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Tag: CEOs

  • Budget favours sector, say CEOs

    Budget favours sector, say CEOs

    • ‘It’ll grow it’

    Insurance chiefs have said the proposed N6.08trillion 2016 budget will rub off on the sector.

    They made this known while giving an outlook on the industry with journalists in Lagos.

    Managing Director, Anchor  Insurance, Mayowa Adeduro, said the capital and recurrent expenditures will bring growth to the insurance industry.

    He is optimistic that all the Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDAs) of government will implement it.

    He said: “The capital and recurrent expenditure will bring growth to the sector. For instance, we have a capital expenditure of 30 per cent. We also have due diligence now inimplementing the recurrent expenditure.

    “Meanwhile, insurance is part of the capital expenditure because we are going to do Contractor All Risk (CAR) and engineering insurance for some of the capital projects. They budgeted for insurance in the recurrent expenditure,  and I believe they will carry it out.

    “I believe that the MDAs are not going to carry insurance overhead and spend it somewhere else. I think the proposed 2016 budget is the best so far and even though it is going to be a tough economic year for us, insurance should be positive in terms of developing and penetrating sectors of the economy.”

    He added that the regulatory body, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), is moving round the MDAs to ensure  that they set up insurance desks and not just buy insurance as something to spend little money on. They need to buy insurance now as real value.

    CIIN President and Managing Director, Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation, Lady Isioma Chukwuma on her part, said they expect everything that concerns the Government will be done the way they ought to be done.

    According to her, this will translate into improved premium income for the sector and the economy.

    “If all governments’ properties are adequately insured, and every sector of the economy puts insurance in their day to day activities, it will translate into improved premium income for the industry and the economy,” she said.

    “There is also the need for the economic policies of the Federal Government to be made in such a way that businesses get the money that they require so that people can have money to spend to be in business,“ she stated.

    Lady Chukwuma said insurance is the least of people’s priority, but it should not be so.  “We cannot blame the people because there are other needs and there is not much money in circulation. Insurance should be made top priority because if insurance is in place, then all other businesses can have the comfort to venture into new businesses.

    “I am hoping that money will be in circulation so that people can do their businesses as usual and if they do their businesses, there will be need to insure and when they do so, money will come into the insurance industry.”

    Managing Director, LASACO Insurance Plc, Dimeji Olona, said they qwere expecting the economy to take proper shape.

    He believes that the economy will jack up when government invest in infrastructure.

    He said the budget must favour capital expenditure over and above recurrent expenditure so that people can have money to do business.

    He stressed that this will bring employment which will trickle down on everybody in the country.

    “The economy will likely if they ensure they spend money in the right places and if this happens, people will dispose money effectively. People will also easily accept insurance and they will get value for their money.

    “To this end, we expect the government to spend money judiciously especially on budget expenditure and it will affect the industry positively”

    Managing Director, NEM Insurance, Tope Smart on his part said insurers are very hopeful and positive that with the steps that the government has taken, 2016 will be much better for the industry.

    “We believe that once the activities begin, insurance will benefit from all the steps that the government is taken. There has been so many issue this year like inaccessibility to foreign exchange by manufacturers and some people who normally do imports.

    “So we believe that when some of those issues are resolved, insurance companies will benefit”, he said.

  • Bank CEOs, investors for Aba confab

    Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of banks, foreign government emissaries, captains of industry, development partner organisations and an array of stakeholders are expected to attend the forthcoming Aba Development Summit.

    In a statement, Abia State government expressed its commitment to transforming the city of Aba to enable it realise its full potential. It said the development summit, holding in Aba, the state’s commercial nerve centre, will be taking place from January 13 to 15.

    A letter signed by the State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, explained that the summit is in line with one of the key cardinal development agendas of our administration which is to drive sustainable and all-inclusive development in Abia state. Aba, the commercial nerve of the state, when sustainably developed, will trigger development activities in other parts of the state.

    The summit, being organised in partnership with the Ford Foundation, seeks to convey key policy makers, social, economic and technical experts and investors and entrepreneurs to discuss the key priorities and levers for unlocking the full potentials of Aba.

    Ikpeazu said the summit is also expected to “showcase opportunities for the private sector and development community to partner Aba in particular and Abia more broadly to invest in the infrastructure, power, agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors.

    Aside the expected participating stakeholders, the entire Abia State Executive Council and members of the Abia State House of Assembly, will make up the projected 300 participants, who must be invited guests.

