Access Bank Plc has announced that it received approval from South African and Nigerian regulatory authorities to acquire South African-based Grobank Limited. The bank’s expectation of 30% profit outside its Nigerian base, through a series of acquisitions in East and West Africa, is coming to fruition.
According to the announcement, the approvals constitute a significant milestone in achieving completion of the transaction by the second quarter of 2021. This milestone further solidifies Access Bank Plc’s outside revenue plan especially after the announcement that its Zambian subsidiary (Access Bank Zambia) has finalized the acquisition of Cavmont Bank Limited.
According to the CEO of Access Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, “Today’s announcement represents significant progress in delivering on our strategic intent of becoming Africa’s Gateway to the World in pursuit of our vision to be the World’s Most Respected African Bank.”
Nigeria’s biggest banks such as Access Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc are diversifying outside their core operations or expanding across Africa in an attempt to increase revenue after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The approved acquisition would enable the bank to further pursue its objectives of business diversification, enhanced operational efficiencies, talent retention, and robust governance.
Grobank in South Africa and Cavmont Bank in Zambia are further indicators of the bank’s presence in the SADC region.
In Nigeria, the bank is looking to transition to a holding financial institution this year which will enable it to open subsidiaries in insurance brokerage and payments.
Winners have emerged at the Heritage Bank Plc, ‘YNSPYRE’ Cream Platform Promo held in Abuja.
CREAM Platform, Nigeria’s premiere creative reward platform officially kicked off its partnership with Heritage Bank’s YNSPYRE Initiative with the commencement of the CREAM Monthly draws on Friday – March 26th 2021, rewarding subscribers who dialed the *745*463# code, with lots of cash and other prizes.
The CREAM YNSPYRE Draw proper started off on a great note with random picking of numbers electronically and with some never-to-be-forgotten moments producing 5 winners who went home with the sum of N200, 000 each as well as a pledge by D’Banj to fully support their businesses and passion in a call session from D’banj to the lucky winners.
Recently, Heritage Bank doled out the sum of N1million to Damilola Adeyemi, a winner of an online giveaway competition to celebrate the bank’s product, Ynspyre ambassador, D’banj, which heralds launching of the Ynspyre Account set aside for talented young Nigerians in the different spectrum of the creative and entertainment industry.
At the draw held on Friday in Abuja, five winners were chosen from a pool of Heritage Bank’s customers that are currently on the Cream Platform and subscribers who dialed the *745*463# code for transactions.
The Cream Platform is chaired by popular Nigerian musician D-Banj (real name Oladapo Oyebanjo).
The event was attended by the Heritage Bank Regional Executive, Abuja and North, Mr George Okoh-Oboh; popular Nollywood Actress Tonto Dikeh; popular musician Mr Easi (real name Isaiah Ediae) and other top officials of the bank.
Speaking at the event, Okoh-Oboh described the partnership between Heritage Bank and Cream Platform as a game changer for the creative industry in Nigeria.
He said, “It’s been a smooth journey and the Bank has also set aside certain funds for the creative industry because we believe that is needed to support our youths.
“And so what we have done is to be able to put this out there so that we can select very talented youths working with D-Banj and once they meet certain criteria, we will be able to lend across to them as a bank.
“So the funds have already been set out and waiting this launch which we are having today. So it’s quite an interesting story for the bank and it’s a great day for us today.
In his comments at the draw, D-Banj who was physically present at the event, said that the Cream Platform has built a strong reputation for producing some of the brightest talents in the country over the last couple of years.
He said the purpose of the platform was to have a creative hub for Africa where people can upload their contents, be discovered and get funding support from Heritage Bank.
He said the platform would enable Nigerians discover their talents in areas such as entertainment, entrepreneurship, music, arts and other areas in the creative industry value chain.
He expressed optimism that the creative industry, if properly harnessed, has the potentials to reduce the level of unemployment in the country, boost wealth creation for the people and help the country generate the much needed foreign exchange.
He noted that with the creative industry accounting for one of the highest exports from Nigeria, time has come for operators in the sector to be supported with the finances.
He said, “This year will make it five years that the platform was launched and our main aim is to create a gateway to the creative hub of Africa. With so much talent in the country and the hub in the continent, we saw it as a platform for people to have that access to become whatsoever you desire.
“And it’s no news that Heritage Bank is our partner to provide the access and financial help that you will need.
The creative industry is one of the biggest exports in the last three years now whether you are looking at music, fashion, movies. But we need that financial help, that financial backing.
