The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Banks

  • ‘Most banks illegally ware-house government taxes’

    Dr. Osifo Samson Igbinoba, renowned accountant and financial management expert, sits atop as the Principal Partner of Osifo Samson & Co., a financial, management and tax consulting firm. In this interview with Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf, the Olabisi Onabanjo University trained accountant who has two separate PhDs in Credit Management and Financial Economics, speaks on the nation’s tax ecosystem, including withholding taxes vis-à-vis the prospects and challenges of collecting taxes. Excerpts:

    There is a lot of controversy surrounding the collection of withholding taxes with fears rife in some quarters that the country is losing a lot of revenue to non-remittance of such taxes. What is your take on this?

    The fact is taxation is primarily concerned with collection of income for government at all levels. Withholding tax falls under unearned income.  As the name implies, unearned incomes are incomes you earn effortlessly as it were. It’s just your liquidity or money that brings such income to you otherwise known as u unearned income, which comes to individuals or corporate bodies, the government is expected to be paid at least 10 per cent from such unearned income.

    Any investments you have you’re expected to pay 10 per cent of it. Unearned incomes are incomes forms of rents. Now I can tell you for instance that most of the houses in Lagos, the landlords are not paying 10 per cent to government coffers. We have so many investments in banks. For instance, our fixed deposit at the banks are also forms of investment as such if the banks are paying you for your investment a withholding tax of 10 percent is deducted at source. Besides, the dividend that companies pay, at least 10 per cent withholding tax is also deducted at source.

    Anything that is related to investment comes under unearned income and it is been taxed. The problem with collection of withholding tax is that most of our state governors don’t look inwards. The banks are deducting the withholding tax and stamp duties but fail to remit it. It’s because we don’t have a structure in place. Before your dividends come to you the banks would have deduct the withholding tax. Most individuals and corporate bodies are expected to pay withholding tax to the government at the state and federal levels. What we need to do is to track the collection of withholding tax in the banks to ascertain the number of customers they charge withholding tax. In the course of our work with one state government (name withheld), we discovered that the state was being owed about N2.5b unremitted.

    From your investigation, how much withholding tax receipts can a state government collect in a year for instance?

    I can tell you categorically that a state can generate about N100b from withholding taxes on a monthly basis. The thing you need to understand is that most times interests from withholding taxes are calculated monthly. An average Nigerian has a fixed deposit with the bank and also does one or two businesses with the banks. Normally, the account holder would have instructed his bank to start dropping his interest at the end of every month and of course, the banks in their usual way would have deducted the withholding tax from source. But the question is who collects these withholding taxes?

    Withholding tax is also referred to as at source tax. You can’t avoid paying withholding tax because it is deducted before your money is paid to you. The thing is that we don’t have a structure when it comes to rent because the landlord is taking. If you are investing a fixed deposit with the banks for instance, before the income gets to you, the bank collects the withholding tax of 10 per cent. So the question is who is getting the withholding tax from the banks? The state government needs to look inwards. They cannot do it all alone and that is why we have consultants everywhere to really sit down with them and really close mark all these banks. If a withholding tax is related to individuals, it goes to the state on the other hand if it is related to a company; it goes to the federal government. The same thing with stamp duty too so most individuals are transacting businesses on a daily basis.

    So if the House of Reps is instituting a probe over who collects withholding tax or stamp duty tax, on what is being generated by the state and federal governments, I think it is a right step in the right direction. To be able to do this, the lawmakers need to close mark the banks. Initially we had 24 banks and just recently we had another three, making 27. The House of Reps should mandate the banks to tell them how many Nigerians have accounts in their banks. It is not just to call a director and say we have investors and these are the money. No, it won’t work. They also need to engage consultants too.  I recall once my team and I worked with a state government to track their unremitted withholding taxes illegally warehoused by some banks. We were able to trace them. I recalled at the time that it was well over N2.5 billion. Frankly speaking before the state can be positioned to collect withholding taxes thy must as a matter of urgency have a clear understanding of what withholding tax is all about.

    What is the global view of how much the state or federal governments lose due to non-remittance of within taxes?

    I can tell you that withholding is over N100billion.

    Is this what the country is supposed to be collecting annually?