  • Cyber risk, others threaten CEOs, says PwC

    The findings of two reports by PwC that chart the top risks in the global insurance sector and the growth concerns of insurance  chief executive officers shows that cyber risk, interest rates and growing tax burden are now among the top risks for insurers.

    This is indicative of how high a concern these issues have become for the industry when looked at in conjunction with regulatory developments and the broader macro-economy.

    One of the reports, Insurance Banana Skins 2015, a global study by Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI) in conjunction with PwC polled over 800 insurance practitioners and industry observers in 54 countries, including Nigeria, to find out where they saw the greatest risks over the next two-three years.

    Regulatory risk emerged as the overall top risk for participants in the survey for the third successive time, underlining the deep impact regulatory change is having. The report says that new rules governing solvency and market conduct could swamp the industry with costs and compliance problems. It could also distract management from the task of running healthy businesses at a time when the industry faces radical structural change. Similarly, the second report ‘Insurance 2020: Equipping your business for the global tax revolution noted that the reputation and well-being of companies, including insurance groups, is not just being impacted by governments, taxpayers and other stakeholders but also by external perceptions of how they manage their tax affairs.

    PwC Nigeria Financial Services Leader, Patrick Obianwa, said: “The insurance industry faces enormous challenges in the growth of regulation, a difficult operating environment, increased taxation and the looming threat of structural change. This is reflected in the negative sentiment behind these survey results. Given the current speed of regulatory, technological and social change, the challenge for the insurance industry globally is less about what is already happening, and more about how to anticipate what further changes could happen between now and 2020.

    Very few tax teams appear to have evaluated the likely future alternative scenarios, let alone made plans or put them into implementation.” Tax is firmly under the spotlight and in the global insurance industry, the ramifications for finance and tax teams will be felt in both a new set of business demands and an overhaul of how these functions interact and operate.

    PwC’s report says that globally, this industry will find it difficult to cope due to the accelerating shift in market expectations, and challenges to existing business models, in a sector where operational processes are already stretched.

    Head, Tax & Regulatory Services at PwC Nigeria, Taiwo Oyedele, also said: “Tax has always been one of an insurer’s most significant expenses, comparable to payroll and claims. CFOs and CEOs have looked to their tax professionals to find ways to manage their tax liabilities, and as transactions and legislation become more complex and sophisticated, so do tax arrangements.

    ‘’As companies focus on maximising return on equity and managing capital under new solvency regimes, the value that can be created by tax professionals is becoming increasingly recognised and highly prized.”

    “The certainties and demands that have shaped tax management over the past 30 years are being swept aside. What tax teams are required to do, how they do it, who does it and where they do it will all change as a result. The challenges of managing risk and tax costs are heightened by a raft of new tax compliance demands.

    Key developments in place or on the near horizon include the EU’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan and US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Tax teams also face a host of local reforms – the UK’s Diverted Profits Tax, new anti-avoidance rules in Australia and new controls on related party payments in Mexico are just some of the many examples.

    “While some of these developments have been on the radar for some time, the operational impact of so much disruptive change in so short a period is now becoming increasingly evident. Insurance CEOs globally are clearly concerned as evidenced in PwC’s global CEO survey in which 64 per cent said they see the increasing tax burden as a threat to their growth, compared to 57 per cent two years ago.

    Obianwa adds: “The long-term prospects for insurers are positive as people around the world live longer and have more wealth to protect. Yet they also face the disruptive impact of new technology, changing customer expectations, more exacting regulation and enduring economic uncertainty. Insurers’ ability to identify and manage emerging as well as familiar risks will be one of the key differentiators for success in this volatile competitive environment.

    ‘’It is vital that the insurance industry responds in a clear and thoughtful way to a much wider base of stakeholders than before, including not only tax authorities and governments, but also regulators, investors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the media and the public.’’

     

  • NAICOM demands claims register from insurance CEOs

    The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has urged Chief Executives Officers (CEOs) of the 59  insurance companies to furnish it with all outstanding claims in their registers.

    The order, which took effect from January 20, the regulator said, is to protect insurance policy holders and end the persistent bad press the industry is getting on unsettled claims.

    This was made known to the CEOs in a circular dated January 20, 2015, titled: ‘Outstanding claims,’ signed by NAICOM’s Deputy Commissioner, Technical, Mohammed Kari.

