The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ecobank

  • New investor acquires major stake in Ecobank

    Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) Plc has sold about 7.26 per cent equity stake to a new investor in a private placement, in furtherance of its latest string of capital raising and deals.

    ETI, the financial services holding parent company of Ecobank Nigeria and other Ecobank brand, offered 1.25 billion ordinary shares of $0.025 each to a private investor at N15.47, raking about N19.34 billion in new equity funds, according to regulatory filing.

    The private placement gives the new investor a major equity stake of about 7.26 per cent, substantially above the five per cent threshold set by the capital market authorities to indicate major equity holding.

    In a widely diversified share base, an investor with more than five per cent may be offered a sit on the board of directors. ETI is listed on the NSE, Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) and the BRVM.

    Although the timeline for the private placement, which was previously unannounced, was not indicated in the filing document, the offer price of N15.47 per share was about 30 per cent lower than the current market value of N22 per share. The post-placement total shares outstanding of ETI stood at 17.20 billion ordinary shares and are valued at N378.5 billion. The shares that arose from the private placement have been listed at NSE.

    ETI has not responded to emailed enquiry on the identity of the investor involved in the private placing. Many other sources said the identity of the buyer has been shrouded in secrecy.

    It would be recalled that last September, Qatar National Bank (QNB), had acquired more than 11 per cent equity stake in ETI in three deals valued at about N35.4 billion. QNB, which has Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) as its major shareholder, acquired about 1.77 billion ordinary shares of ETI in an off-market trade at the NSE. Off-market trade implied that the deals were sealed outside the floor of the NSE, although ETI still has to report such transactions in compliance with the listing rules at the NSE.

    The acquisition transaction, which was concluded in three deals, was sealed at N20.01 per share, more than 20 per cent above ETI’s opening price of N16.62 per share during the trading session. Besides the ordinary shares acquisition, which gives QNB 11.1 per cent equity stake in ETI, QNB also acquired about 732.28 million preference shares. The acquisitions, the first by QNB in shares of ETI, give the Gulf bank a major inroad into the African market. QNB, which is listed on the Qatar Exchange, has indicated it will be a long-term investor in ETI.

    Earlier, in June, last year, ETI had witnessed additional equity investment by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), following the addition of the company to the MSCI Frontier Market Index in May, last year.

    IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank, acquired additional 4.6 per cent equity stake in ETI. ETI issued more than 838.32 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to IFC, through convertible loan deals involving two funds being managed by the corporation.

    IFC acquired the shares through its managed funds-IFC ALAC Holding Company II and the IFC Capitalisation (Equity) Fund LP. Under the deals, both funds converted convertible debts earlier granted to ETI to shares, with effect from July 1, 2014. The outstanding convertible loans of about $56.39 million for the IFC Capitalization (Equity) Fund LP and $18.10 million for the IFC ALAC Holding Company II will be converted to some 628.74 million and 209.58 million ordinary shares of ETI.

    It would be recalled that IFC had in 2012, through these two managed funds and another fund-Africa Capitalisation Fund Limited, acquired 8.63 per cent equity stake in ETI. It had acquired 1.25 billion ordinary shares at agreed price of 8.0 cents per share, totalling $100 million (about N15.6 billion).

    The investment followed the signing of share subscription agreements in July 2012 between IFC and ETI when IFC invested $100 million by way of common equity in ETI.

  • Ecobank launches MoneyGram outbound transfer

    Ecobank Nigeria has commenced MoneyGram Outbound Money Transfer Service.  The newly launched ‘MoneyGram Naija Sends’ service allows Nigerians to send money abroad through any of about 500 branches of Ecobank Nigeria, while the funds are received in the specified currency in the receiving country.

    A customer, who wishes to use the service, would pay the naira equivalent (plus applicable charges) to Ecobank as an agent of MoneyGram for the foreign currency that would be paid to the specified beneficiary in the destination country.

    The initiative is in line with the recent introduction of the revised guidelines for International Money Transfer Services by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which allows provision of Outbound Money Transfer services in Nigeria.

    Kingsley Umadia , Executive Director, Ecobank Nigeria, lauded the partnership with MoneyGram, saying, it represents a significant milestone  as customers can now send funds to family and friends around the globe in naira which can then be picked up in the currency of the receiving country where available.

    According to him, “this innovative, customer-centric initiative is another way of delivery of excellent service to our customers. As a bank, we will continue to deliver and raise the bar of customers’ satisfaction,” adding that, it would also boost trade across the continent.

