Banking Archives — Page 9 of 10 — Business Bells

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Category: Banking

  • How Banks Are Turning Female Marketers To Sexual Slaves – Senator

    How Banks Are Turning Female Marketers To Sexual Slaves – Senator

    The Senate, on Thursday, considered a bill seeking to stop employers in the private and public sectors from engaging employable Nigerian graduates as casual workers.

     

    The Prohibition of Casualisation Bill 2020 was sponsored by Senator Ayo Akinyelure.

     

    Akinyelure said casualisation of Nigerian graduates in the Nigerian labour market had become a subject of great concern.

     

    He said more workers continued to groan under this immoral strategy of cutting cost by employers rendering them inferior to their counterpart in other countries of the world.

     

    He said,  “Statistics from the Nigeria Labour Congress shows that many workers in the telecommunications, oil and gas sectors are engaged as casual labourers by employers of labours.

     

    “Other sectors with thousands of casual labourers include mining, steel, banking and insurance.”

     

    Akinyelure while citing the banking industry as a hub for casualisation, blamed banks for turning female marketers into harlots and sexual slaves in a desperate attempt by them to keep their jobs and meet unrealistic deposit targets.

     

    He said, ‘In the banking and insurance industry, for instance, many young graduates particularly females are employed as marketers and given unrealistic customer deposit targets running into millions.

     

    “They are hired and fired at will when such unrealistic targets are not met.

     

    “The female among them who are desperate in keeping their jobs turn to harlotry and sex slavery.

     

    “They, move from one office to the other looking for invisible customers who have large funds to enable them meet their targets.

     

    “It is high time this evil and devilish act is stopped.”

     

    Senator Biodun Olujimi said, “Our girls have been turned into what we cannot imagine.

     

    “Most of them have been asked to look for funds, and when they come to us, I always tell them, I do not even have the funds to eat; how can I have funds to keep with you in the bank?

     

    “They will never be promoted if they don’t bring in such funds, and this is a banking industry that is privately owned, yes, but has made so much profit, and from the profit they could at least take the few that they can manage properly, rather than take a lot that they will be giving pittance.”

     

    The lawmaker harped on the need to have a legal framework to ensure that casualisation did not exist.

     

    The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, in his remark charged the Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity to strike a balance in the bill to ensure that casual workers in the country were not made victims of layoffs.

     

    After scaling second reading, the bill was referred to the Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity to report back within four weeks.

     

  • Stanbic IBTC Gives N34.8m Scholarship to Successful UTME Students

    Stanbic IBTC Gives N34.8m Scholarship to Successful UTME Students

    Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, a member of Standard Bank Group, has awarded scholarships to successful candidates in the 2019 and 2020 University Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME).

     

    This was done as part of its aspiration to encourage hardwork and excellence in academic pursuit. The 87 beneficiaries were drawn from the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.

     

    The beneficiaries comprised of 39 candidates who participated in the 2019 UTME and another 48 candidates drawn from the 2020 UTME. Physically challenged yet brilliant candidates were also included.

     

    The presentation of the scholarships was conducted virtually on Thursday, 11 February 2021.

     

    In 2019, Stanbic IBTC announced its scholarship scheme to support, reward and encourage students who had excelled in their academic pursuit.

     

    The leading end-to-end financial solutions organisation said the initiative was in line with its commitment to value-driven corporate social investments, designed to contribute to youth’s educational development.

     

    The scholarship programme was introduced as part of the financial institution’s 30th anniversary celebration.

     

    Dr. Demola Sogunle, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, said the prosperity of the nation and its citizens was hinged on the youth’s educational development, and that the financial institution remained determined to provide the necessary support to brilliant students.

     

    He said: “Stanbic IBTC appreciates the fundamental role education plays in transforming society, which is why we have chosen to institute the scholarship to encourage hard work and academic excellence amongst Nigerian students who desire tertiary education. The scholarship will enable them to pursue and realise their dreams of academic excellence”.

     

    “The scholarship will be disbursed to the 87 students in yearly tranches for a period of four academic years. However, after the first tranche, subsequent disbursements will be subject to maintaining at least a second-class upper grade and evidence of good conduct confirmed by the school” Dr. Sogunle added.

     

    He further stated that “Education Trust Funds will be set up for the beneficiaries, and the funds will be accessed through the Education Trust accounts”.

     

    The beneficiaries were effusive in their appreciation of the gesture. A beneficiary, Hammed-Saruk Omogbolahan, who spoke during the virtual ceremony, thanked Stanbic IBTC for the scholarship.

     

    He said the scholarship would allow them focus on their education, and he assured that they would continue to strive for academic excellence to justify their selection.

     

    Education has remained a key focus area for Stanbic IBTC, and the financial institution has continued to play a leading role in transforming lives through education.

