to continually reward its customers after the end of the anniversary promo as they have been supportive of its businesses.

    A car winner from Kaduna in the Northeast and West zone, Muhammed Isah Shemsu, expressed his appreciation for being a winner, while commending the bank for its initiative in embarking on the promo.

  • CITN to honour Nigerians

    The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) has unveiled plans to honour some Nigerians for their invaluable contributions to the development of tax practice and administration in the country.

    In a statement, the Institute’s Registrar/Chief Executive Mr Abayomi Jayeoba, said the conferment of the awards on distinguished persons and also fellowship of the Institute on deserving members is scheduled for the Annual Dinner Nite slated for this Saturday in Lagos.

    “The decision to honour few Nigerians at this year’s Annual Dinner was taken by Council in recognition of their invaluable roles in moving the nation’s tax system forward and their contributions to the nation at large.

    “Although the country’s tax system is yet to attain the desired level of efficiency, the Institute is confident that a the on-going tax reforms would go a long way in correcting some of the lapses that are still noticeable in the system”, the statement added.

     

     

     

     

  • Sterling Bank rewards more customers

    STERLING Bank Plc has rewarded another set of customers in its on-going Savers’ Promo which kicked-off in July this year. The bank, during the monthly draw of the promo in Lagos on Friday, said 14 customers across the country won both consolation and cash prizes for October edition.

    Out of this, four customers won a cash prize of N5 million each, while 10 others won consolation prizes such as refrigerators and Home Theatres.

    The cash prize winners are Abioye Oluwakemi Grace ( Ikeja Mainland Equatorial Trust Bank (ETB); Ocheinu Adah ( National Assembly Branch); Taiwo Godwin Anoemuah( Challenge ETB Branch); and Pepple Douglas Elewe( Uyo ETB Branch).

    Winners under the consolation category include Madu Stella ( Ilupeju branch, Lagos); Ibrahim Olumide Kazeem( Ikorodu-ETB Branch); Ipinlaye Moses Abayomi( Garki Area 8 Abuja); Elias Friday ( Garki-ETB Branch); Kolujo Abidemi Segun(Ijebu-Ode ETB-Branch); and Igwe Emeka Chidi( Owerri Road Branch). Others include Ojeabulu Omogbohu Esther( Benin Sapele Road- ETB-Branch); Mrs Uchenna Osuji( Onitsha Bridge ETB-Branch); Olusoji Aina (Port Harcourt Mainland ETB Branch) and David Daniel Etuk( Uyo, ETB-Branch).

    Head Consumers Protection Council, Lagos Branch, Mrs Ngozika Obidike said the process of selecting winners for the promo was transparent.

    Group Head, Liability Products, Mr John Akingbade said the promo is intended to reward loyal customers of the bank, and further promote the lender’s brand. He said the bank is leveraging on the promo to take banking to the nooks and crannies of the country.

    “This is the bank’s way of promoting financial inclusion policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) so that more people would have access to banking services. We have made the account opening process more convenient to customers to ensure wider accessibility of services. Four draws have been organised, with fourteen winners emerging from each of the draw. So far, 56 winners have emerged from the promo”, he said.

     

  • ‘MPC may leave rate at 12%’

    Ahead of tomorrow’s meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), analysts have forecast that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will leave the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) and Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) unchanged at 12 per cent, until broad-based macroeconomic stability has been achieved.

    MPR is the benchmark rate by which the CBN determines interest rate while CRR is a portion of banks’ deposits kept by banks with the CBN.

    Fixed Income & Currencies Analyst at Ecobank Nigeria, Olukunle Ezun, said key issues influencing whether to hold or cut rates are the naira and inflation short term outlook, fiscal performance and external factors such as the eurozone crisis and the United States “fiscal cliff”.

    Ezun said in an emailed report that expectations are skewed towards the MPC holding the MPR unchanged at 12 per cent despite inflation slowing and increased capital inflows linked to Nigeria’s inclusion in a key global investors’ bond index.

    “One argument against an MPR cut is the capital outflows by non-resident portfolio investors that would undermine recently attained naira stability. The likelihood of the MPR being held unchanged could lead to some fixed income market drift that lacks direction,” he said.