    Alex Hoffman, Executive Vice President, Business Development and Global Product, MoneyGram said, “At MoneyGram, we believe in movement, we believe in progress. We believe in never being satisfied with the status quo, we believe in pushing the boundaries to give more to our customers the ability to send out of Nigeria, what we in Nigeria call Naija Sends. This represents our commitment to Movement.”

    He explained that customers of Ecobank can now walk into any of the bank’s branches and send money to the world on MoneyGram. “I will like to express my confidence that Ecobank shall deploy its characteristic excellence in marketing, operations and compliance to this product, and I am sure by December- Ecobank will be the number one MoneyGram send agent in Nigeria, “he said.

  • Ecobank ‘champion’ of African economic integration

    The Ivorian Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan has praised the Ecobank Group as “an indefatigable pioneer of African economic integration that continually champions economic development on the continent and in Côte d’ivoire particularly”.

    He spoke when Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire inaugurated its new head office building in Abidjan.

    Established in Côte d’Ivoire in 1988, Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire is one of the 36 subsidiaries of the pan-African banking group Ecobank, under the group’s parent and holding company Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI). Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire finances 13 per cent of the Ivorian economy, having paid 14 billion CFA francs ($ 23.5 million) in taxes to the Ivorian Treasury in 2014.

    With 655 employees and 55 branches across the country, the Ivorian subsidiary has total assets of 850 billion CFA francs ($ 1.4 billion) and recorded profit before tax of 17 billion CFA francs ($ 28.7 million) in 2014.

    Group Chiref Executive Officer (CEO) Ecobank, Albert Essien, said: “Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire is a pearl in our network and we are proud of our subsidiary. It provides us with an important platform through which we can continue to contribute to the economic development of Côte d’Ivoire as we offer our Ivorian customers access to banking services and financial resources.”

    The Mayor of the host district of Plateau, Bendjo Akossi, emphasised that Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire’s new head office building was designed by African architects. The building’s main architect, Ibrahima Konare gave a presentation showing the various stages of construction and highlighted the avant-guard design of the building.

    Chairman, Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire, Pierre Magne, said the new head office was cost 12 billion CFA francs (USD 20.2 million), adding that it “showed the confidence of the Ecobank Group in the future of Côte d’Ivoire and its firm commitment to support the country in its journey to towards the 2020 development horizon”.

    Deputy Group CEO of Ecobank, Evelyne Tall Daouda, said: “This head office building illustrates the firm commitment of the Ecobank Group to consolidate its position in Côte d’Ivoire, to contribute to the development of the Ivorian economy, to take part in the creation of wealth and tangible employment for young people, and to provide banking  services for more and more Ivorians.”

    She also congratulated the Managing Director of Côte d’Ivoire, Charles Daboiko and his team on completing the building.

    Duncan cut the ribbon to declare the building open. He and guests  signed the guest book and took a tour of the building’s banking branch.

  • Ecobank outlines transition plan for new CEO

    Outgoing group chief executive officer of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) Plc, Mr. Albert Essien, whose retirement takes effect tomorrow, will continue to act as chief executive officer over the next two months as part of transitional arrangement pending the resumption of the new chief executive officer, Mr. Ade Ayeyemi.

    ETI, the parent company of the Ecobank Group, in a regulatory filing outlined a two-part three-month transition period for the new chief executive.

    Initially, Essien will act as the holding company’s chief executive for a two-month transition between the effective date of his retirement, June 30, 2015, and the resumption of his successor, Ayeyemi, on September 1, 2015. Essien will thus be acting group chief executive from Wednesday July 1 through August 31, 2015.

    In the second part, on resumption of Ayeyemi on September 1, Essien will hold the role of Special Advisor for one month in order to assist the new group chief executive to settle down and facilitate the completion of a proper handing over.

    The board of ETI had approved the retirement of Essien in line with the Ecobank Group policy, which requires the retirement of employees when they attain the mandatory retirement age of 60.

    ETI recently distributed bonus shares of one share for every 15 shares already held by shareholders as return for the 2014 business year.

    Essien had attributed the performance of ETI in 2014 to the group’s diversified business model noting that the group grew customer loans by $890 million or eight per cent, and deposits by $947 million or six per cent, particularly in core current account deposits, despite the adverse impact of dollar’s appreciation to the group’s key functional currencies.