     

    Other scholarship initiatives organised by the financial institution include those awarded to indigent children who have suffered limb losses, under its signature CSI initiative tagged Together4ALimb.

     

    Stanbic IBTC is committed to identifying opportunities to help mould the next generation of leaders and help build a robust education sector that Nigerians can be proud of.

     

  • How Nigerian Banks Lost N5bn To Fraudsters In Nine Months — NIBSS

    How Nigerian Banks Lost N5bn To Fraudsters In Nine Months — NIBSS

    The Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc has said that more than N5bn was lost as a result of fraud in the banking sector between January and September 2020.

     

    It disclosed this in its NIBSS Insight report on ‘Fraud in the Nigerian Financial Services’.

     

    Part of the report read, “On a global scale, fraudulent activities have resulted in losses amounting to about $42bn. Approximately 39 per cent are perpetrated by external parties while 37 per cent are perpetrated by internal parties.

     

    “Driving deeper in Nigerian industry data, the actual figures reported by the industry are quite striking.

     

    “This year, about 91 per cent of all fraud attempts as at September have resulted in a total loss, and more than N5bn was lost as a result of fraud within the period.

     

    “This represents financial institutions with an opportunity to protect their investments as well as attract customers by offering increased artificial protection and the ability to recover lost funds more easily.”

     

    The report also stated that data from the industry antifraud portal data showed that 56 per cent of all reported fraud attempts were carried out using social engineering.

  • Ecobank Allows Customers Transfer Money Through SMS, Whatsapp

    Ecobank Allows Customers Transfer Money Through SMS, Whatsapp

    Ecobank Nigeria has said its customers are now able to transfer funds by email, SMS and WhatsApp with the new features available on the bank’s mobile app.

     

    It said this in a statement on Wednesday titled ‘Ecobank Nigeria introduces money transfer Via SMS, WhatsApp’.

     

    The Head, Consumer Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Olukorede Demola-Adenyi, said this was part of the bank’s innovation in digital banking, enabling customers perform their transactions conveniently.

     

    She said, “This opportunity could not have come at a better time when many people are self-isolating and keeping social distance due to the COVID-19.

     

    “We have the responsibility as a bank to continue to innovate for the benefits of our teeming customers.

     

    “We encourage our customers and others to utilise this new addition to our digital self-service solutions.

     

    “With this feature, a customer can transfer up to N50,000 without the beneficiary’s account number.”

     

    The transfer, Demola-Adenyi noted, could be initiated without the beneficiary providing an account number or deciding on which account to receive the funds into.

     

    “For us as a bank, this is super convenient for money transfer,” she added.

     

    Demola-Adeniyi said the process was simple and a beneficiary could redeem the money sent in three simple steps.

     

    She said called on those who were yet to download the Ecobank Mobile app to do so without delay because of the attendant benefits.

     

    She said, “The Ecobank mobile app allows you to enjoy our banking services instantly and conveniently on your mobile device.

     

    “The app provides you with an easy channel to manage your account and perform financial transactions in a simple and secured manner.”

     

  • CBN Prohibits Cryptocurrency In Nigeria

    CBN Prohibits Cryptocurrency In Nigeria

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Friday, February 5, 2021, issued a stern warning to banks across the country over transactions relating to cryptocurrency.

     

    In a memo addressed to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs), Other Financial Institutions (OFIs), and members of the public, the apex bank ordered financial institutions across the country to persons and entities transacting or operating in cryptocurrency exchanges.

     

    The circular signed by Director of Banking Supervision, Bello Hassan stated: ”The CBN circular of January 12, 2017, refFPRIDIRGENT R/06/010 which DMBs, NBFIs, and OFIs and members of the public on the risks associated with transactions in cryptocurrency refers.

    “Further to another regulatory directive on the subject, the bank hereby wishes to remind regulated institutions that dealing in cryptocurrencies or facilitating payment from cryptocurrency exchanges is prohibited.

     

    “Accordingly, or DMBs, OFIs, NBFIs, are advised to identify persons and /or entities transacting in or operating cryptocurrency exchanges within their system and ensure that such accounts are closed immediately.”

  • FirstBank Grants Money Agents Loan Facilities

    FirstBank Grants Money Agents Loan Facilities

    First Bank of Nigeria Limited has said it is providing loan facilities of up to N1m to its banking agents.

     

    The bank said this in a statement on Tuesday titled ‘Firstbank empowers its firstmonie agents with up to N1m’.

     

    According to the statement, it has over 86,300 Firstmonie agents, spread across the country’s 772 Local Government Areas.

     

    FirstBank said with its location in every neighbourhood, Firstmonie agents had been integral to filling the financial exclusion gap, providing convenient banking services that were easily accessible, thereby saving time and travel costs for individuals in the suburbs and remote environments that have no access to financial services.