“So for a long time, we have been discussing with Heritage Bank to see how we can get the funds and get that help to the people.
“And today is going to be the first time that we are actually rewarding the customers. Heritage Bank went further to help us create the ‘YNSPYRE’ Product.
“This product is for the youths and the creative industry to help ease access to funding contents uploaded on the Cream Platform.”
In her comments, Dikeh urged D-Banj and the Bank to create more awareness about the product to enable many people to take advantage of the initiative.
She said as an advocate of youth empowerment, the initiative would help to harness the potentials if the youths and stimulate the much needed development of the creative industry.
Some of those that won at the digital draw such as Blessing (An Entreprenuer), Justice Isaac Precious (A footballer and musician) and John (A Caterer) expressed joy for emerging winners.
They also commended the bank and D-Banj for the coming up with the initiative.
…REINFORCES ITS LEADING ROLE IN PROMOTING WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and leading financial inclusion services provider has announced the fourth edition of its annual FirstGem Conference, tagged FirstGem 4.0. The 2021 event is themed ‘The Art of Negotiation’ and convened to provide women with insights on the secrets of wealth management, investment and savings. It is scheduled to hold on Wednesday, 31 March 2021. Participants are required to register via the link http://bit.ly/firstbankwebinar
The product, FirstGem, is an account designed specifically to meet the needs of women, aged 18 years and above. The product is targeted at a broad spectrum of women, working professionals, entrepreneurs or market women to promote their business through an array of benefits, from free business advisory services on business funding, specialized training on Business Development initiatives (online and physical), regular information or insights on business opportunities or openings in various sectors and industries. FirstGem account owners have access to mouth-watering discounts at merchant outlets (spas, salons, grocery stores) that offer lifestyle products and services.
The Guest Speakers at the event are Mrs. Ibukun Awosika – Chairman, Board of Directors, First Bank of Nigeria Limited; Prof Pedro Videla – Prof. of Economics at IESE Business School and Prof Mehta Kandarp, Senior Lecturer, IESE Business School. They would respectively speak on the topics; the theme of the International Women’s Day “Choose to Challenge”, the current state of the Global Economy and how it Impacts Business Decisions and Negotiation as a Tool for Winning in Business & Career.
During the event, FirstBank SME customers would be given the opportunity to pitch their business idea and stand a chance to get N1,000,000 seed fund to kick-start their business. The business ideas would be judged by the following criteria; Originality, Feasibility, Good presentation skills and Sustainability.
Speaking on the event, Mr. Francis Shobo, Deputy Managing Director, Firstbank said “The FirstGem 4.0 is the icing on the cake in the streams of initiatives and activities we have organised and participated in March as we join the world to celebrate women for the indelible roles they play in our society. Through these activities, we spearhead the call on the need to promote women inclusiveness in the country as the role they play towards the continued socio-economic growth and development of any given society cannot be overemphasized.”
Shedding light on the impact of the FirstGem account, he said “our FirstGem account is specifically designed to meet the financial needs of women as it offers unrivalled services that empower women to do more and achieve more. It seeks to drive financial development and the empowerment of women through gender engineered programmes. At FirstBank, we recognize that promoting female entrepreneurship and empowerment is crucial to a better society, “he concluded.
Since the product launch in October 2016, the Bank has implemented various activities targeted at promoting female empowerment, impact and influence in the economy. Through its online portal – designed to provide a virtual online community with over 61,293 members where like-minded women irrespective of where they are in Nigeria and abroad, gather to connect, grow and share knowledge on everything about lifestyle, motherhood, career development, entrepreneurship, health, work and family. We encourage all women to join the community by signing up via this link https://firstgem.com.ng/community to enjoy this experience.
FirstGem has successfully empowered women in states across the geo-political zones in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Naira4Dollar scheme may have attracted about $40 million in foreign remittances in one week, according to a reliable source with knowledge of the scheme.
Sources informs that the scheme had performed a lot more than expected as remittances via commercial banks have picked up suggesting Nigerians in the diaspora have embraced it.
According to the source, the CBN received circa $40 million last week from remittances up from about $6 million before the policy was introduced. At $40 million a week the CBN could be attracting about $160 million a month or $1.9 billion per annum. This will be higher than the estimated $1.1 billion received in 2020 from diaspora remittances but much lower than the $3.2 billion received in 2019.
The central bank captures remittances in its Balance of Payment report and the Foreign Exchange Flows data. While the BOP includes non-cash items remitted into Nigeria, the Foreign Exchange Flows Data records cash items only.