    No withholding tax is not an annually deduction. It’s a monthly thing. For instance, if I put a fixed deposit in the bank, I could tell them please drop my interest every month, so every month the state or federal government keeps making money off me. An average successful Nigerian man has a fixed deposit in banks as well as some businesses deals with the banks, but the question is who is collecting their withholding taxes at the end of the day? It might shock you to know that the federal government appears not so keen in collecting withholding taxes because someone is collecting it on their behalf. As I said, the N100billion is to be collected for each states of the federation. I’m not talking about how much accrues to the federal government now. Each state is supposed to be collecting at least N100billion.

    Are you saying withholding tax is an area the government needs to take more seriously like the stamp duty?

    The question we should be asking is how much have we even generated from the collection of stamp duty? We need to understand what is obtainable here. Now when you’re talking about withholding tax, it is only when you want to apply sentiments into tax collection that is when you will begin to reduce the amount of money you are going to earn at the end of the day. Now let’s assume each rent you pay to your landlord in Lagos, they pay 10 per cent of that to government, how can you imagine the number of revenue that you will bring into the coffers of government? All houses in Lagos that are being commercialised and the landlord is paying 10 per cent, the state government.

    That is what the law says. Any investment you have the interest accruing from the investment you are expected to pay 10 per cent on it. So if I have invested N50million and they are giving me N5million, I’m expected to pay N500, 000 to the state government. If you take that to the bank, the bank would remove it because it is at source tax. So what we are saying in essence is this, the state government need to close mark and get their personnel trained on how to track withholding tax collection. So why you are collecting rent, you know that your agent is also removing  On the long run, state government can generate an average of N100billion only on withholding tax. If you look at a place like Lagos, especially highbrow areas in Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki, to mention just a few, if you look at the amount of money they use to pay house rent per annum, 10 per cent rate technically should go to the state government.

    Do you think the probe by the lawmakers is the right step in the right direction?

    Yes we need to stand something. The probe alone will enlighten the people on what goes on. The probe alone will also make some people to sit right and put in place some control measures for people who have not been paying. The probe alone will also give the banks a signal that it may not be business as usual again and the fact that they will now need to pay withholding tax once they collect same. So I support the probe wholeheartedly because indirectly it is also going to get more income into the state. Of course, the probe will not solve all the issues on withholding tax but at least, it will try to control the excesses involved with withholding tax.

    In your own view who do you think is more appropriate to manage the receipts and collections of withholding tax?

    There are tax experts that are trained to do that. I made mention of an assignment I carried out on behalf of a state some time ago. What we did at the time is that we went to the banks and we reconciled those things with them and at the end of the day we were able to recover over N2.5billion.

    But I’m aware that under the law, use of is not encouraged because when you use consultants you are required to pay them certain percentage. The argument in some quarters is that government also loses revenue to consultants in that process. What is your response to this?

    See, the thing is this; we need to understand certain things. As far as I’m concerned, poor attitude, ignorance are some of the reasons why for us to grow as a country it will take a while. Now, if you sick, you use the best doctor. Now if you are going to a doctor and you’re taking an assumption that it’s just simple headache, I will apply paracetamol. You may actually have high blood pressure, kidney failure and other complications which you may not have been aware of and it can be cured. But because you’re trained in that regard to carry out the diagnosis on your own, you do need the help of a doctor to do this for you and save you from yourself. Anything you want to do in life, you look at the value, the cost benefit analysis. What I’m trying to say in essence is this, if you don’t want to engage the services of consultants to look at the loopholes for you and help you get a relief for, you stand to lose a lot at the end.  So as I said, you have to look at the core values that correlate with the objective you’re pursuing. You see when you don’t want to spend money, you can never make progress.

    So other words you subscribe to the use of consultants to collect taxes on behalf of government?

    Absolutely.

    Can you give an estimate of what the federal government can earn from the collection of withholding taxes?

    It’s a lot. From rent alone the federal government can rake in billions on a monthly basis. All the Government Reserved Areas across the country are owned by the federal government.

  • PwC advises banks, others to digitise risk management

    Report BY Pricewater houseCoopers  (PwC) on risk review has  asked banks and other key players in the economy  to focus on developing strong digital skills and capacity as part of their broad risk management strategy. This, it says, would help them to make informed decisions in a technology-driven climate.

