Otunba Olasubomi Balogun, founder of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), has passed away in a London hospital. Here are seven things to know about him: he was born in 1934, studied law in London, founded FCMB, held chieftaincy titles, and made significant contributions to education and healthcare.
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Nigeria: Stanbic offers discounted loans for women in business
Stanbic IBTC Bank is offering a 50% discount on loan fees to female entrepreneurs in the Blue Blossom Community. The community provides training, mentorship, and networking opportunities to help women succeed in business. Women above 18 years of age can join the community and access various financial solutions. The bank emphasizes financial dignity and encourages early investment and savings for sustainable income.
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Nigeria: Access Bank to open Paris office
Access Bank, one of Nigeria’s leading banks, has obtained regulatory approval to operate in France, marking its expansion into the French market. The move is part of Access Bank’s strategy to replicate its success in international trade finance from London to Paris. The bank aims to serve as a bridge for international companies looking to enter or expand their business in Africa. Access Bank has a presence in multiple African countries and plans to expand further, with a goal of becoming one of the top five largest institutions on the continent in the next five years.
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Nigeria: UBA profits jump
United Bank for Africa (UBA) has released its Q1 2023 unaudited results, showing significant growth across its major income lines. The bank’s gross earnings rose by 47.5% to ₦271.2bn ($658m) from ₦183.9bn in Q1 2022, while interest income grew by 53.4% to ₦191.9bn. Operating income also rose by 39.6% to ₦175.7bn. UBA’s profit before tax (PBT) rose by 38.2% to ₦61.4bn, and its profit after tax (PAT) jumped by 29.1% to ₦53.6bn. UBA CEO Oliver Alawuba attributed the growth to the bank’s digital offerings and uptick in interest rates.
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Cameroon: Local UBA subsidiary most profitable one outside Nigeria
UBA Cameroon closed the 2022 fiscal year with a net profit of 10.5 billion nairas ($25.5 million), up 17.5% compared to the previous year, driven by a 12% increase in its net banking revenue, which reached 40 billion nairas. The bank’s credit and public securities segments contributed to its balance sheet, which totaled XAF 559 billion ($1.02 billion) as of December 31, 2022. Despite a significant increase in operating expenses, UBA Cameroon’s financial results made it the most profitable subsidiary of Nigerian UBA group in Africa outside Nigeria.
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Nigeria: First Bank changes the names of its subsidiaries
First Bank of Nigeria has begun a phased corporate name change for its subsidiaries in the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa. FBNBank UK, FBNBank Sierra Leone, FBNBank Gambia and FBNBank DRC are the first to align with the parent brand and will now be known as FirstBank UK, FirstBank Sierra Leone, FirstBank Gambia and FirstBank DRC. Ghana, Senegal and Guinea will follow in a phased implementation. The name change is intended to enhance quality-of-service delivery, achieve better brand clarity and consistency, and strengthen cross-border business opportunities.
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Nigeria: Banks make provisions for impaired Ghana bonds
Zenith Bank, Nigeria’s biggest lender, has set aside NGN 123.4bn ($267m) in part to account for its holdings of bonds in Ghana, following the country’s debt restructuring which resulted in significant impairments. Zenith is the first Nigerian bank to announce provisions, and four of Africa’s biggest lenders have collectively set aside ZAR 4.87bn ($267m) to account for the losses from Ghana’s debt restructuring.
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Nigeria: Zenith Bank gross earnings rise by 24%
Zenith Bank’s gross earnings rose by 24% to USD2.06 billion in 2022, driven by a growth in interest income and non-interest income. The bank plans to expand its business in 2023 by reorganizing into a holding company structure and adding new verticals to its business. The proposed final dividend payout is USD0.63 per share, bringing the total dividend to USD0.70 per share. Zenith Bank has received multiple awards, including Best Bank in Nigeria, Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria, and Bank of the Year in Nigeria.