    Key extracts of the audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2014 showed that net profit after tax jumped to N65.68 billion in 2014 as against N23.57 billion recorded in 2013. Pre-tax profit rose by 144 per cent from N35.37 billion to N86.44 billion. Gross earnings had grown by 19 per cent from N319.56 billion in 2013 to N379.32 billion in 2014.

    Further analysis showed that the total assets of the group grew by 25 per cent to N4.50 trillion in 2014 compared with N3.6 trillion recorded in 2013. Loans and advances also improved by 25 per cent from N1.82 trillion to N2.29 trillion. Customer deposit increased by 23 per cent to N3.24 trillion in 2014 as against N2.63 trillion in 2013. Total shareholders’ funds jumped by 45 per cent to N493.02 billion in 2014 as against N341.01 billion in 2013.

     

     

  • Ecobank empowers women entrepreneurs

    Ecobank Nigeria is partnering Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (WED) on the hosting of this year’s Women of West Africa Entrepreneurship (WOWe) Festival.

    WOWe Festival 2015 with the theme: Vision to Reality slated for June 25 and 26 will provide the opportunity for female entrepreneurs and corporate professional women with entrepreneurial ambitions, to secure practical information on how to transform their businesses and realise their entrepreneurial ambitions.

    The conference, the bank said in a statement, will also provide a high level networking platform that connects the most influential women entrepreneurs who exchange ideas, address challenges, will uncover new strategies and dialogue on issues relating to entrepreneurship and leadership.

    Deputy Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Tony Okpanachi said the bank decided to partner  the festival because of its belief in female entrepreneurs. He was optimistic that the existing and budding entrepreneurs would find the knowledge sharing from the festival useful.

    “As a bank, it is part of our philosophy to sponsor initiatives such as this. We believe this interactive and engaging dialogue from experts that have been assembled to facilitate at the conference will assist existing and budding entrepreneurs in becoming their own brands and job creators for their societies and have a positive impact on the sub-region economy.”

    Founder, WOWe, Tori Abiola said this year’s festival brings a completely new and superior experience for women entrepreneurs as it incorporates its first exhibition running with co-located seminars for two full days. “This amazing platform will give visitors the opportunity to network, showcase products and give 10 lucky VIP guests the opportunity to pitch to investors looking to fund $1,000,000 towards women driven entrepreneurship ventures at the show.”

    She explained that the event will also feature eight seminar streams, workshops and master classes which will focus on fashion and beauty; technology and digital powerhouses; finance and investments; manufacturing; agri-business; the creative industries – design, media and entertainment; talent and skills management; export.

    She added that attendees will have opportunity to examine future trends favouring women entrepreneurship, identify immediate long and short term needs of definitive industries and uncover up-and-coming technologies that will add value and assist in business growth and overall profits.

  • Ecobank secures $15m facility from U.S. export scheme

    Ecobank Nigeria said it has utilised a credit line under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Export Credit Guarantee Programme. The GSM 102 programme, the bank said in a statement, provides credit guarantee to encourage commercial financing of U.S. agricultural commodity exports, thereby assisting U.S. exporters in making sales that might not otherwise occur.

    The Credit Line Under the US Government Export Guarantee Programme is reserved exclusively for the export of agricultural products from the U.S. It has facilitated increased trade of agricultural products between U.S. exporters and Nigerian importers and provided an avenue for competitively priced financing for longer tenors to both exporters and importers.

    It further provides the exporter guaranteed payment; enables exporters to agree credit terms with importers even as there is no minimum transaction size.

    Executive Director, Corporate Bank at Ecobank Nigeria, Ms. Foluke Aboderin, said the GSM 102 Facility which has the ability to be up-sized, has been used for Structured Trade Finance transactions with Cargill Financial Services International, one of the subsidiaries of the leading international commodities trading house, CARGILL Inc. Deutsche Bank played the role of confirming and partner bank.

    She said the recognition of Ecobank, a member of the Ecobank Group  by the U.S .government further highlights the unique advantages of partnering with a counterpart who has widespread foot print across the African continent.

    With presence in 36 countries in Africa, Ecobank is well positioned to provide easy access to international counterparties that have transactions across Africa, the emerging frontier market with significant untapped opportunities and strong demographics.

     

  • Ecobank urges court to jail DMO chief

    Ecobank urges court to jail DMO chief

    AFederal High Court in Lagos has been urged to commit the Director-General, Debt Management Office (DMO), Abraham Nwankwo to prison for contempt of court.

    DMO is the government agency saddled with processing fuel subsidy claims by oil marketers, as well as the issuance of sovereign debt notes.