    The report released by the financial service provider, admits that many organisations have embraced new technologies as part of their internal audit, risk and compliance functions. It, however, regrets that most (organisations) are yet to fully realise the benefits in using relevant insights to make informed investment decisions.

    The survey, which is the eighth in its series, focuses on identifying the conditions that help “top-performing and digitally fit risk functions” stand out both in terms of ability to strategically advise stakeholders on risks as well as the capacity to adapt to emerging processes.

    The survey identifies six habits of risk functions that are responsible for smarter risk-taking. It lists the habits as going all-in on the organisation’s digital plan, upskilling/injecting new talents to move at the speed of the organisation and finding the right fit for emerging technologies.

    Others are enabling the organisation to act on risks in real time, actively engaging decision makers in key digital initiatives and collaborating/aligning to provide a consolidated view of risks.

    Reviewing the report, Risk Assurance Leader at PwC Nigeria, Femi Osinubi, says:

    “Risk professionals are at a critical juncture. As technology transforms the way we do business – from data analysis to more automation – so too do the potential risks. At the same time, digital transformation is driving the potential for identifying risk and making smarter decisions, yet the study highlights that many risk functions are not fully realising this.

    “Only 22 per cent of chief executives who responded to PwC’s 22nd CEO Survey say the risk exposure data they receive are comprehensive enough for long-term decision-making – the same figure as 10 years ago. This indicates that risk functions are not harnessing the power of abundant data available.

    “It is vital that risk professionals recognise that by improving their digital fitness, they can take an active approach to becoming important partners and leaders in helping their organisations derive more benefits from their digital initiatives. Organisations with dynamic risk functions enjoy more effective risk management, which contributes to greater confidence in taking risks, a faster and safer digital journey, and greater-than-anticipated value from digital investments”

    PwC says it surveyed more than 2,000 CEOs, senior executives, board members, and professionals in risk management, compliance and internal audit, and interviewed dozens of executives and board members to explore what differentiates risk functions when it comes to digital transformation.

  • Banks, telcos, others discuss innovation at Simba, Avaya conference

    Commercial banks, telecom operators and other leading players in the economy were at the a digital conference organised by Simba Infrastructure Limited, in partnership with Avaya in Lagos.

    The Avaya Innovation Day forum was designed to exclusively enhance customer experience and fulfillment. The event provided insight to the needs of businesses in Nigeria in building connected experiences required for effective Digital Transformation. The event which took place at the prestigious Victoria Crown Plaza Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos was well attended by industry experts and IT professionals.

    Avaya and Simba showcased a variety of new products including its flagship cloud based Social Media product called Avaya Ava. It is a cloud-based messaging- agnostic solution that offers AI capabilities for social messaging integration. Other products include the enhanced Avaya Equinox Softphone, Avaya Vantage Video Phones, Chatbot and several other solutions for work collaboration and secure video conferencing.

    Speaking at the event, Sanjay Vaswani, the Executive Director of Simba Infrastructure, assured Simba Customers and other participants of the organization’s full commitment to providing unique IT Services across the lifecycle of business operations. He stated, “As an Avaya exclusive partner in West Africa, Simba Infrastructure has achieved the competency to provide matchless IT services around the Avaya solution portfolio. We deliver customized communication infrastructure solution to our valued customers and provide strategic partnership to Avaya in the Digital Transformation journey”.

    Also speaking at the event were top executives from Avaya including Omar Fahnbulleh, Elie Turquieh and Puthanpura, Vinod Kumar who spoke extensively on the several impacts of Digital Transformation on business re-engineering. They emphasized that Digital Transformation was a key factor in accelerating experiences and business growth through the adoption of mobile digital services, enabling next generation interactions and driving change in customer experience.

    In attendance at the event were key executives from several top tier financial institutions including Stanbic IBTC Bank, United Bank for Africa, Guaranty Trust Bank, Keystone Bank and other sectors like telecoms, Oil Gas, Health and Pension organisations.

    Simba Infrastructure, a member of the Simba Group is a Diamond partner of Avaya in Nigeria. Headquartered in Lagos with offices in Abuja, Simba has received several awards and recognitions as a leading conglomerate in several key sectors of the Nigerian economy.

