CBN:  Bad debt ratio drops to 9.36%

The Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio in the country’s banking system dropped to single digit at 9.36 per cent in June 2019 for the first time in about three months, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said. Deputy Governor in charge of Financial System Stability at the apex bank, Mrs. Aishah Ahmad, stated this in her personal statement for the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting last month, which along with other MPC members’ personal statements were posted on the CBN’s website yesterday. The MPC members stated that the continuous decline in banks’ NPL…

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Sterling Bank’s Cafe One hosts 2019 Caine Prize winner

Cafe One, Nigeria’s first digital, hybrid experience centre by Sterling Bank Plc, recently hosted award winning Nigerian writer, Lesley Nneka Arimah, in collaboration with Farafina Books. She is the author of a collection of short stories titled, “What It Means When A Man Falls From The Sky,” which won the 2019 Caine Prize for Africa. Café one, dubbed as a place where innovation meets community, was designed for comfort and equipped to provide banking services with ease and convenience. The space boasts of serving the best coffee and pastries in Lagos,…

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Turkey secures $1bn from China swap to boost reserves

The People’s Bank of China has transferred $1 billion worth of funds to Turkey in, Beijing’s biggest support package ever for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Bloomberg reported at the weekend. The cash infusion boosted Turkey’s foreign reserves around the time of Istanbul local elections that had left international investors fretting about the country’s political and financial stability. The Chinese funds also show Turkey is making headway in its efforts to diversify sources of foreign investment amid unprecedented tensions with the West. Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak has said the…

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Verve, Discover Global Network partner on ‘Global Card’

Interswitch’s Verve and Discover Global Network, the payments brand of Discover, have launched the Verve Global Card that will be accepted in more than 190 countries and territories. The event which took place in  New York City, saw  senior executives from First Bank, Access Bank and Fidelity Bank purchasing  various items from Swarovski using their Verve Global Card on the Discover Global Network. The agreement with Discover Global Network will facilitate new international and cross border transaction capabilities for Verve Global Card customers, meeting the needs of its increasingly global customer base. Holders…

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EMVCo releases proposed changes for payment systems

 Payment card standards body, EMVCo, at the weekend released proposed specification changes for payment systems to accommodate longer number on credit and debit cards for identifying the card issuer. The issuer identification number, as it is called, is the first part of the 10- to 19-digit primary account number that appears on the front of debit or credit cards and identifies the card issuer. Currently, the Issuer Identification Number (IIN) consists of the first six digits of the Personal Area Network (PAN) but will transition to being eight digits long…

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Experts:  External reserves will slide to $43bn

The country’s external reserves have been on a downward trend in recent weeks mainly due to decline in oil prices. Data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shows that the reserves stood at $44.5billion as at August 14, 2019 compared with $45billion a month earlier. In a report obtained by Newsfieldglobal at the weekend, the FDC also forecast that the country’s oil revenue would drop to $9-$10billion in the third quarter of this year even as it predicted that oil prices will hover around $60-$62 in this month.…

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Ecobank Nigeria rids Lagos of 2m plastic bottles

Ecobank Nigeria has  successfully  removed  over two million plastic bottles in exchange for cash from the streets of Lagos. The campaign, which started in May, targets to remove at least four million bottles from the environment.it is part of the bank’s environmental sustainability campaign. Ecobank had in May told Lagos residence to exchange  plastic bottles for cash at designated location  across the state. Commenting on the initiative and success achieved so far,  the Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan, stated that the lender was committed to support the sustenance of the environment…

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Promo: UBA rewards 20 customers with N30m

Pan African financial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has again rewarded another 20 customers, who emerged winners in the third quarterly draw of the UBA Wise Savers Promo. They won N1.5 million each, bringing the total amount won by 60 customers so far to N90 million. The electronic raffle draw, which was held at the bank’s head office in Lagos yesterday was witnessed by relevant regulatory bodies including the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Lagos State Lottery Board and Consumer Protection Council. Lucky customers, who emerged winners in the…

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Firms optimistic on macro-economic conditions

The latest Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) monthly Business Expectations Survey (BES)  report  has shown  that majority of  respondent firms expressed optimism on macro economy in July 2019. According to the BES report, which was posted on the apex bank’s website yesterday, majority of  businesses in the country  expect the naira to appreciate in the coming months. Furthermore,  the report said: “Level of inflation is expected to increase slightly in both the next six months and the next twelve months; borrowing rate is expected to rise in the current month,…

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CBN: Manufacturing PMI edges to 57.6

Nigeria’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reached 57.6 index points in July compared to previous month’s reading of 57.4, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) PMI July 2019 report, released yesterday, shows. According to CBN, “a composite PMI above 50 points indicates that the manufacturing/non-manufacturing economy is generally expanding, 50 points indicates no change and below 50 points indicates that it is generally contracting.” The apex bank, thus stated in the report that: “Manufacturing PMI in the month of July stood at 57.6 index points, indicating expansion in the…

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