    Ecobank Nigeria Limited made the appeal before Justice Mohammed Yunusa after accusing the DMO of frustrating its effort to recover debts from an oil firm, First Deepwater Discovery Limited (FDDL).

    Justice Yunusa had in a ruling on February 25, directed that the DMO should transfer the outstanding fuel subsidy sum due FDDL into the company’s account with Ecobank.

    The bank alleged that the oil firm has a cumulative subsidy claim of about N1.8 billion with DMO, with N845 million due for payment, prompting Justice Yunusa to rule that the agency should transfer with dispatch, the said sum into the defendant’s account with Ecobank, in order to offset part of FDDL indebtedness to the bank.

    The judge ordered that the DMO should  “communicate the PEF/Admin Charges on the balance sum of N1,020, 451,733.22 to the plaintiff/applicant via the receiver/manager and to pay forthwith, remit or otherwise transfer the entire sum to the first defendant’s account with the plaintiff/applicant.”

    But addressing the court on Tuesday, the bank through its lawyer,  Kunle Ogunba (SAN),  also prayed that one Umaru Abubakar, who is the DMO’s officer in charge of processing fuel subsidy claims by oil marketers, be jailed for contempt.

    He claimed that despite being served through the agency’s principal officers on February 27, DMO was yet to take the necessary steps to transfer the said funds, thus, frustrating the bank’s effort at recovering its customers’ money allegedly held by FDDL.

    Ecobank, in an affidavit in support of the contempt charges deposed to by a lawyer in Ogunba’s law firm, Ajibola Ajiboye, stated that in spite of alleged contemnors with Forms 48 and 49 (contempt charge) they had refused to buldge.

    The applicant urged the court to commit Nwankwo and Abubakar to prison, adding that disobedience of court orders should not be treated with levity by any court.

    However, the DMO officials have filed a counter-affidavit through their lawyer, S.E. Omoraghon, praying for a dismissal of the contempt charge.

    The court adjourned to May 13 for hearing on the contempt charge.

  • Ecobank wants court to jail DMO boss

    Ecobank wants court to jail DMO boss

    A Federal High Court in Lagos has been urged to commit the Director General, Debt Management Office (DMO), Abraham Nwankwo, to prison for contempt of court.

    DMO is the federal government agency saddled with the responsibility of processing fuel subsidy claims by oil marketers, as well as the issuance of sovereign debt notes.

    Ecobank Nigeria Limited made the appeal before Justice Mohammed Yunusa after accusing the DMO of frustrating its effort to recover debts from an oil firm, First Deepwater Discovery Limited (FDDL).

    Justice Yunusa had in a ruling on February 25, directed that the DMO should transfer the outstanding fuel subsidy sum due FDDL into the company’s account with the Ecobank.

    The bank had alleged that the oil firm has a cumulative subsidy claim of about N1.8 billion with DMO, with N845 million due for payment, prompting Justice Yunusa to rule that the agency should transfer with dispatch, the said sum into the defendant’s account with Ecobank, in order to offset part of FDDL indebtedness to the bank.

    The judge ordered that the DMO should “communicate the PEF/Admin Charges on the balance sum of N1, 020, 451,733.22 to the plaintiff/applicant via the receiver/manager and to pay forthwith, remit or otherwise transfer the entire sum to the first defendant’s account with the plaintiff/applicant.”

    But addressing the court on Tuesday, the bank through its lawyer, Kunle Ogunba (SAN), also prayed that one Umaru Abubakar, who is the DMO’s officer in charge of processing fuel subsidy claims by oil marketers, be jailed for contempt.

    It claimed that despite being served through the agency’s principal officers on February 27, DMO is yet to take the necessary steps to transfer the said funds, thus, frustrating the bank’s effort at recovering its customers’ money allegedly held by FDDL.

  • Ecobank unveils Advantage Banking service

    Ecobank unveils Advantage Banking service

    Ecobank Nigeria has unveiled Advantage Banking, a dedicated service for the mass affluent and upwardly mobile segment of society. Advantage Banking by Ecobank offers convenience and ease in carrying out banking transaction for customers within the category.

    The Advantage Banking initiative which suggests the redefinition of banking service in Nigeria is characterised by the design of special products that suit the life style of people within the segment. This would make banking much simpler, friendlier, more engaging and more personalised.