  • Banks mark International Women’s Day

    Access Bank Plc, continues to demonstrate unwavering commitment to women as it is set to mark the International Women’s Day, 2019 with Diamond Bank Plc, as both banks look forward to the completion of the merger process which will make the new entity the largest retail bank in Africa.

    The event will be celebrated with a two-day event themed ‘Balance for Better’. The celebrations will kick off with a cocktail event on Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at the Access Bank Head Office Lagos, with top management from both banks and other dignitaries in attendance.

    Both banks will host women across various industries to a breakfast conference at Eko Hotel & Suites on the second day of the conference, March 14, 2019. This conference will feature insightful panel sessions, where seasoned speakers will address issues related to how women can leverage on technology and finance to build profitable and innovative ventures, as well as accelerate actions towards supporting women in their quest to be the best they can be.

    Head of Women Banking, Access Bank Plc, Ada Udechukwu  said: “At Access Bank, we are passionate about the woman and her overall well-being. We are interested in her growth in family life, career, health and other areas. We will continue to provide platforms and support programs that will help women and their businesses. This value-packed conference has been organized to help women learn essential lessons which can be applied to their daily lives and businesses. It will help them become all they want to be and be the best at it.”

    Speaking about the event, Group Managing Director/CEO Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, said, “At the core of our services is catering to the needs of women and we are constantly gearing efforts towards promoting women-focused initiatives and providing opportunities to help them maximize their potential. One of the reasons we are hosting this breakfast conference is to help women overcome limitations as well as reach their best potential”

    Wigwe also said” As we expand with the merger, and continue on our journey to building Africa’s biggest retail bank, our women now have more innovative offerings that they can explore to make themselves and their businesses better.

     

     

  • CBN directs banks to cut appetite for govt’s securities, oil assets

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday directed commercial banks to moderate their appetite for investing in government securities and oil and gas assets.

    Government securities include Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Bonds and Treasury Bills (TB).

    Its  Deputy Governor, Edward Lametek, who spoke at the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting released by the apex bank, said moderating demand for government securities and oil assets  assist the lenders to rebalance their portfolios.

    According to him, banks also needed to lend more to the economy for sustained economic growth.

    He said the CBN’s  interventions in agriculture have clearly shown the immense prospects with properly directed credit.

    He said: “Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) need to step up credit delivery to the growth poles – agriculture, manufacturing and services. The last couple of months have witnessed a sustained improvement in banking sector resilience – industry capital adequacy and liquidity ratios have grown, while the non-performing loans (NPLs) ratio is on the decline.

    “This should translate to improved intermediation to be relevant. While monetary policy has to accommodate the need to sustain current improvements in banking industry Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIs), the DMBs would need to moderate their appetite for government securities and oil & gas assets in order to gradually re-balance their asset portfolios.”

    He said developments in the inter-bank market somehow suggest that the sterilisation actions of the bank have remained very effective in reining-in excess liquidity.

    Lametek said it is important that such actions should continue to be a component of monetary management in this year as liquidity threats do not appear to be abating any time soon. Keeping domestic liquidity in check is important not only for inflation, but also for the stability of the naira exchange rate.

    “Overall, my assessment is that risks to inflation have remained tepid notwithstanding the year-on-year increase in headline inflation in December 2018. This could change depending on the short to medium-term evolution of fiscal policy. Given elections in February and March, the fiscal outlook should become clearer as from April 2019,” he said.

    According to him, the outlook for economic growth is a bit dicey concerning given the indications from the oil sector (especially the volatility in crude prices) and sluggish consumption demand.

    “I view the balance of risks to economic growth tilting to the downside, which suggests that there is a more urgent need to support growth or in the minimum delay any policy action that might further tighten credit conditions. It is important to stress nonetheless that a supportive monetary policy orientation alone will not be sufficient to lift economic growth to the historical levels of 5-6 per cent. Other policies of government, particularly fiscal and sector policies have to be in the same mode,” he said.

    Also, a member of the MPC, Adenikinju Festus, said with respect to the banking and financial system, there is positive trend in all financial system indicators (FSI) between November last year and January this year.

