Day: September 7, 2019

Nigerians spend N38bn on mobile SMS in 12 months

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     Despite the threat of Over the Top (OTT) services, Whatsapp, Facebook, etc, mobile network operators in Nigeria realised approximately N38 billion from short message service (SMS) in 2018.     This indicated that Nigerians still pay for text messages amidst availability of different data-based free messaging platforms.     Industry data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that the telcos recorded 9.5 billion outgoing SMS in the 12 months period. Based on the fixed cost of N4 per SMS, the operators pocketed N38 billion from the…

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Apere: Review tier-based arrangement for micro-insurance

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    Following the National Insurance Commission’s (NAICOM) decision to recapitalise the insurance sector, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Achor Actuarial Services Limited, Pius Apere, has advised the commission to also a review the classification arrangement being adopted for the micro-insurance segment of the sector.   This, he said, would prevent conventional insurers, who are likely to downscale to micro-level from not taking advantage of the market because of their size against beginners.   Apere, who gave the advice at the 4th National Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO) National Conference…

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Regulator lifts trading suspension on Deap Capital

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  The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has lifted trading suspension placed on the shares of Deap Capital Management and Trust Plc.   It suspended trading on the company’s shares for violating post-listing requirements.   The exchange had notified the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the investment community of the suspension and those of five other firms over default in filing their accounts as at when due.   The management of the exchange in a statement at the weekend said: “We refer to our Market Bulletin dated 1 November 2018, with…

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H1: Access Bank reports N74bn post-merger profit

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  .Declares 25k interim dividend Access Bank Group’s audited H1 results released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday showed gross earnings of N324.4 billion, up 28 per cent from N253.0 billion in the corresponding period of 2018. According to a statement from the bank, the growth in gross earnings was driven by 46 per cent increase in interest income on the back of continued growth in the bank’s core business and 22 per cent non-interest income underlined by strong recoveries.   The bank delivered a profit before tax of…

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 ‘Q2 slowdown, mixed oil markets signal economic warnings to Nigeria’

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  Another recent escalation in the trade dispute between the US and China has punished crude oil prices and set off warning signals for oil-producing countries like Nigeria, FXTM Research Analyst, Mr. Lukman Otunuga, has said.   Otunuga in a report obtained by New Telegraph also said Nigeria’s GDP slowed down to 1.94 per cent in the second quarter from 2.1 per cent in the first quarter, following the trend seen in several economies such as Germany and the UK.   “It is becoming quite clear that as long as oil…

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Flooding: Forestalling farmers’ battle with annual losses

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  As the raining gradually gets to its peak with attendant disasters from flooding, stakeholders in agric and insurance sectors are expected to step up efforts to minimise losses that are peculiar to the season. Sunday Ojeme reports     Last year, some agric sector stakeholders in the country lamented the grave losses by farmers to attacks on various crops and livestock attacks.   Although they put the estimated loss from livestocks alone at over N20 billion annually, efforts to stem the tide appear not to be enough as agric…

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CBN to ABCON: Play greater role in BDC sub-sector

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  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has advised the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) to play a stronger role in the sub-sector by embracing effective self-regulation.   Speaking during the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA) Mutual Evaluation Exercise Sensitisation workshop for South West Bureaux de Change (BDCs) in Lagos, CBN Deputy Director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, Mustafa Haruna, said there was need for BDCs to ensure compliance with extant Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws  and  regulations  to  mitigate  the  risks  and vulnerabilities in…

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NSE ends first week of September bearish

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  Trading activities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed the first trading week of September on the downside as the NSE All-Share Index and market capitalisation both depreciated by 1.38 per cent to close last week at 27,146.57 and N13.207 trillion respectively.   Similarly, all other indices finished lower with the exception of NSE Banking, NSE Pension, NSE Insurance, NSE-AFR Bank Value, NSE AFR Div Yield, NSE MERI Value, and NSE Industrial Goods Indices, which appreciated by 0.20 per cent, 0.84 per cent, 0.83 per cent,…

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Trader, others win in Access Bank’s DiamondXtra promo

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Nwogu Ijeoma, a trader at the Alaba International Market, Lagos and 1,015 customers across Nigeria emerged winners at the second quarterly draw of the DiamondXtra season 11 reward scheme powered by Access Bank Plc.   Speaking shortly after receiving the N1 million prize cheque, Ijeoma, while expressing excitement at winning, told newsmen that she had been a customer of Access Bank for years, adding that Nigerians should partake in the initiative as it was real.   She said: “I have been banking with Access Bank for a long time now.…

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CBN scraps interest rate cap for mortgage financing

Tony Chukwunyem

  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has removed the interest rate cap regulation on interest rate and lending fees for mortgage financing in the country.   In a circular to Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) and mortgage sector stakeholders posted on its website at the weekend, the CBN said that the move was due to “some implementation challenges” regarding the mortgage finance section of its 2017 “Guide to Charges by Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria.”   The apex bank stated that henceforth the section of the document that…

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