    He warned that the Commission reserves the right to verify all information supplied, adding that any variance found would not be condoned and would attract sanctions as provided by the law.

    The new requirement is a demonstration of NAICOM to end the unfortunate incidence of unsettled claims which is negatively impacting the Commission’s quest to deepen insurance penetration and trust, Kari said.

    The circular reads: “As part of our statutory function to protect policy holders’, and the persistent bad publicity the Nigeria Insurance Industry is getting on the matter of unsettled claims, the Commission is once more determined to bring to an end, the unfortunate scenario which is negatively impacting our quest to deepen insurance penetration and trust.

    “Consequently you are required; within four weeks from the date of this circular; to furnish the Commission with all the outstanding claims in the register of your company which includes, Name of Insured or Claimant; Policy number; Claim number; Date of Loss of Incident; Date of report; Quantum or Estimate and Reasons why the claim is still outstanding.

    “The information should be entered  into NAICOM website and a signed hard copy sent to the Office of the Commissioner for Insurance. Be reminded that the Commission reserves the right to verify all information supplied and any variance found would not be condoned and would attract full regulatory sanctions as provided by the law,” it noted.

  • Bankers to defend naira, reserves

    Bankers to defend naira, reserves

    •Cash-less nationwide July 1

    Bankers were planning yesterday a rescue mission for the naira. They also discussed the preservation of Nigeria’s foreign reserves.

    The Bankers’ Committee, at its 315th meeting in Lagos, agreed that a robust defence of the naira and the foreign reserves should top the economic policy.

    The Bankers’ Committee comprises the top management of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN) and bank Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). It is chaired by Group CEO of First Bank, Mr. Bisi Onasanya.

    The naira exchanges at N155.75 to a U.S dollar while the foreign reserves stand at $42.19 billion.

    Onasanya told reporters after the meeting that rising capital outflow and dwindling oil revenue are taking a toll on the naira and the reserves. This trend, he said must be reversed.

    He said Quantitative Easing taking place in most advanced economies have raised incentives of investing in those countries, stalling capital inflows into emerging markets like Nigeria. He said this is adversely affecting the naira and the reserves.

    Among the measures being taken according to him, is the raise in Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at the November 17, Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. The ratio for public sector deposits was raised from 50 per cent to 75 per cent. He said the target of the CRR hike was to address the exchange rate problem and to defend the naira.

    The Committee also agreed that the CBN needed to take proactive measures that would lead to improved deposit into the foreign exchange reserves.

    He said the resolution of the crisis in Iran as well as the impact of the quantitative easing, have led to investment outflow from Nigeria. “Given the dwindling revenues from oil and the impact on foreign reserves, it became apparent that the options open to the CBN and the MPC were reduced and that was why they further agreed to increase CRR to75 per cent. These were measures taken in order to ensure that we continue to address the exchange rate problem in Nigeria,” he said.

    Onasanya said there is the likelihood of raising the CRR to 100 per cent, as the worst case option.

    “It is an MPC decision, but it was discussed very clearly that if we do not see improvement in foreign exchange earnings, the CBN made it clear that they may move to 100 per cent,” he said.

    He said the Committee also agreed that there is a need to do more to ensure that there is accretion to external reserves as a basis for defending the currency which is a major focus of this regime. The Committee, he said, looked at all of these options and agreed with the MPC that there are very limited options and the need to ensure that we defend the currency and also ensure that all measures are put on the table to ensure increased earnings into the foreign reserves.

    “There is no country that will just allow its exchange rate to be left and not managed. The mere fact that those actions have been taken also indicates the fact that the central bank is willing to do everything within its power to ensure that the currency is not devalued. We have seen statistics from the CBN in terms of the continual reduction in the balance of foreign exchange reserves and when you are confronted with that, the only option is to continue to tighten until you see the reverse,” he said.

    Onasanya added: “The CBN has also made it very clear that there is a limit to which it can continue to defend the naira. But when you have depletion in external reserves and external factors, it simply means you can’t control the outflow from the country. So it is not unlikely that you will see some portfolio investors moving their funds out of Nigeria into where they consider being more attractive,” he said.

    CBN Head Shared Services, Chidi Umeano said the cash-less policy which is being test run in six states apart from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, will be implemented nationwide from July 1.

    He said: “A decision was reached today that the cashless initiative would now be deployed nationwide. As you are all aware, the pilot phase was done in Lagos about two years ago and last year, we implemented in six other states namely Abia, Anambra, Ogun, Kano, Rivers and FCT”.