    He said the NPLs ratio continues its downward trend, capital adequacy ratio of the banking sector improved three consecutive months, liquidity ratio inched northward, aggregate assets and deposits of the banking sector also rose over the same period.

    However, the monetary authority should not lower its guard and must continue to monitor the banks and implement policies to consolidate and further improve the FSI.

    “Aggregate credit expansion to the real economy continues to pose serious challenges. Net credit growth to the private sector is lower than provisional benchmark for 2018. The high-interest rate spread and the high lending rates are challenges that require new and innovative approaches,” he said.

    According to him, the proposed National Microfinance Bank, strengthening of existing Micro Finance Banks, and other initiatives by the CBN to promote financial inclusion, access to credit by those in the rural areas, semi/urban and even the poor areas in the cities across the country at affordable interest rates would boost real sector activities at the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) level.

  • PwC to banks: cost-cutting won’t guarantee profitability

    PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report has urged banks to look beyond cost-reduction and restructuring measures for profitability and long-term survival.

    The document, which presents the results of ‘PwC 2018 Productivity in the Financial Services Sector Survey’, says traditional cost-cutting strategies come with inherent limitations. These, it argues, affect the overall impacts of the strategies on corporate performance and long-term sustainability.

    To boost profitability and support sustainable growth, the report titled: ‘The Productivity Agenda – Moving Beyond Cost Reduction in Financial Services’, urged senior executives to address issues affecting productivity.

    The document also points out the impacts of digital evolution on traditional businesses, saying smart solutions would continue to threaten established businesses except there is a change of mind-set.

    In the face of concern over the disruption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the industry, it called on managers to clearly spell out tasks that could be performed by AI as against those human capital is needed to execute.

    The report states: “As people live and work longer, and unemployment rates remain low, digital training and retraining of existing workforces is particularly crucial. Despite its importance, research shows that current efforts are not achieving the desired results. Of the financial-services leaders polled in PwC’s 2018 CEO Survey, 75 per cent reported they were concerned about shortages of digital skills within the industry.

    “To keep up with digital-only competitors and rapidly deliver a seamless and instant customer experience, 77 per cent of financial institutions are turning to agile somewhere in their organisation.Over 50 per cent of CEOs believe AI will have a bigger impact than the Internet. Getting the balance right between tasks performed by AI and tasks performed by people will be key to future success for financial institutions.”

    It adds: “With banks struggling to improve their return on capital, many institutions are being forced to restructure and cut costs. Even in the asset management industry, where return on equity is higher than the financial services industry as a whole, there is downward pressure on margins and profitability. Cost cutting will only deliver so much. If financial institutions are to improve profitability in the long-term, they need to fundamentally improve the productivity of the enterprise.”

    Analysing the research outcome, Financial Services Leader for PwC Nigeria, Sam Abu, says: “The cost cutting agenda adopted by many institutions since the financial crisis has, in essence, de-globalised the industry to make it more local or national, shrunk global footprints, divested businesses and shed clients.

    “However, this process has run its course. If profitability is to get anywhere near the highs of 15 years ago, what is needed now is a fundamental focus on building a sustainable productive business model that can compete with both incumbent institutions and digital-only competitors,” Abu stated.

    PwC has identified six areas where financial institutions can focus their productivity efforts to boost sustainable profitability. The specified areas are Better understanding the workforce, Rethinking change functions, and Embracing the platform economy.

    Others are Improving workforce digital IQ, Bringing an agile mind-set to the mainstream and Mastering digital labour.

    It notes further: “Our experience indicates that by simply tracking hours by task, organisations can improve productivity by 15 per cent to 20 per cent, and the implementation of service catalogues and multi-tier sourcing can bring another 20 per cent improvement. Of the organisations that didn’t track work by hours and tasks, 62 per cent believed such tracking would yield productivity benefits.

    “Forty per cent of financial institutions are spending 20 per cent of their entire budget on so-called ‘change-the-institution’ efforts.  However, only 15 per cent said they were satisfied with their ability to execute change.”

     

     

  • Banks, tech firms unite for SMEs

    Commercial banks and technology companies are partnering to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) adopt the right technology to boost their operations. FirstBank and Microsoft have struck a deal. Under it, the tech giant will help over 40 million SMEs’ customers of the bank to access Microsoft productivity suite tools at discounted rates to digitalise SMEs’ operations and create more value for customers, writes COLLINS NWEZE.