It was reported recently that commercial banks in Nigeria are automatically opening domiciliary bank accounts for Beneficiaries of diaspora remittances in Nigeria under the CBN’s Naira4Dollar scheme. As the beneficiary receives the inflows, N5 for every dollar remitted is a credit to the naira account of the beneficiary.
The CBN Naira4Dollar scheme appears to be recording success since its introduction three weeks ago. A $40 million a week inflow suggests most of the dollars are either in domiciliar account of customers or withdrawn and exchanged at the black market.
The CBN believes remittances paid in dollars and sold on the streets will improve liquidity in the retail end, thus strengthening the exchange rate.
However, the latest information suggests the exchange rate between the naira and dollar is N486/$1 higher than the N480/$1 exchanged just before the new policy was introduced.
At $40 million the CBN would have incurred a cost of about N200 million.
Heritage Bank Plc has joined the rest of the globe to celebrate the World Water Day 2021 with plans to assist a community in dire need of clean water by installing a bore hole.
The theme for this year’s WWD 2021 is “Valuing Water,” which focuses on the importance of freshwater and presses for sustainable management of water resources. According to the United Nations, the day is aimed at raising awareness about 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water resources globally.
“The value of water is about much more than its price.” This day is celebrated keeping in line with Sustainable Development Goal number 6 which is aimed at achieving water and sanitation by all for 2030,” UN stated.
It further explained that global water demand is likely to rise by over 50 per cent by 2040.
To this effect, as part of efforts to implement the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) sustainable banking principle, Heritage Bank Plc has instituted a Corporate Social Responsibility’s (CSR) campaign project to assist a community in dire need of clean water by installing a bore hole.
This campaign project, according to the bank will be executed in two phases; the first involves nominations call for community that is in dire need of water will be put on its social platforms from 22nd March 2021, which will run for 30days.
The bank in a statement signed by the Divisional Head, Corporate Communications, Fela Ibidapo, disclosed that thorough research will be conducted on communities that put up for nominations and the most in need will be chosen.
In furtherance, the community leaders would be engaged, which will herald commencement of the project and handing over the borehole to the community.
Speaking on WWD 2021, the MD/CEO of the Bank, Ifie Sekibo said the adoption of the campaign project shows how Heritage Bank values water and making clean water accessible to the under-privilege, living in urban slums and rural areas.
According to him, to access safe water resources globally, higher value must be given to protecting the ecosystem in ensuring good quality water supply.
Sekibo, who further canvassed for the implementation of Sustainable Banking Principle, tasked stakeholders to continually promote the need for more productive value of water, which would bring about developmental impact to society, while protecting the communities and environment in which financial institutions and their clients operate.
…Thumbs up mobile banking (FirstMobile) and USSD (*894#) platforms
Dr Adesola Adeduntan, Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited said technology, innovation and enhanced capabilities have become necessary to achieve significant business growth in the post-COVID-19.
Adeduntan made this remark on Thursday during a Digital Disruption Series webinar organised by the Surrey Business School of the University of Surrey, England.
The webinar was themed: “Digital Disruption: How Can Companies Thrive in Africa Post-COVID-19.”
According to the FirstBank boss, it is about studying the environment and leveraging the digital space to proffer solutions tailored to suit emerging challenges
Adeduntan cited FirstMobile, the Bank’s mobile banking and *894# USSD platforms as some of the digital disruptions that had impacted positively on the financial institution, the banking industry and the financial ecosystem as a whole.
“We have the largest bank agents – close to 90,000 – of them spread across the country, helping to bring in people that were financially excluded into the financial system,” he said.
On barriers to growth in creating innovative and indigenous knowledge, the CEO cited capital constraint, social infrastructure and cultural approach as some of the limiting factors encountered by businesses in Africa.
“In Nigeria, to solve the capital constraint, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Banker’s Committee contribute certain percentage of our profit to a pool of fund to serve as equity for entrepreneurs,” he said.
According to the FirstBank CEO, absence of social infrastructure in African countries has denied citizens the ability to lead better and quality life, thus leading to the migration of many young and brilliant minds from the continent.
He said the bank evolved a deliberate approach in its employment, remuneration, exciting work roles and talent development to inspire and retain its young workforce.
Dr. Adeduntan added that there were significant opportunities in Africa, with over one billion population, while noting that opportunities were available for young and innovative people willing to work smart and hard.
The FirstBank boss noted that the bank had been in existence for 127 years, and had been strategically positioned for exponential growth through its ability to leverage innovation to reinvent itself.