    The success o the programme in the pilot states have led the CBN to move to other states.. “By July 1, we are going to live in all the states of the federation. As you well know, this is a critical part of the payment system modernisation and the success registered so far has been very impressive,” he said.

     

  • Top CEOs attend credit professionals’ luncheon

    The Institute of Credit Administration (ICA) special induction and credit professionals’ networking luncheon held over the weekend at Protea Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos, had scores of credit and allied professionals in attendance.

    The Institute’s Registrar/Chief Executive, Dr. Chris Onalo said of the occasion, “Like previous editions, the last event would linger as participants reaped bountifully in terms of expert advice and mentorship opportunities for personal development.

    This year’s edition of the ICA’s Credit Professionals Networking Luncheon was a roll-call of who is who from the corporate world as top chief executives of blue chip companies, among other multinationals fanned out en masse to grace the epochal event.

    The highpoint of the occasion was the induction of some top echelons in the business circles were inducted as fellows into the Institute.

    Among those inducted include: Gimba Ya’u kumo, Managing Director, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Tunji Oyebanji, Chairman/Managing Director, Mobil Oil Nig Plc, Basheer A. Koko, Deputy Managing Director, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd, Bashir Mahe Wali, Executive Director, Corporate Affairs, Nexim Bank, Mary Akpobome, Executive Director, Heritage Bank Ltd, Adamu Bello, Executive Director, Finance & Accounts, PPMC/NNPC, Oke Itohan Folake, Executive Director, Nexim Bank, Ibiye Asime Wakama-Ekong, Executive Director, Skye Bank Plc, Akin Akinfemiwa, Group Chief Executive Officer, Forte Oil Plc, Regha Davidson Najomo, Deputy General Manager, Heritage Bank Ltd, Bolaji Chibuzor Nwankpele, Deputy General Manager/Chief Credit Officer, Skye Bank Plc, Mohammed Jibo Ibrahim, Assistant General Manager, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Ifeanyichukwu C. Nwade, Assistant General Manager, Nexim Bank, Abiodun Ogunjobi, Assistant General Manager, Pan Ocean Oil Corporation Ltd, Akinbola Iyimola Adedeji, Head Business Assurance/Risk, Forte Oil Plc, Rabiu Olatunji Nurudeen, Head Business Operations, Forte Oil, Julius B. Omodayo-Owotuga, Executive Director/ Group Chief Financial Officer, Forte Oil Plc, Bamikole Samuel Oladokun, Group Head, Emerging Corporates (West), First Bank of Nig.

    Others inducted were: Olayinka Abraham Oluseyi, Business Manager, First Bank of Nigeria, Peju Adebajo, Managing Director/CEO, Mouka Ltd, Ernest Azudialu, President/CEO, Nestoil Group Plc, Ahmed Lawan Kuru, Managing Director/CEO, Enterprise Bank Ltd, Chidi Otunba, Managing Director/CEO, Treasurehall Consulting, Emmanuel Ikechukwu Iwunze, General Manager, Finance, Amni International Petroleum, Rabiu Hassan Olayemi, Chief Finance Officer, Resorts Savings & Loans Plc, Aliyu Mohammed Mu’azu, Managing Director/CEO, Niger State Development Company (NSDC) Ltd, Dosumu Mofoluke Benedicta, Executive Director, Finance & Corporate Services, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria.

  • CEOs and development (2)

    CEOs and development (2)

    In the quest for a society of high probity, Nigerians have either turned a blind eye or have fallen prey to institutional ignorance about the connection between the political elite, the business class and government bureaucracies on the one hand, and the banking elite on the other.

    Unless we x-ray this maggoty part of our national narrative on corruption and attack it, we shall remain a nation of hypocrites. Since the dawn of this republic in 1999, the Federal Government has lofted as priority the significance of installing the rule of law. The idea is to trim our excesses as a people of impunity and establish discipline as a national habit.

    The establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) became the signpost of this grand ambition. But since then, we have seen appearances of gravity in this battle. Many big names among the political elite have been charged with fraud, whether as governors or as ministers. The news initially generates a lot of excitement, but after a few months, the story fizzles into stagnation in the courts. They crawl through several adjournments. Eventually they die in public either on the altar of technicalities or over the frivolity of plea bargains.

    We are also not unaware that some of the cases thrived on political blackmail as the government of the day deployed the war on corruption as revenge or intimidation. We still have that today.