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Nigeria: CBN will keep open banking ‘open’
Nigeria’s central bank has changed its decision to centralise Open Banking with the National Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and will now align with an “Open” aggregation model. NIBSS will support the central bank to develop an Open Banking Registry, but the operations of the registry will be the sole responsibility of the regulator. The decision to centralise access to Open Banking APIs with NIBSS was hotly contested by banking and fintech professionals, and the central bank has listened to feedback and hopes to receive further feedback to make Open Banking guidelines operational.
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Zambia: Bank of Zambia clears Atlas Mara takeover by Access Bank
Access Bank, the Nigerian lender, has received regulatory approval to acquire African Banking Corporation Zambia Limited (Atlas Mara Zambia), which is expected to be completed in Q3 2023. Access Bank has been making a series of acquisitions across Africa to boost its bottom line and increase access to more liquidity and assets outside Nigeria, including Cavmont Bank Limited in Zambia and Grobank Limited in South Africa.
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Nigeria: Opera increases its investment in OPay
Norwegian consumer internet brand, Opera, has increased its share in Africa-focused neo-bank OPay from 6.4% to 9.5%, after selling Nanobank for $127 million in 2022. Opera chose to take OPay shares instead of cash, gaining $35.9 million less than what its investment in Nanobank was worth on paper. The company believes that OPay’s strong growth trajectory makes its investment marketable in the future.
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Nigeria: MTN proposes merging its finance subsidiaries
MTN Nigeria Communications is proposing to merge its two finance subsidiaries, Momo Payment Service Bank and Yello Digital Financial Services, subject to regulatory approval. The merger will combine the subsidiaries and hold the Payment Service Bank license granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria, while offering super-agent services and other permissible activities. The move is in line with the federal government’s drive towards financial inclusion in Nigeria, said MTN Nigeria’s CEO Karl Toriola.
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Nigeria: Central bank introduces new rules for mobile money operators
As Nigerian bank customers search for alternatives due to recent transaction failures, licensed mobile money operators have gained popularity by providing better experiences and incentives like zero transfer charges and daily rewards. However, concerns about the legality of these platforms have prompted the central bank to release a list of authorized operators, and it has also issued a regulatory framework for agent banking operations to mitigate risks in the financial sector. The framework includes restrictions such as prohibiting agents from conducting transactions in foreign currency and using the purchase option on PoS terminals for cash-in and cash-out transactions.
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Nigeria: Chipper Cash weighing its options
African fintech company, Chipper Cash, is reportedly considering selling the business or bringing in new investors, following a turbulent 2022 that saw the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and lead investor, Silicon Valley Bank. Despite rumours that Chipper Cash would be hard hit by SVB’s demise, the company has stated that it had “insignificant exposure” to the bank and that the owners had never considered selling the business. The fintech unicorn’s valuation dropped from $2bn to $1.25bn in 2022, and it trimmed its workforce due to rising costs.
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Nigeria: Unity Bank reshuffles board
Unity Bank PLC in Nigeria announced the retirement of Mr. Aminu Babangida and Dr. Oluwafunsho Obasanjo from their roles as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Non-Executive Director respectively, as their tenures expired. The Board has approved the appointment of Mr. Hafiz Mohammed Bashir as the Acting Chairman of the Board and two new Non-Executive Directors, Professor Iyabo Obasanjo and Ms. Halima Babangida, subject to Central Bank of Nigeria’s approval.
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Nigeria: Unity Bank appoints acting chair, new directors
Unity Bank’s chairman, Aminu Babangida, and non-executive director, Oluwafunsho Obasanjo, have retired from the bank in compliance with the prescribed tenure for non-executive directors under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Code of Corporate Governance for Banks. The lender has appointed Hafiz Mohammed Bashir as its acting chairman and appointed Iyabo Obasanjo and Halima Babangida as non-executive directors. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and ex-military President Ibrahim Babangida, who have both ruled Nigeria at different periods in the past, have interests in the bank.