Also speaking at the event, Prof. Kenneth Amaeshi, Thought Leader, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, said COVID-19 had unravelled the need to realign Africa’s institutions, and convert challenges to opportunities.
Amaeshi said African governments should evolve more favourable policies and incentives that would encourage renewed innovation, increase investment in education, research and development and intellectual property protection.
“As much as we want to celebrate technology development in Africa, we need Africans to participate and contribute to the knowledge going on in the digital space,” he said.
Guaranty Trust Bank plc has released its Audited Financial Results for the year ended December 31, 2020 to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges.
A review of the result shows improved performance across all key financial metrics in the face of the unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting the quality of past decisions and reaffirming its position as one of the best managed financial institutions in Africa.
The Group reported Profit before tax of ₦238.1billion, representing a growth of 2.8% over ₦231.7billion recorded in the corresponding year ended December 2019. The Group’s Loan book (Net) grew by 10.7% from ₦1.502trillion recorded as at December 2019 to ₦1.663trillion in December 2020, while Customers’ deposits increased by 38.6% from ₦2.533trillion in December 2019 to ₦3.509trillion in December 2020.
Guaranty Trust Bank’s Balance sheet remained well structured, diversified and resilient with Total assets and Shareholders’ Funds closing at ₦4.945trillion and ₦814.4billion respectively. Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very strong, closing at 21.9%, while Asset quality was sustained as NPL ratio and Cost of Risk (COR) closed at 6.4% (Bank: 5.9%) and 1.2% (Bank: 1.0%) in December 2020 from 6.5% (Bank: 6.2%) and 0.3% (Bank: 0.2%) in December 2019 respectively.
Commenting on the financial results, the Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said; “2020 was arguably the most challenging year that the world has faced in decades. In such unprecedented times, we sought to live out the full extent of our values; safeguarding lives and livelihoods for our people, our customers and across the communities where we operate.
We were on solid footing going into 2020; the strength, scale and liquidity of our balance sheet, coupled with the quality of our past decisions and the efficacy of our digital-first customer-centric strategy gave us the resilience and flexibility to navigate the economic shocks and market volatility that dominated the year.”
He further stated that; “Amidst the many challenges that persist, we remain ardent believers in Africa’s growth potential. Our world is increasingly digital, and we see it opening new and exciting opportunities for empowering people and uplifting our communities. With our commitment to deepening customer relationships and intense focus on delivering innovative financial solutions, we enter 2021 well-positioned to lead this new world.”
Guaranty Trust Bank plc continues to post the best metrics in the Nigerian Banking industry in terms of all Financial Ratios i.e. Post-Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) of 26.8%, Post-Tax Return on Assets (ROAA) of 4.6%, Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 21.9% and Cost to Income ratio of 38.2%.
Renowned for its forward-thinking approach to financial services and customer engagement, GTBank was recently ranked Africa’s Most Admired Finance Brand in the 10th-anniversary rankings of Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands, the pre-eminent survey and ranking of the Top 100 admired brands in Africa. The Bank was also awarded the Best Bank in Nigeria by Euromoney Magazine for a record-extending tenth time and the Euromoney Excellence in Leadership Africa Award for its swift reaction in responding to the Covid-19 crisis and for addressing the impact of the pandemic on its customers and communities.
As part of its continuous effort to catalyse the growth and sustainability of Small and Medium-Scale businesses in Nigeria and Africa, Pan Africa Financial Institution, United Bank for Africa, (UBA) Plc will be hosting its next Business Series on Wednesday, March 17th, 2021.
The UBA Business Series, which is held quarterly, is a capacity building initiative where professional business leaders share insights on best business practices and how entrepreneurs can build a sustainable business empire especially in a challenging business environment in Africa, aggravated by the COVID 19 pandemic.
In this edition, which will be held via Microsoft Teams, UBA will host the founder, Accounting Hub, Chioma Ifeanyi-Eze, a seasoned accountant with years of experience across multinationals including PWC.
Ifeanyi-Eze will be speaking on Budgeting and forecasting for Business Growth and will give tips to business owners and intending start-ups on practical ways to ensure their businesses survive and thrive and essential strategies on how to recover and mitigate losses especially in these difficult operating environments in Africa and beyond
The open event will be held virtually by 2pm WAT on Wednesday, March 17, 2021 and interested participants can register via this link: http://bit.ly/UBASMEWorkshopMarch2021
UBA’s Group Head, Consumer and Retail Banking, Sampson Aneke, who spoke ahead of the event, said that far beyond banking services, UBA is interested in ensuring that customers and entrepreneurs run businesses that can stand the test of time, adding that the Business Series, will assist to arm business leaders with all the knowledge and experience required to take their businesses to the next level.
