The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ms. Arunma Oteh

  • Only 20% Muslims access financial services – World Bank 

    Only 20% Muslims access financial services – World Bank 

    In spite of the ever-growing number of Islamic financial products, less than 20 percent of approximately 1.6 billion Muslims population use conventional banking worldwide.

    However, the increase in the number of Islamic financial products has been identified as being capable of closing the huge financial gap that exists in the Muslim world.

    World Bank Vice President and Treasurer, Ms. Arunma Oteh made this disclosure on Thursday at the World Bank/Islamic Financial Services Board High Level Seminar on Islamic Finance in Washington DC, USA.

    Speaking on the growth of Islamic financial products around the world, Oteh who huddled with the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and now Emir of Kano, Muhammed Sanusi 111 said: “less than 20 percent of approximately 1.6 billion Muslims population use conventional banking worldwide.”

    According to her “this statistic is scary but with the emergence of Islamic financial products there is the tendency that many Muslims will access financial services of their choice.”

    During the last fiscal year, the World Bank she said issued $63.5 billion of bonds across different markets, 22 different currencies and some of them innovative from the developing countries around the world.

    The World Bank, she said: “Also manages about $170 billion assets for 62 clients and our own institution. In some cases, people will like to access financial services but they are unable to do so because of factors that are prohibitive to their faith or lack of financial institutions near their area or lack of trust of financial services providers. Many Muslims around the world refrain from actively accessing the conventional financial services around the world due to their beliefs.”

    She described Islamic finance as “a tool for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with Islamic investors applying the ethical and quantitative measures in their investment decisions.”

    According to Oteh, “Islamic finance is uniquely well suited to promote infrastructure development which is critical in promoting many of the SDGs from clean water to energy.”

    In his remark, the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi lamented that deficient infrastructure cost in Africa results in two percent reduction in growth each year. However, the growing Islamic financial products he said presents “strong potentials in closing the huge infrastructure gap and there is the need to explore all alternatives in funding the SDGs.”

     

  • Exam malpractice, certificate forgery rock SEC

    Exam malpractice, certificate forgery rock SEC

    Allegations of certificate forgery and exam malpractices are rocking the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), The Nation has learnt.

    In one of the incidents, a young lady was allegedly caught cheating at a promotional examination  conducted by the Financial Institution Training Centre (FITC), in Lagos.

    An official said SEC “will not condone such act and is assessing all the options open to it to deal with the matter,” adding that one of such options would be to prosecute the said lady for exam malpractices.

    The official admitted that some staff of the Commission found their way into the staff list of SEC through political godfatherism, stressing that  the capital market regulatory body may beam it’s arch light on some of these individuals, since it has been discovered that some staff could not pass simple promotional examinations conducted for the organisation by reputable institutions.

    He said some of these persons have been enjoying promotion every two years.

    The official who requested that his identity be veiled,  said the impending scrutiny of staff credentials has thrown many workers of the SEC into panic, stating that there is speculation of a likely mass purge of unproductive staff anytime soon.

    However, a staff of the Commission familiar with the development, denied  the existence of any plan for a mass purge of workers by the Director-General, Ms. Arunma Oteh, but admitted that the lady that was caught cheating during the promotion examination, is trying to whip up sentiments against the management and board of the SEC.

    The SEC official also revealed that some senior staff of the SEC were discovered to have forged their certificates to secure employment, while one of them has hurriedly turned in his resignation when he realised the game was up.

    These developments have pitched the SEC boss Ms. Oteh against staff of the Commission some of whom are now clamouring that her tenure should not be renewed once it runs out later this year.

    Two years ago, Oteh was locked in a  battle with some members of the House of Representatives which resulted in the commission not receiving budgetary allocations for two-straight years.

    Those opposed to her leadership say “SEC’s staff have experienced low moral under the current administration and accused the management of financial recklessness and abuse of extant financial rules and regulation.”

    Her supporters on the other hand say “the present management of SEC has revamped the organisation in tandem with its core mandate, adding that its workforce must possess the quality needed to deliver on its mission and vision of a world-class capital market regulator.

  • IFC, AfDB plan $2.5b Naira bonds

    IFC, AfDB plan $2.5b Naira bonds

    • Fed Govt to float Diaspora, depository bonds

    The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have started arrangements to issue Naira-denominated bonds worth $2.5 billion, about N400 billion, in landmark bond issues that will further redefine the Nigerian domestic debt market.

    Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirmed the bond issuance plans by the two multilateral financial institutions.

    The Debt Management Office (DMO) also confirmed plans by the Federal Government to raise funds from remittances of Nigerians in Diaspora and other investors through the issuance of Diaspora bond and Global Depository Notes (GDN) bond.

    Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Arunma Oteh, who spoke at a two-day workshop organised by the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN) in Badagry, Lagos State, said both the IFC and AfDB were interested in raising medium term note (MTN) bonds.

    She said IFC has already approached the apex capital market regulator for a medium term note (MTN) programme for a naira-denominated bond worth about $1 billion, while the AfDB has also filed for similar instrument of about $1.5 billion.

    Oteh, whose address was presented by her Communication Adviser, Obi Adindu, said the new issues by the multilateral bodies will not have any lifespan of a shelf programme, indicating that they can continuously raise the funds as long as they want.

    She noted that allowing shelf registration for bonds is an important step in spurring activity from issuers, pointing out that the Commission had started with an initial lifespan of two years for shelf programmes, but recently the Board of the SEC did away with the time limitation implying that shelf programme can enjoy an unlimited lifespan.

    “The Nigerian bond market is certainly on the verge of a revolution buoyed and improved by a competitive and conducive environment that attracts issuers and investors alike. The yield curve of the FGN bonds which has been extended to 20 years, provides a good benchmark for issuers of all stripes to leverage the bond market to attract capital, both foreign and local.

    The market will continue to attract significant amounts of capital internationally, since the FGN bond attracted inclusion into the emerging markets indices of Barclays and JP Morgan,” Oteh said.

    She said since 2010, state governments have issued bonds worth over N421 billion, adding that the amount of corporate bonds raised from 2010 to date, is more than two and half times all the bonds issued by corporations from 1960 to 2009 in nominal terms.

    The DMO also yesterday confirmed the plan by the Federal Government to raise new funds from the international market through the issuance of Diaspora Bond and FGN Bonds in Global Depository Notes (GDN).

    It should be recalled that the Federal Government had in 2011 made its debut in the international capital market with $500 million 10-year 6.75 per cent Sovereign Eurobond. Nigeria returned to the international capital market in July 2013 and successfully raised $1.0 billion in two tranches.

    Director General, Debt Management Office (DMO), Dr Abraham Nwankwo, said government had sourced N544.06 billion through domestic bond issues to finance about 61 per cent of 2013’s fiscal deficit of N887 billion.

    Nwankwo, who was represented by Head, Policy, Strategy & Risk Management, Mr Joe Ugoala, noted the gradual decline in fiscal deficit financing from N1.36 trillion in 2010 to N852 trillion in 2011 and N744.44 trillion in 2012.

    He added that four banks including Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Access Bank and Fidelity Bank have also raised $1.85 billion, about N287 billion, between January 2011 and November 2013.

  • Oteh lists benefits of N22.6b forbearance package

    The N22.6 billion forbearance package announced by the Federal Government for indebtedness due to margin loans by stockbrokers would help to improve the balance sheet of operators and enhance the liquidity of the market, Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms. Arunma Oteh has said.

    Speaking at the weekend in Abuja, she said while the forbearance would improve the balance sheet of stockbroking firms and make them participate actively in trading activities, the tax incentives recently announced would also attract more investors and new listings to market.

    It would be recalled that the forbearance package, along with the tax incentives, was announced by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala early this month based on the recommendation of the committee set up on the issue.

    Oteh said the capital market community was grateful to President Goodluck Jonathan for the support to brokers so that some of them could return to the market.

    “The tax waivers we recently got are a major boost the market needs,” Oteh said.

    Stockbrokers have hailed the government over the package. The chief executive officers of stockbroking firms under the aegis of Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) unanimously agreed to embrace the N22.6 billion forbearance package as part of efforts to revitalise the capital market.

    Chairman of ASHON, Mr Emeka Madubuike, said the association has over the last three years solicited for the forbearance on the margin accounts of some of its members with banks now taken over by AMCON.

    According to him, the margin accounts came about from the fact that banks failed to exercise the margin calls as required by the arrangements in the face of falling share prices.

    Madubuike commended President Jonathan, Okonjo-Iweala and all those who made the package a reality.

    “This singular act by the Federal Government gives us in the capital market a lot of hope that the market will begin to play its pivotal role as the engine room for the transformation of our nation’s economy. We trust the government will continue to look for other ways to resuscitate the capital Market to enable it compliment the various reform programmes of government and to become an integral component for the growth and development of the economy,” Madubuike said.

    He said that going forward, ASHON will work along with other stakeholders in the capital market, and continue to initiate and pursue processes, procedures and policies in the areas of risk management , investors protection, corporate governance and professional conduct, to ensure there will be no reoccurrence of the situation that led us to this position.