Banking Sector

The Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) has issued approved standard operating guidelines for the Bank Verification Number (BVN) matching system, mainly for a harmonised way of verifying customer’s identity.

A United State of America based Cyber Security expert, Dr. Augustine Ohwobete has told organizations, especially financial institutions to put measures in place to check cyber crimes, following the pace at which digital disruption and innovative new technology were reaching the market.

On February 5, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released a circular addressed to banks and other financial institutions with the directive that transactions in cryptocurrencies and facilitating payment for cryptocurrency exchanges were prohibited.

The Senate, Tuesday, considered a critical bill seeking to empower the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in the aspect of assets recovery, as well as strengthen it against economic sabotage by debtors with unpaid loans to the tune of about N16 trillion naira.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is charged with the responsibility of enforcing the provisions of all laws relating to economic and financial crimes, Africa’s leading human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) has said.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said there was no time the bank banned the activities of Cryptocurrencies in the country.

FMDQ Securities Exchange recently approved the listing of the Fidelity Bank Plc Series 1N41.21billion Fixed Rate Subordinated Unsecured Bond under its N100.00billion Bond Issuance Programme to its platform.

Telecom operators in Nigeria on Friday announced that they will stop the use of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) by banks and other financial institutions in the country by Monday.

The debts owed to Nigerian banks by oil and gas operators as well as power companies in the country rose to N5.94tn at the end of 2020 from N5.25tn in December 2019.

The Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, says the Bank’s decision to prohibit deposit money banks, non-banking institutions, and other financial institutions from facilitating trading and dealings in cryptocurrency is in the best interest of Nigerian depositors and the country’s financial system.

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, SAN, on Tuesday said virtual assets and cryptocurrencies are risky for implementation in Nigeria.

Analysts yesterday forecasted a faster economic recovery for Nigeria as crude oil prices, at $60 per barrel, hit a new high since February 2020.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says that Nigeria’s outlook remains challenging and charged the federal government to urgently undertake policy adjustments.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has opened investigations into bank accounts of companies involved in the trading of cryptocurrencies with the intention of blocking those with suspicious transactions and fraud.

The Arewa Consultative Youth Movement, Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Youth Movement, Oduduwa Youths and Middle Belt Youths have hailed the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, over the bank’s recent policy stopping Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), non-financial institutions and other financial institutions from doing business in crypto and other digital assets.

Former Finance Minister Seth Terkper has revealed that Ghana risked returning to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for support following the rising debt.

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Sunday, mourned a former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Jubril Martins-Kuye, who died earlier in the day.

Mr Bayo Olugbemi, President, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) says the banking sector in Nigeria has a good capital base to facilitate the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

Reason: the industry is faced with a tougher operating environment that could threaten the operators’ ability to meet their stakeholders’ needs and expectations yet perform meaningful corporate social responsibility roles.

Its Director-General, Dr Muda Yusuf, attributed the projected inflation outlook for the incoming year to the combination of food supply shocks, heightened insecurity in major food-producing states, foreign exchange policies, illiquidity and higher energy costs.

A report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has shown that Nigeria’s banking sector non-performing loans dropped by N42.4 billion in three months.

A total volume of 2,781,526,188 transactions valued at N319.99trn was recorded in the third quarter of this year based on data on electronic payment channels in the Nigeria banking sector, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics has said.