He said, “Even in this period of the pandemic, it is interesting to note that some businesses are still making it big. How? you will ask, these are some of the questions we will address in our seminar on Wednesday.
“Chioma Ifeanyi Eze, who is experienced in every sense of the word is willing to share insight with others on ways to grow their business and put it on firm footing as we try to move beyond this pandemic. I will advise everyone to tune in, even if you do not have a business, it is an opportunity to learn something new,” Aneke said.
This novel initiative is a quarterly enterprise championed by UBA, and has been instrumental in helping to support and elevate businesses to new highs for many years now.
United Bank for Africa is a leading pan-African financial institution offering banking services to more than twenty million customers globally. With footprint in 20 African countries and presence globally in the United Kingdom, the USA and France, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and leading financial inclusion services provider, has announced the launch of First Global Transfer (FGT) to promote international transfer of funds across its subsidiaries in sub-Saharan Africa. The Bank’s subsidiaries in Africa include FBNBank DRC, FBNBank Ghana, FBNBank Gambia, FBNBank Guinea, FBNBank Sierra-Leone, FBNBank Senegal.
The First Global Transfer (FGT) initiative is specifically designed to ensure safe, timely and improved efficiency in the transfer of funds across the network of FirstBank subsidiaries in Africa. The FGT is not restricted to FirstBank and FBNBank Customers alone but it is also open to every individual resident in the country the funds transfer is originating from.
Intending users of the initiative are to visit any of the Bank’s branches in Nigeria or subsidiaries in Africa, which are: FBNBank DRC, FBNBank Ghana, FBNBank Gambia, FBNBank Guinea, FBNBank Sierra-Leone, or FBNBank Senegal to enjoy the service. For example, with First Global Transfer, individuals and customers in Sierra-Leone can walk into any FBNBank branch to send money to FirstBank customers in Nigeria as well as FBNBank customers in Gambia, Ghana, DR Congo, Senegal or Guinea.
Speaking on the initiative, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, FirstBank said “today’s customer is influenced by the technological advancement shaping businesses across various industries and our First Global Transfer (FGT) initiative is one of those advancement created to impact every individual in our host community in Africa, whilst promoting the ease and swift transfer of money from one country to another for business or personal activities.”
“With the launch of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on 1 January 2021, theFirst Global Transfer (FGT) is indeed very timely as it will play an essential role in stimulating business activities across borders, thereby impacting the growth and development of the continent. I enjoin everyone to visit any one of our branches nearest to you in Nigeria or our subsidiaries in Africa and send money to your loved ones or business partners with FirstBank or FBNBank account(s),” he concluded.
Nigeria’s leading innovative bank, Wema Bank Plc., through its female proposition, Sara by Wema, will mark this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) with a webinar on Friday, March 12 by 10.00 am.
The 90 minutes’ event themed ‘Challenge Today for an Equal Tomorrow’ will have key industry experts and leading female corporate policy influencers in the Nigerian financial, investment, talent development and management ecosystem as panelists.
The webinar aims at speaking to women on challenging societal norms to reach their full potential in entrepreneurship, the workplace, or personal lives.
The Executive Director, Business Support, Wema Bank, Folake Sanu will host the webinar, while Team Lead, Business Process Re-Engineering, Wema Bank, Chika Adun, will moderate.
Other panelists include Founder, Green Investment Club and certified financial education instructor, Tomie Balogun; global leadership development expert, Dupe Akinsiun, and Chief Knowledge Officer, Wofin Tech Limited, Omilola Oshikoya.
Commenting on the importance of the webinar, Head, Brands and Marketing Communications, Wema Bank Plc. Funmilayo Falola, reiterated the institution’s belief in female empowerment and equity.
“At Wema Bank, gender sensitivity and diversity are second to none – it is at the heart of our operations,” she said.
“With the 2021 IWD celebration, we are poised to entrench the importance of equity across the board as a sustainable voice for women to rise above every known challenge to the pinnacle of career excellence.
Our proposition, SARA, is a testimony that affirms Wema Bank’s commitment to towards the development of women and girls says Abiola Nejo, Head, Gender Banking
This year’s webinar is part of a week-long social media and online engagement with Wema Bank’s customers to share contemporary knowledge, deepening technology and financial inclusion for their business growth whilst growing the nation’s GDP.
The bank also plans to use the webinar platform to launch its new gender loan offering for female business owners.
Interested participants can register for the webinar through