    Unveiling an Advantage Service Lounge in Lagos, its Deputy Managing Director,  Mr. Anthony Okpanachi said service is an extension of the bank’s strategy to offer its customer dedicated banking service across all customer type. According to Mr. Okpanachi, it is designed in such a way to “ensuring our customers get the quality of service they desire. We have a bouquet of lifestyle enriching products available to address their day-to-day banking needs. We provide them a dedicated relationship manager, who follows them, providing all their banking needs where ever they may be or in whatever they do”.

    Also speaking, its Executive Director,  Kingsley Umadia said the vision to create Advantage Banking Service by Ecobank follows continuous interaction with the average bank customer in Nigeria which reveal that there is a dare need to personalise engagement with the individual.

    He emphasised that the customer would rather be treated as a separate entity having his/her individual and peculiar needs resolved in a tailor made fashion to get maximum satisfaction and endearment to the brand. Mr. Umadia emphasised that the initiative is about building a rewarding partnership with customers by meeting their financial, investment and lifestyle needs when it matters most.

    He listed some of the special privileges of the Advantage customer to include a dedicated relationship manager, who follows the customer, providing all his/her banking needs; entitlement to a Zero COT on Salary Accounts; access to e-banking and remittance services; access to overdrafts on salary account that act as extra cash whenever the need arises.

  • Ecobank grows net profit by 179%, declares one for 15 bonus

    The board of directors of  Ecobank Transnational Inorporated (ETI) Plc has recommended a bonus issue of one share for every 15 shares already held by shareholders as return for the immediate past business year ended December 31, 2014.

    The bonus recommendation came as the financial services group announced that its net profit rose by 179 per cent in 2014. Key extracts of the audited report and accounts showed that net profit after tax jumped to N65.68 billion in 2014 as against N23.57 billion recorded in 2013. Pre-tax profit rose by 144 per cent from N35.37 billion to N86.44 billion. Gross earnings had grown by 19 per cent from N319.56 billion in 2013 to N379.32 billion in 2014.

    Further analysis showed that the total assets of the group grew by 25 per cent to N4.50 trillion in 2014 compared with N3.6 trillion recorded in 2013. Loans and advances also improved by 25 per cent from N1.82 trillion to N2.29 trillion. Customer deposit increased by 23 per cent to N3.24 trillion in 2014 as against N2.63 trillion in 2013. Total shareholders’ funds jumped by 45 per cent to N493.02 billion in 2014 as against N341.01 billion in 2013.

    Group chief executive officer, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Albert Essien said the performance in 2014 was a great example of the benefit of the group’s diversified business model.

    According to him, in what was a tough operating environment, the group remained focused on the importance of serving the financial needs of its customers across Middle Africa. He noted that the group grew customer loans by $890 million or eight per cent, and deposits by $947 million or six per cent, particularly in core current account deposits, despite the adverse impact of dollar’s appreciation to the group’s key functional currencies.

    He said all geographic clusters increased revenues higher than operating expenses and improved their cost-income ratios while the group further strengthened its capital base with group-wide Tier 1 capital increasing of approximately $981 million. The group Tier 1 capital ratio was 18.3 per cent as against 13.0 per cent in the prior year and total capital ratio was 20.4 per cent.                             “Going forward, we remain confident in the prospects for growth in Africa and in our dedicated staff, and are positioning the company for long-term success to achieve outstanding results for all our stakeholders, “ Essien said.

    Ecobank recently signed a one-year senior unsecured loan facility of $50 million arranged by Deutsche Bank AG. The facility will be used for general corporate purposes. The new $50 million loan facility brought total funding arranged by Deutsche Bank to $250 million. ETI had successfully raised $200 million loan facility from Deutsche Bank in December 2014.

    Altogether, in recent months, Ecobank had raised approximately $1 billion in combined equity and debt capital for its parent company and its businesses in Nigeria, the largest of the group’s affiliates.

    ETI had in December 2014 signed a loan facility agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB). The dollar-denominated loan facility agreement involved $100 million and will have a tenor of seven year.

    Ecobank plans to use the loan to provide some of its subsidiaries with additional lending capacity as well as finance some of its group strategic capital expenditures.

    The loan deal, according to the group, also demonstrated its commitments to contribute positively to the African economy by increasing the levels of credit available to businesses while at the same time generating long-term value for its shareholders.

    Essien said the group would use the fund to consolidate its operations across Africa.

    “This funding continues our relationship with the European Investment Bank. It will allow us to continue to consolidate our expanded operations and translate our scale and geographical footprint into added value for our customers. We shall use the financing to maintain credit provision in key economies in Africa thus contributing to the development of the continent,” Essien said.