    He said the MPC has met five times so far this year, and at each meeting, has left the MPR unchanged at 12 per cent – it was last raised by 275 basis points in October, last year.

    “Going into the meeting, there are some expectations that the CBN could ease monetary policy in line with some other African countries following the slowdown in annual inflation to 11.3 in September,” he said.

    However, most market expectations are skewed towards the MPC holding the MPR unchanged at 12 per due to concerns over the eurozone crisis and possible fiscal cliff in the United States both of which indirectly will present downside risks on naira.

    He said that although market operators are committed towards making markets for Federal Government Nigeria (FGN) bonds and Treasury bills in the primary market, trading in the secondary market has gradually slowed in terms of transaction volumes since the beginning of November.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Investors stake N200b on equities, bonds

    Investors staked N199.85 billion on quoted equities and bonds last week but the cautious optimism that later prevailed over the capital market could not totally erase the negative impact of bearishness that opened the week.

    While investors reduced stakes on equities, they stepped up investments in government bonds, a shift that reflected the largely negative pricing trend that opened the stock market.

    Total turnover on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last week stood at 1.29 billion shares worth N9.41 billion in 19,825 deals as against turnover of 1.19 billion shares valued at N11.49 billion traded in 22,277 deals in previous week.

    At the over-the-counter (OTC) bond market, where Federal Government’s bonds are traded, turnover rose to 180.63 million units valued at N190.44 billion in 1,082 compared with 179.41 million units worth N187.51 billion exchanged in 1,196 deals two weeks ago.

    Although the overall pricing trend improved considerably by the middle of the week, the week-on-week market return still closed on the negative, particularly reflecting the major decline on Tuesday.

    The All Share Index (ASI), the benchmark common index that measures changes in prices of all quoted companies, closed the week with a drop of 1.19 per cent to close at 26,400.94 points. It had opened at 26,718.30 points.

    Aggregate market value of all quoted equities indicated net loss of N101.13 billion with closing value of N8.413 trillion. All main sectoral indices followed the overall downtrend. The NSE 30 Index, NSE Consumer Goods Index, NSE Banking Index, NSE Oil and Gas Index and NSE Lotus II Index dropped by 1.18 per cent, 1.48 per cent, 1.24 per cent, 2.65 per cent, and 1.47 per cent respectively. The NSE Insurance Index meanwhile appreciated by 0.29 per cent.

    Price movement analysis showed that 23 stocks appreciated while 43 stocks depreciated. The financial services sector accounted for 876.900 million shares valued at N5.328 billion in 11,454 deals. The oil and gas sector occupied the second position on the activity chart with a turnover of 135.055 million shares valued at N186.919 million in 1,161 deals. The consumer goods sector ranked third with 92.782 million shares valued at N3.119 billion through 3,850 deals.

    Altogether, the top three sectors accounted for 1.105 billion shares valued at N8.634 billion traded in 16,465 deals, thus accounting for 85.42 per cent, 91.71 per cent and 83.05 per cent of the volume, value and number of deals respectively. On stock-by-stock basis, Beco Petroleum Product Plc emerged the most active stock with a turnover of 105.093 million.

    Cadbury Nigeria Plc led the advancers with a weekly gain of N1.39 to close at N25.89 per share. NCR (Nigeria) followed with a gain of N1.31 to close at N14.40. Ashaka Cement added N89 kobo to close at N18.89 while UACN Property Development Company rose by 58 kobo to close at N11.98 per share.

     

  • ‘CBN won’t force mobile money firms to merge’

    ‘CBN won’t force mobile money firms to merge’

    The 15 licensed mobile money operators will not be forced into mergers and acquisition because of their weak capital base, an  official of the Shared Services Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Chidi Umeano, has said.

    He was reacting to speculations that the firms may merge and acquisition to improve efficiency and speed up the reduction of the unbanked population from 65 per cent to 25 per cent by 2015.

    Speaking to The Nation, Umeano said the operators’ decision to combine businesses was an investment decision and should be treated as such.

    He said: “The role of CBN is to issue guidelines to the operators after carefully conducted pilot studies to determine the readiness of the firms that were given Approval In Principle (AIP) to operate mobile money transactions. Since the companies have board of directors as stated in their operational guidelines, they must take the decision in line with that arrangement. It is the duty of their boards to sit and arrive at a decision that is suitable for them. But on the part of CBN, we would not ask the mobile money firms to merge their operations. The issue of mergers and acquisitions has nothing to do with the CBN”.