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Nigeria: CBN extends use of old naira notes
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed commercial banks to accept and dispense old N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes, following a Supreme Court ruling that extended their use until 31 December. The CBN’s directive to withdraw the notes last December led to protests across the country and has been criticised for negatively impacting businesses and households.
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Nigeria: Bank stocks drop amid monetary mayhem
Ten commercial banks in Nigeria, including First Bank, Zenith Bank, and Access Bank, lost a total of N87.4 billion in market value within a week of trading activities on the Nigerian Exchange amid difficulties faced by Nigerians in accessing cash and early closures of bank branches due to fear of attacks. First Bank experienced the largest loss of N23.3 billion, followed by Zenith Bank with N18.8 billion wiped off the value of the bank.
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Nigeria: Central bank adopts open banking regulations
Nigeria has become the first African country to adopt open banking regulations, allowing for the sharing of customer data between banks and third-party service providers to create innovative solutions that benefit consumers. The guidelines provide a framework for handling customer data while ensuring consistency and security, with minimum requirements set for all participants. The regulation will pave the way for a more streamlined and interoperable financial system and expand financial inclusion, but its potential impact will take time to bear fruit.
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Nigeria: Moniepoint appoints COO
Moniepoint, the African business banking platform, has appointed Pawel Swiatek, former managing vice president of Capital One, as its new COO. Swiatek will be responsible for building policies, tools, measurements and culture to enable the business to grow, working closely with CEO Tosin Eniolorunda and the senior management team. Moniepoint offers payments, banking, credit and business management tools to more than 600,000 businesses and is currently Nigeria’s largest card payments operator with over $10bn processed monthly.
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Nigeria: Equity Bank shuts down its instant loan service
Equity Bank has suspended its instant loan service, EazzyLoan, offered through online platforms without prior notice, leaving customers stranded and unhappy. Some customers who had repaid their loans in anticipation of renewal have been affected. The bank is investigating a possible breach and system compromise by suspected fraudsters. There have been previous cases of customers losing money through the bank’s online platforms.
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Nigeria: Zenith Bank receives approval to form holding company
Zenith Bank has received approval in principle from the Central Bank of Nigeria to become a holding company, with the aim of acquiring other companies and ultimately controlling them. The bank will change its name and operating structure, and will have a banking group with subsidiaries in the financial services industry. Jim Ovia will serve as the new chairman of Zenith HoldCo and continue as Zenith Bank chairman until the new company becomes operational.
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Nigeria: Zenith Bank deputy MD resigns to comply with new CBN rule
Adaora Umeoji, Deputy Managing Director at Zenith Bank Plc, has retired from her position in adherence to new tenure limits for bank executives released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Umeoji’s retirement became effective on February 24th, 2023, and is in obedience to the CBN’s new rule that limits the tenure of bank directors. The CBN has stated that the new rule will strengthen corporate governance practices in the banking industry.
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Nigeria: CBN revises maximum tenure of banking execs and directors
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released revised regulatory requirements for the tenure of executive management and Non-executive Directors (NEDs) of deposit money banks (DMB) and financial holding companies (HoldCos). The new regulation is expected to help address brain drain in the banking sector and check migration of young bankers to Europe and Canada. The CBN official who disclosed this said that the new policy would pave the way for young bankers to aspire to get to executive levels, knowing that those occupying such positions would not stay there forever.
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Nigeria: PremiumTrust Bank vies to become top digital bank
PremiumTrust Bank plans to expand its services to customers and become the top digital bank in Nigeria by the end of 2023. The bank’s CEO, Emmanuel Emefienim, announced this during the opening of its eighth branch in Redemption City, Mowe, Ogun State. The bank is building a serious app that will transform the industry, providing solutions and answers to banking needs in this cashless period. The bank is also partnering with the Athletic Federation of Nigeria to develop sports in the country.