    Technology and digital skills play an integral role in business success. For Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), integrating technology into their operations is no longer an option. It is a necessity for growth and profitability.

    But SMEs on their own, lack the needed connection and sometimes, capital to secure the right technology that would make their operations seamless. It was the need to connect its customer SMEs to a leading tech-customer that created ongoing  partnership between First Bank of Nigeria Limited and Microsoft.

    The target for both firms is to ensure that over 40 million customers of the bank access supporting technology solutions at discounted rate from the tech-giant.

    That plan, which is already being accessed by many SMEs, was the focus of the Firstbank-Microsoft SME Partnership Launch, which  held in Lagos.

    With this partnership, FirstBank customers can buy Microsoft products at discounted rates in the local currency – the naira. This supports technology adoption, skills and capacity development among SMEs in the country.

    The SMEs will also have access to value-added products, services and offerings. Such as access to premium content, business networks, capacity building initiatives and more. This includes access to Microsoft productivity suite tools at discounted rates.

    FirstBank hopes this will drive the growth of SME’s within the Nigerian context by providing easy access to productivity tools, capacity building and a platform for SME education.

    Both firms are  working together to extend this support to as many SMEs as possible, ensuring not only their success, but the growth and competitiveness of the continent in an increasingly digital world.

    Speaking on the partnership, Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Adesola Adeduntan, said the pact was aimed at creating a more enabling environment for SMEs in the country.

    He said: “This event marks the official unveiling of the FirstBank-Microsoft partnership which will entail access to Microsoft productivity tools, namely, Office, Powerpoint, Excel, Outlook, Skype for business, among others, at discounted rates.”

    According to him, the deal will also give participating SMEs the ability to purchase in naira instead of dollar; flexibility in subscription that allows for either monthly or yearly subscription; flexibility in payment method to allow payment with account number or with card; capacity building initiatives involving training on basic accounting practices; financial modeling; budget preparations; business pitches/marketing; and free support on the purchase of MS productivity tools.

    Adeduntan said the lender’s partnerships cut across economic empowerment, arts, sports, education and SMEs. “We trust that our customers will take advantage of this opportunity and avail themselves of whatever products they so desire and pay in naira. Our expectation is that all stakeholders would obtain the best benefits possible from this exciting partnership,” he said.

    He continued: “We are engaging partners with the same vision to grow the real sector of the Nigerian economy by using industry knowledge to build holistic approaches, combine advisory support with conventional banking products and create platforms to build stronger bonds with SMEs. We thrive on partnerships. This is one major reason for our existence these 125 years. We have a track record of developing propositions as well as partnering individuals and institutions to meet our customers’ needs and grow the economies in which we operate.”

    The partnership is also in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele’s commitment to SMEs and his directive to banks to continually support small businesses, which are seen as engine block of the economy.

    FirstBank Deputy Managing Director, Gbenga Shobo, who spoke at the event, said the lender wants to lift SMEs by encouraging them to embrace technology in their operations.

    Shobo, who spoke on the theme:  “The Accelerating impact of Digital Transformation on Business Growth in Nigeria”, said the target was to reach out to about 40 million SMEs and interested individuals.

    The event was attended by SME operators whose businesses have benefitted from the use of technology solutions.

    According to Shobo, the bank is connecting the SMEs with Microsoft to enable the operators improve their operations digitally.

    He said: “The SMEs can buy some of the Microsoft solutions at discounted rates, pay in naira as against dollar, thereby removing the stress of exchange rate which is sometimes a challenge for the SMEs. They now have a portal where they can ask for advice on the products and some extra sales support we can also get Microsoft to give them,” he said.

    He said the SMEs may not have been able to get the Microsoft solutions and products on their own, but for the two being FBN customers have managed to put them together.

    “We feel that SMEs are the major drivers of the economy in Nigeria today, because of the challenges of jobs creation and so most people are setting up businesses,” he said.

    Head Customer Experience and Value Management (CEVM), FirstBank of Nigeria Limited, Taiwo Shonekan, said: “This partnership is a landmark step in our quest to leverage the influence of technology in businesses, especially in today’s digital age.”

