‘Ecobank leveraging  technology to expand financial inclusion’

        The Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan, has disclosed that the bank is leveraging technology to push the frontiers of financial inclusion of the unbanked and under-banked in the country.   The managing director said this in his keynote presentation at the Vanguard Economic Forum series on mobile money market and fintech.   The forum with the theme, ‘Leveraging Fintech Innovation for Unlocking Growth and Competitiveness in Nigeria’s Mobile & Payment Ecosystem’ held in Lagos.   He pointed out that Nigeria, which has improved financial inclusion…

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SABEX unlocks export market for Nigerian farmers

    SABEX, the world’s first end-to-end blockchain commodities trading and financing platform, was formally unveiled to policy makers, agriculture value chain players, investors, international financiers and development agencies at the 2019 edition of Agriculture Summit Africa, organised by Sterling Bank Plc, at the weekend in Abuja.   Powered by Sterling Bank, Binkabi and AFEX Commodities Exchange, the digital commodities trading platform, provides real time credit finance for farmers, secure storage and a ready market for both farmers and buyers to transact thereby reducing post-harvest wastage of farm produce across…

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 Zenith Bank’s ‘Aspire Music Festival’ debuts in Lagos

      Zenith Bank Plc is set to light up the social and entertainment scene this month with the announcement of the bank’s “Aspire Music Festival.”   In a press release, the lender said that the music festival, which is the “most anticipated entertainment event of the year,”  holds on Saturday, September 21, 2019 by 8.00pm at the Harbour Point Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.   According to the release, “the festival promises to be a night to remember, as it will feature captivating and thrilling musical performances by…

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  Chief Executive Officer of the World Bank, Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, is set to step into Christine Lagarde’s shoes as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).   Lagarde is quitting the IMF on September 12, having resigned  in July following her nomination to become head of the European Central Bank (ECB).   The IMF announced in a press release yesterday that with the period for submitting nominations for the position of the next MD of the fund having closed on Friday, September 6, Georgieva, a Bulgarian national, was…

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Nigerians spend N38bn on mobile SMS in 12 months

     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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Regulator lifts trading suspension on Deap Capital

  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

  .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’

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

  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

  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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