     

    The  bank said its financial inclusion activities were in line with the mandate of the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure the availability of affordable financial products and services to all individuals and groups of people in the country, irrespective of location, literacy levels, familiarity with technology and accessibility to modern infrastructural facilities.

     

    The Firstmonie agent channel was among the bank’s many initiatives to expand financial access in the country, it stated.

     

     

  • Ecobank Group Recorded N630bn Revenue In 2020

    Ecobank Group Recorded N630bn Revenue In 2020

    Ecobank Group has said its revenue rose to N630bn in the 2020 financial year.

     

    This represents seven per cent growth when compared to N586.9bn posted in the corresponding period of 2019.

     

    In a statement titled ‘Ecobank Group posts N630bn revenue in 2020’, it disclosed this in its unaudited report submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Friday.

     

    The pan-African bank stated that value of its total assets now stood at N10.2tn after a 19 per cent rise.

     

    Ecobank said it also recorded good performance in other key financial indices despite the harsh operating environment.

     

    Summary of the report showed that deposits from customers went up by 23 per cent to N7.3tn; total equity up 17 per cent to N805.1bn; while loans and advances to customers grew by nine per cent to N3.7tn.

     

    However, it added, deposits from customers and revenue, profits were impacted by the provisioning for goodwill for the acquisition of Oceanic Bank in 2011.

     

    Consequently, it added, the bank ended with profit after tax of N35.9bn, while profit before tax and goodwill impairment closed at N126.4bn.

     

    The Ecobank Group had earlier stated that it was optimistic that with clean books aftermath of the full provisioning for Oceanic Bank, it would improve on its profitability in 2021 and other years ahead.

  • Banks’ Non-Performing Loans Rise To N1.5tn

    Banks’ Non-Performing Loans Rise To N1.5tn

    The non-performing loans in the banking sector rose by N333bn as of the end of the third quarter of 2020 to N1.5tn at the end of 2020.

     

    These were as by statistics obtained by our correspondent from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the National Bureau of Statistics.

     

    The NBS’s latest report on the banking sector revealed that the total amount of non-performing loans in Nigerian banks stood at N1.17tn as of Q3 2020.

     

    According to the CBN, despite the increased lending and rise in non-performing loans during the coronavirus pandemic, the banking system had remained stable.

     

    Figures obtained from the CBN showed that the non-performing loans rose to 6.01 per cent of the total loans to the economy which stood at N25.02tn as of the end of 2020.

     

    The CBN stated that there was, “a marginal increase in the non-performing loans ratio which rose to 6.01 per cent at end-December 2020 from 5.88 per cent at end-November 2020 and above the prudential maximum threshold of five per cent.”

     

    While noting that this development was not unexpected under the prevailing circumstances, it emphasised the need to strengthen macro prudential framework to bring non-performing loans below the prescribed benchmark.

     

    The CBN stated that banking sector’s gross credit as of the end-December stood at N25.02tn compared with N24.25tn at the end of November 2020, representing an increase of N774.28bn.

     

    It noted that it had been able to maintain a sound regulatory surveillance over the banking system by ensuring a reasonably low level of non-performing loans, even with the aggressive credit expansion programme during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis period.

     

    Though non-performing loans remained slightly above the prudential benchmark, it stated that the banking system remained stable.

     

    Given the success recorded under the Loan to Deposit Ratio policy, it stressed the need to sustain risk surveillance approach and ensure the continued soundness of the banking system.

  • Zenith Named Most Valuable Banking Brand

    Zenith Named Most Valuable Banking Brand

    Zenith Bank Plc has again emerged as the ‘Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria’ in the Banker Magazine Top 500 Banking Brands 2021.

     

    The bank disclosed this in a statement on Sunday titled ‘Zenith Bank emerges Nigeria’s most valuable banking brand’.

     

    The statement said for the fourth consecutive year, Zenith Bank had been ranked as the number-one banking brand in Nigeria with a brand value of $275m, moving up two places from 392 in 2020 to 390 in the 2021 global ranking of banks.

     

    It added that it was the only Nigerian bank among the first 400 banks in the global ranking.

     

    The ranking was published in the February 2021 edition of The Banker Magazine of the Financial Times Group in conjunction with London-based Brand Finance, it stated.

     

    According to the publication, brand value is the licensing rate that a third-party will need to pay to use the bank’s brand.

     

    Commenting on the latest ranking, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive, Zenith Bank Plc, Mr Ebenezer Onyeagwu, said, “This ranking is a further affirmation of the bank’s resilience given the very challenging macroeconomic environment brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

     

    “Zenith Bank remained committed to sustaining the superior performance which had earned it this recognition, building on the legacy of its visionary Founder and Chairman, Mr Jim Ovia, whose pioneering and foundational role in building the structures and laying the foundation ensured an enduring and very successful institution.”