    Also speaking, Director, Small and Medium Business Middle East and African Headquarter at Microsoft, Arjan Kotte, said the world is going digital, and that SMEs cannot be left behind.

    He said one million new devices will be coming online in 2020 while 60 per cent of computing will be in public cloud in 2025, adding that 25 per cent of workers’ time is wasted by information overload.

    Kotte, who spoke on the theme: Digital Transformation in Small and Medium Enterprises, said the partnership between Microsoft and FirstBank was meant to help the SMEs take their operations higher in terms of technology and use of the company’s product.

    He said the company considered FirstBank’s reach and customer base as critical in reaching more SMEs that would need Microsoft solutions.

    Microsoft 4Afrika’s Regional Director, Amrote Abdella, said integrating technology into operations is no longer an option, but a necessity.

     

    SMEs operators speak on tech deployment

    Some of the customers of the bank said the deployment of technology to their operations has added value to their businesses.

    Head of School, Busy Bees British School, Mrs. Atinuke Aluko, said technology has helped the school to grow tremendously.

    “First and foremost, it helps us with advertising and social  media advertising. Through technology, the education content is much better. We are able to deliver update education content. Before adapting technology, we have had very slow growth.  But in today’s world, parents are more discerning and are looking for more for their children. Without technology, we could not go very far. By next year, we will start teaching coding for those young ones that is where the world is going,” she said.

    Continuing, she said before the advent of technology, the school was not able to do many things. “Now we teach with interactive white boards, we can go online during the school and report the things we want the children to see. Before we leveraged on technology, we could not do all these. We are working on robust school systems software that can do everything. We can carry out accounting activities, school reporting, and other things. I think we have actually done well leveraging technology, and after this, we will go again and see where we can push forward. It has helped us tremendously and I will advocate it for anybody in the school industry,” she said.

    Proprietor, Busy Bees British School, Tokunbo Aluko, said using the cloud has made it much easier to get a lot of inputs from members of staff. “By the time you are sharing accounting documents, you can have different parts of the school, even with our auditors getting all the information together in one place, it has also been helpful. Even when we are doing the reports for the students, you can have teachers inputting all the information at different locations at the same time.”

     

     

  • Subsidy: Marketers rely on banks for growth

    Marketers are likely to record positive growth if the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive to commercial banks on freezing interests on loans taken by them (marketers) to import petroleum products into the country is implemented, the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria(DAPPMAN),Executive Secretary, Mr Femi Adewole, has said.

    The marketers include members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN).

    In an interview with The Nation on phone, he said banks have been mandated by CBN to freeze the interests on loans given to marketers to import fuel into the country, adding that marketers would have some money for operation should the banks comply with the directive of the apex bank.

    He said marketers are in limbo following their inability to raise funds for operation, adding that the stoppage of interests on their loans is bound to bring growth.

    Adewole said: “Banks are supposed to freeze the interests on facility used for fuel importation in line with the CBN’s directive. They are supposed to net-off interests on oil subsidy loans. Every interest on debt incurred by marketers, as a result of importation of Petrol Premium Spirit (PMS), as from July 4, 2018 till date, is expected to be net-off by banks.

    “If some of the debts owed by marketers in the course of bringing fuel into the country are written off by banks, the better for marketers and the industry. That is why the issue of writing off the debts of the marketers is vital to the operation of the marketers and the industry.

    Banks, Adewole said, are not helping matter on the issue of payment of the subsidy arrears N237billion owed marketers by the Federal Government. This, he said, was evident by the ways and manners in which banks are handling the issue of payment of the subsidy arrears.

    “While some banks have acted on the promissory notes submitted to them by marketers, others are not. Often times, some banks are saying that they have not gotten ‘Policy Document’, which would enable them to start processing the promissory notes. This implies that a longer period of time would be spent by banks on the issue of processing  the promissory notes. This means marketers would not get the subsidy arrears in time,” he said.

    The issue of payment of subsidy arrears has generated a lot of controversy between the Federal Government and the marketers as both parties were divided on the actual amount of money owed as subsidies.  While this lasted, the government in conjunction with the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) conducted investigation into fuel imports over a period of time. Subsequently, the government resolved to pay the subsidy arrears in three tranches, with the first trance paid to the marketers in form of promissory notes in December 2018.