    He said the apex bank wanted to be informed, in case the operators were planning merger arranging.

    Umeano said though CBN was putting in place measures to ensure a virile, efficient, and enduring industry that would galvanise the growth of the economy, adding that it was not in its interest to force any of mobile money operators to engage in mergers.

    In a related development, the Managing Director, Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBBS), Mr Ade Osinubi, expressed fear that the expensive nature of operating mobile payment system may make the operators to merge their businesses.

    Osinubi said the operators were facing challenges, adding that the development had affected their activities. He observed that mobile money system was yet to take off in the country, considering their relatively non-impressive turnover.

    Also, the Chief Executive Officer, Mobile Money Africa, Mr Emmanuel Okowgale, said the firms had not been able to get a large pool of customers to work with. He said the operators had not got huge subscribers base, because of poor awareness, infrastructure, liquidity, among other problems.

    He said mobile money firms in countries, such as Kenya have recorded billions of dollars as turnover because they have a solid infrastructure in place, as against Nigeria where the operators are still battling with the issue of getting enough agents for their services.

    Okowgale said the operators need to strengthen their capacity to record meaningful growth, arguing that they have a large market to operate with.

  • CBN’s credit to banks drop to N275b

    CBN’s credit to banks drop to N275b

    Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Economic Report has shown that its credit to the banks stood at N275.7 billion last month after dropping by 18.9 per cent based on August figure.

    The specified liquid assets of the commercial banks stood at N5.2 trillion, representing 39 per cent of their total liabilities.

    The report said the level of liquid assets was 2.6 per cent below the preceding month’s ratio of 41.6, but nine per cent above the stipulated minimum ratio of 30 per cent. The loan-to-deposit ratio was 45.7 per cent and was 34.3 percentage points below the stipulated maximum target of 80 per cent for the industry,” it said.

    At N1.3 trillion, currency in circulation rose marginally by 0.4 per cent in the review month, in contrast to the decline of 0.1 per cent at the end of the preceding month. It said the development reflected, wholly, the 0.4 per cent increase in currency outside banks.

    According to the apex bank, relative to the level at end-December 2011, currency in circulation fell by 12.6 per cent. Also, total deposits at the CBN amounted to N6.8 trillion, indicating a decline of 1.5 per cent below the level at the end of the preceding month. It said the development reflected, largely, the fall in Federal Government deposits.

    “Of the total deposits, the percentage shares of the Federal Government, banks and “others” were 67.2, 24.6 and 8.2 per cent, compared with 70.1, 22.1 and 7.8 per cent in the preceding month,” it said.

    The report noted that the money market experienced tight liquidity condition during most of the month, following the review of the cash reserve requirement and the net open position (NOP) of banks in foreign currencies.

    Growth in the key monetary aggregate remained sluggish at the end of August 2012. Monthly, broad money (M2) rose by 2.8 per cent, because of the 3.3 and 0.5 per cent rise in foreign assets (net) and domestic credit (net) of the banking system.

    Relative to the level at end-December 2011, M2 grew by 3.5 per cent, owing, largely, to the rise in foreign asset (net) and other assets (net) of the banking system. Narrow money (M1) fell by 2.5 per cent below the level at the end of the preceding month.

    The reserve money (RM), rose by 5.4 per cent above its level in the preceding month. Available data indicated mixed developments in banks’ deposit and lending rates in August. The spread between the weighted average term deposit and maximum lending rates widened from 16.40 percent in July to 17.28 per cent points in August.

    Similarly, the margin between the average savings deposit and maximum lending rates widened to 21.99 per cent in the review month from 21.67 per cent in the preceding month. The weighted average interbank call rate rose to 19.10 per cent, from 15.19 per cent in the preceding month, reflecting the liquidity condition in the interbank funds market during the month.

    The value of money market assets outstanding at end–August 2012 was N5.9 trillion, showing an increase of 0.2 per cent over the level at end-July 2012. The development was attributed to the 0.8 per cent increase in the value of Federal Government Bonds outstanding.