    In the early days of the EFCC when the war on corruption swung about in a berth of innocence, the anti-corruption czar, Nuhu Ribadu, swaggered on the image akin to a rock star. He had a messianic glow, even dwarfing any other national figure, including clerics, in moral grandeur. The arrest and conviction of an inspector-general of police helped to seal the public perception. We were ready to abide the contradiction that a supposedly thieving elite had institutionalised a mole in their midst to expose and root them out. It appeared in the form of a classic class suicide.

    In spite of all that, the Ribadu regime enjoyed declining, though acceptable, levels of public praise that ached with doubts and scrutiny. It was a measure of the political elite coming to terms with its own moral perfidy. It coalesced forces in the early days of the regime of former President Umaru Yar’Adua to oust Ribadu. The result has been a craven warfare with battles that came across less as blows than as handshakes between government institutions and the accused.

    We have had a few of such narratives in the country, but the glue between the political elite and the business class and bureaucracies has been the chief executive officers of the banks. As we noted in the first part of this editorial, tons of money are moved in the bank vaults from one place to the other, and such heavy lifting is not possible without the knowledge and – or connivance – of the bank executives.

    We know the case of now pardoned former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief D.S.P Alamieyeseigha, who was not only convicted but served a term in prison. We know of the case of former Delta State Governor James Ibori who is now serving his term in a British jail. We know of the plea bargain that former Edo State Governor, Lucky Igbinedion, secured after a sustained hullaballoo died as though it never sounded in the first place. We have had smaller “sins” belonging to less decorated or flamboyant men of that class.

    Hardly were the complicities of the banks delineated in these heinous endeavours. The charges against the chief executives involved billions of Naira and we can only lie to ourselves as a people if we deny that such tremendous money flows transpire out of the ken of the bank elite. If the banks know about this, why do the bank officers involved not come up for questioning? Why are they not prosecuted?

    We do not want to accept that the bank officers were used as informers. The offenders do not have the capacities to move money in the banks because they are not bankers. They need co-conspirators, partners in felony.

    We have also had many former governors that have been prosecuted, like in Ogun State with Gbenga Daniel, or Oyo State with Adebayo Alao-Akala, but the bank CEOs were not named in the suits.

    The bureaucracy suffers the same fate. The pension scandal still rankles the nation’s skin today. Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, who is now at large, could not have tinkered with the money of the lifetime perspirations of hardworking Nigerians without the role of the bank management.

    There are many of such stories. If we say we want to follow due process, we must apply the same logic in investigating fraud and malfeasance in government. The EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) cannot dig out the scum of financial crimes without encountering the bank officers and their roles along the way. Again, such monies cannot move without catching the eyes of the CEOs unless they are incompetent and they lack requisite vigilance for their offices.

    News reports have swarmed the media about the cosy relationships between the political elite and the business elite. Reports also have it about how governors, ministers, even local government chairmen connive with banks to stay payments, including contract money and salaries in order to generate interest. The relationship between politicians and banks is inevitable, but it ought to be regulated. The story is also rife that the business elite serve as fronts for political elite, and it is in that context that we must locate the invisibility of the bank CEOs in the story of political fraud.

    We have not reached the stage where we can hold political operatives to account on the money spent on elections and other campaigns. But if we take seriously the war on corruption, we must unleash our searchlights not only on the obvious suspects but also their subterranean backers.

    Unless we do that, we make trifle the war on corruption. We will continue to clutch at straws. We will accuse and not convict and that becomes a vicious cycle that hardly addresses the issue.

    It is an irony that an anti-democratic regime under General Sani Abacha hounded down errant bank chiefs. Also ironic is that the democratic dispensation under Obasanjo pruned the banks for their inefficiencies and corruption. Yet the bank chiefs enjoyed immunity while he hunted corrupt politicians over billions of Naira.

    The political elite govern this country, and if they are not above board, we need to create a rubric to hold them in check. If we fail in that regard, we mock ourselves when we yell to the world about the war on corruption.

    The consequence is immeasurable. We shall have contracts awarded but siphoned away with the help of the CEOs. Roads will not be constructed, school supplies will suffer neglect, hospitals will churn out the dead and not the living, etc. We shall run a country for ruin. If politicians are the source, the banks and their CEOs are the glue. We need to initiate the divorce and free taxpayers ‘money to lift the lives of our people.