  • Telcos: banks liable for stolen cash via mobile networks

    Telcos said they are not liable for any cash stolen by fraudsters riding on their networks.

    Acting under the aegis of Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ALTON),  they advised bank customers to hold their banks responsible for any money lost to cyber crooks using mobile phones.

    Speaking in Lagos during the last Industry Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF) organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the group’s Executive Secretary, Gbolahan Awonuga, said the lenders should set up a 24/7 customer helpline for customers to lodge complaints, adding that the lenders should also ensure prompt response.

    Awonuga, who represented the Chairman of the group, Gbenga Adebayo, said the group was worried at the increasing spate of frauds being perpetrated through the telecoms network and urged stakeholders to come out with solutions to tackle the menace.

    Reacting to the problem, Deputy Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau at NCC, Philip Eretan, said the use of telecoms infrastructure to defraud bank customers is a big challenge facing the regulator.

    He said fraudsters have turned to the mobile network to swindle people of their hard-earned cash.

    He warned bank and telecoms customers to be extremely careful in sharing their bank details with charlatans, who will pretend as officials of the banks.

    He gave the warning against the backdrop of an increase in the case of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card swap, which he said has become alarming.

    Eretan, however, assured that the NCC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) were working together to address the issue, lamenting that crimes move faster than investigation.

    Earlier on, Mr A. Akande of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) complained about unsolicited adverts on his mobile phones.

    He cited an advert on a certain phone number, which took him to a website which he later found out was in Ghana.

    He said he called the phone number and someone in Enugu, Enugu State, picked his call and complained to him that fraudsters have been using his phone number to perpetrate fraud.

    He wanted to know what the NCC was doing about situation like this, especially when SIM cards are supposed to be registered.

    NCC’s Deputy Director, Consumer Affairs, Ismail Adedigba, who responded, regretted that the elite hardly read local newspapers nor listen to local channels.

    He said if people in the elite class were either watching CNN, or reading a foreign newsmagazine.

    He said the NCC has done so much in sensitising the subscribers across the country through its Consumer Outreach Programmes, monthly Telecoms Consumer Parliament, Town Hall Meetings and others, adding that the Commission has put in place several measures in place to protect the consumers.

     

  • IoD plans ethics committee on corporate governance in banks, others

    The Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria has established ethics committee to promote good corporate governance practices in banks and other businesses across the country.

    It said the body would also present an annual agenda on corporate governance with consistent and periodic review of the environment to monitor developments and compliance.

    IoD’s President and Chairman of the Governing Council, Ahmed Mohammed said the committee was expected to review and develop a code of ethics to guide members in their official and personal conducts.

    ”This code, which we hope will come into place early next year, would set example for other business membership organisations in the country and will present us as pace setters in the quest for best business practice”.

    He appealed to all to join hands with IoD Nigeria in propagating good ethical standards and professionalism in all workplaces.

    He said the move was  a follow up to  earlier resolutions by the group to promote private sector-led and proactive role in corporate governance policy engagement and enforcement by redefining approaches to corporate governance advocacy.

    He spoke at the weekend during the  2018 annual dinner and awards night of the group, with  the theme: Corporate Governance and Human Resource Management: Trends and Prospects in Nigeria, held in Lagos.

    He said: “These are onerous tasks before us and our Institute should not only champion good corporate governance, we should be seen to be in the fore front of the fight for the entrenchment of the good corporate governance”.

    Mohammed said other resolutions for the institute from the conference with the theme: Global Best Practice in Corportae Governance – Way Forward for Nigeria, are:  disclosure and transparency must be at the centre of a system of checks and balances that interconnects the board of directors, management, auditors and other stakeholders.

    “That though government has a central role to play, members of IoD Nigeria as business leaders have a catalytic role to play in improving ease of doing business in Nigeria and high standards of ethics and integrity should be adopted with conscious commitment to rule of law, comprehensive stakeholder engagements”.

    Others are: “Organisations in Nigeria’s private and public sectors should entrench basic governance principles like fair treatment of all stakeholders, improved board structure, provision of accurate, complete and timely information, to boost investor confidence and aid corporate wealth and sustainability.